(Publish from Houston Texas USA)
(By: President PAAGH Siraj Narsi)
Stanley Wolpert, the renowned historian, once wrote of Muhammad Ali Jinnah: “Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three.” I have often wondered how Jinnah was single handedly able to carve out Pakistan amid the chaos and turbulence of Indian politics, the strong opposition from Congress to the idea of Pakistan, the obstacles
laid out by the British and the internal divisions within the Muslims. When we look at the life of the Quaide-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, we often see a man of granite—unyielding, impeccably dressed, and possessing a legal mind so sharp it frustrated the finest negotiators of the British Empire. But if you peel
back the layers of his life as it unfolded, a fascinating question emerges: Was the creation of Pakistan merely the result of Jinnah’s political and constitutional maneuvering and negotiations, or was Jinnah a man being chosen by the higher power for a purpose that changed the map of the world. Was his mission
a divine design that even he hadn’t anticipated?
The Submissive Son vs. The Iron Man
The Jinnah we know from history books is a man who took orders from no one. Yet, his youth tells us a different story—one of profound submission to his parents. Before leaving for England, Jinnah agreed to an arranged marriage with Emi Bai, simply because his mother so wished. There was no protest, no argument. Jinnah submitted to his mother’s will. Later, while in London, Jinnah fell in love with the theater. He auditioned for a Shakespearian play and was even chosen for the character. He had the voice, the presence, the talent and the passion to become a professional actor. But when his father wrote to him from across the ocean, forbidding such a career and insisting on studying trade and business, Jinnah walked away from the stage. Imagine! A young man on his own, thousands of miles away from his parents in a western land and culture, didn’t have the nerves to defy his father to pursue his own interest. Why? This submissive young man isn’t the Jinnah who wouldn’t budge from his positions when negotiating with the British. It is a striking irony. The man who would eventually defy the British Raj and the Indian National Congress began his journey by surrendering his personal desires to the will of his parents who were thousands of miles away. Perhaps this was a cosmic lesson in discipline; a training ground for a man who would one day need to stand up to an empire under whose rule the sun never set, but only after learning the humility of obedience. Or, Perhaps, this was the beginning of the divine intervention to guide Jinnah
into a path, at the very early stage of his life, that would eventually lead to Pakistan.
The Detour from Trade to Law
Jinnah’s father was a successful businessman from a Khoja Gujrati Ismaili Muslim family. This community has always been known as a successful business community. Trade, business and entrepreneurship run in their DNA – in the 19th century as well as the 21st century. Jinnah’s father sent him to London with a
singular, practical goal: to study trade and business. For him, there could be no other future for Jinnah. Probably Jinnah guessed that too, at least when he embarked on his journey to London. But destiny had other plans. In a series of events that seem almost scripted, Jinnah pivoted from business to the theater,
and finally to Lincoln’s Inn to study law. Why the law? If Jinnah had become a successful merchant like his father intended, he would have lived a comfortable, private life. If he had become an actor, he might have been a footnote in London’s West End. Instead, he ended up choosing the one profession—law—that
would provide him with the intellectual weaponry needed to argue the case for a new nation in the court of world opinion. How can one explain this in any way other than a divine plan? While in London, he also happened into the orbit of Dadabhai Naoroji, the first Indian to be elected to a seat in the British Parliament. This wasn’t just a chance meeting; it was meant to lead him to a political awakening and nurturing that would guide Jinnah’s politics in the future. The “Grand Old Man of India” shifted Jinnah’s gaze from ledgers and balance sheets to the rights of “his” people. To see this as a mere “coincidence” ignores how perfectly these pieces clicked together to build a statesman with a destiny.
From Ambassador of Unity to the Founding Father
The most profound shift in Jinnah’s life was his transition from the “Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity”to the champion of the Two-Nation Theory. For years, Jinnah worked tirelessly to keep India united. He believed in it. He argued for it. He was on one side while the majority of Muslim leaders of his time were
on the other side. All India Muslim League was formed in 1906, being led by Aga Khan III and many other prominent Muslim leaders, but Jinnah was still with Indian National Congress – on the other side of the political spectrum. Yet, history pushed him into a corner. From Hindu Muslim unity to becoming president
of All India Muslim League to eventually the two-nation theory, can either be described simply as turn of events, or a path that he was destined to take. You be the judge.
Self-exile to London
After years of frustration with Indian politics, divisions within the Muslim leadership and the tragic personal loss of his beloved wife, Ruttie, Jinnah did something unexpected. He quit India and moved to England, almost retired from an active role in Indian politics, and settled into a quiet life as a barrister in London where he built an impressive and successful law practice. He even tried to choose a career in British politics by seeking ticket to a seat in the British Parliament. He may have thought that he could play a more effective role for India’s independence from the colonial rule by sitting in the parliament of the colonial master itself. Or perhaps, he was done with Indian politics. If he had become a member of the British Parliament, had he been given the ticket and won the election, as he desired then, he would have remained in London. Any possibility of Jinnah returning to India would have ended. But history wasn’ done with him as far as freedom movement was concerned, it seems evident. In a move that feels like a “call to action” from a higher order, influential Muslim leaders continued to plead with him to return to India and take charge of Muslim League’s struggles to seek independence from British rule. Liaquat Ali Khan and the Begum traveled to London to plead with him to return. They told him that the Muslims of the subcontinent were a ship without a captain. They believed only he could lead them. A man who had moved thousands of miles away to find peace and perhaps a different political career, was pulled back into the eye of the storm. How can one explain this in any other way than the call of a destiny being prescribed already?
A Script Written Elsewhere
How does a dejected, retired lawyer living in self-imposed exile return to a land he left behind and, within few years, carve out a new country against all odds? If we look at Jinnah’s life as a series of random events, they don’t quite add up. But if we view them as a “divine purpose,” the picture becomes clear. The submission to his parents taught him discipline; the detour into law gave him the tools; the heartbreak and exile gave him the perspective; and the urgent call to return gave him the mission. Jinnah did not just modify the map; he fulfilled a destiny that seemed to be written long before he ever set his foot in London. As Wolpert suggested, his achievement was nearly unique in human history. Whether you call it brilliant politics or divine intervention, the result remains the same: the birth of a nation that changed the world forever, making Jinnah the giant of the history.
About the writer:
Siraj Narsi is the President of Pakistan Association of Greater Houston. He is also an active volunteer with
many other community organizations, a filmmaker and writer. Before moving to North America, he was a
faculty member at Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi.
