I remember my Pakistan Studies Teacher relating an incident . Gandhi was addressing a press conference when a snake crawled out of somewhere and passed the leader without biting him. The next day the incident made it to the papers. Later at another press conference this time addressed by Jinnah the journalists asked him what he thought of this miracle. Even a snake would not dare touch Gandhi. ‘Professional ethics’ remarked Jinnah. I do not know whether this story is true or not but it left a mark on me.

It’s a national habit of ours to make our leaders, one dimensional. They become austere portraits hanging over bureaucrats bent over files, lifeless over judges and on the currency notes thumbed repeatedly, their features blurring with use. These men on our paper money who changed the course of history; do we ever wonder what they ate, how they lived and loved.

It was a delight to find out Muhammad Ali Jinnah loved spaghetti, and enjoyed eating grapes and plums. That he had a love of newspapers, had these ordered from all over the world, cut out pieces, wrote notes on them and stuck them in files. He enjoyed reading Kamal Ata Turk’s biography , ‘Grey Wolf’ and was later nicknamed the same by his daughter Dina.

Stanley Wolpert’s Jinnah of Pakistan was a good book to start from. The book goes into great detail about Jinnah’s marriage to Ruttie; Jinnah catching Dinshaw Petit off guard, inquiring his opinion about inter-communal marriages and getting a positive response from Petit, asking for his daughter’s hand in marriage. The book stirred controversy with passages of Ruttie bringing Jinnah bacon sandwiches and refuting the whole episode of Jinnah seeing the Prophet’s (p.b.u.h) name listed as one of the Great Law Makers of the World in Lincoln’s Inn. Nonetheless, Jinnah with all his flaws appears enigmatic.

Interestingly a recent programme on Dawn News confirmed the presence of a plaque, with the Prophet’s (p.b.u.h) name on a list of the Great Law Makers of the World, by showing it on television, though it is no more displayed.

There are a number of books that let us into Jinnah’s private world. A book by by Saleem Chaudry called Quaid-e-azam: baimisaal shakhsiyat, Daraakhshan kirdaar ki Jhalkiyaan is an excellent read. It is full of extracts, personal observations and anecdotes. Jinnah might appear haughty but his wit crackles and amuses.

The book records an incident about him travelling on a train as the reason for reserving a whole coupe for travelling alone. Once when he was travelling to attend the National Assembly from Bombay to Delhi on a first class ticket, he found himself alone in the compartment. From a station an Anglo Indian woman got on the train. She sat down silently on the seat opposite him. The train started moving. Jinnah lay on his seat reading something when he heard her saying, ‘Give me a thousand rupees or I will pull the chain and defame you.’’ Jinnah kept silent.

He gave her the impression that he had not heard her talking. The woman repeatedly demanded the same thing over and over again. Jinnah knew the next station was still some distance away. Angrily the woman came close to him, and violently shook his arm saying. ‘Cant you hear anything? Why are you not listening to me? Aren’t you worried about getting disgraced?’ Jinnah relates, that by this time he had thought of a way of getting out of this sticky situation. Without saying anything, using signs and gestures he got it through to her that he could not hear anything. He pushed a pen and paper towards her to write whatever she wanted to say to him. When she had written down what she was saying on the piece of paper Jinnah took the paper and pulled the chain. Immediately the Guard entered the compartment and Jinnah handed him the paper. The woman was arrested and the train resumed its journey. This incident made him extra cautious and he decided to always book the entire compartment.

A man labelled ‘cold’, ‘stubborn’, ‘arrogant ‘or even an ‘average lawyer who was a late achiever in life.’(Nehru). I find him brutally honest, witty and hard to pin down. How else could you describe a man who could snap at a Governor’s wife (Lady Willingdon as recorded by Hector Bolitho) when she suggested his pretty wife cover her bare shoulders with a wrap to prevent herself from getting a cold?

My favourite passages of Saleem’s book are ones that take the reader into the courtroom where Jinnah played the main lead. The man who had once dreamt of playing Romeo at the Theatre commanded rapt audience in real life courtrooms.

Jinnah had stopped practicing law by 1944 but a request by a Muslim inspector forced him to take his case. The case dealt with the issues of divorce and iddat and required Jinnah to explain about the Muslim Lunar Calendar to the judge. The Judge asked Jinnah about the moon, ‘if it does not rise?’ Jinnah replied, ‘then I cannot make it rise, my Lord.’

In another case when a Judge inquired about a ruling Jinnah was referring to during the proceedings, saying he had not seen such a ruling. Jinnah was quick to answer, ‘Mr. Jinnah says so.’

What baffled me while reading these incidents was if it was audacity to the point of recklessness? For example during the proceedings of a case, an English magistrate, bored and tired of the long discourse interrupted Jinnah in a sarcastic tone, ‘Mr. Jinnah I just listen to what you say from one ear and let it fly out the other’. Jinnah’s retort, the place between the magistrates’ ears must be empty if whatever he says goes in one end and flies out the other, makes me laugh in awe.

I think I am charmed by Jinnah like Sarojini Naidu, a prominent Indian Leader also known as the Nightingale of the East. Some sources claim her to have been besotted by Jinnah, with her writing love poems for him. A profile picture of her sitting in the National archives sent to Jinnah is signed ‘from your friend’ and there are many who deny the infatuation. Jinnah has that power. There is nothing average about him and nothing one dimensional about him.

مزارِ قائد، بانیِ پاکستان قائدِ اعظم محمد علی جناح کی آخری آرام گاہ ہے۔ سفید ماربل سے بنے ہوئے اس مقبرے کو کراچی کی پہچان اور علامت کی حیثیت کے ساتھ پاکستان کا قومی مقبرہ ہونے کا اعزاز بھی حاصل ہے۔ مزارِ قائد کے گرد تقریباً 60 ایکڑ پر پھیلا ہوا خوب صورت اور سرسبز باغ ہے جہاں فوارے اُس کی خوب صورتی کو چار چاند لگاتے ہیں۔ مقبرے میں ایک شان دار فانوس نصب ہے جسے پاکستان کے دوست پڑوسی ملک چین کے عوام کی طرف سے تحفے کے طور پر پیش کیا گیا تھا۔

قائدِ اعظم محمد علی جناح کی 11 ستمبر 1948ء میں رحلت کے چند سال بعد اُن کا مقبرہ بنانے کے منصوبے پر کام شروع ہوا۔ ممبئی سے تعلق رکھنے والے ماہرِ تعمیرات یحییٰ مرچنٹ کا نمونہ منتخب ہوا جس کی تعمیر جون 1970ء کے قریب موجودہ شکل میں مکمل ہوئی۔ درختوں کے جھرمٹ میں 43 میٹر بلند مقبرے کی عمارت دور ہی سے نظر آجاتی ہے۔ رات کے وقت مقبرے پر پڑتی روشنی قابلِ دید نظارہ پیش کرتی ہے۔

مزارِ قائد کے احاطے میں تحریکِ پاکستان کے چند دیگر اہم راہ نما بھی مدفون ہیں جن کے نام درج ذیل ہیں:
لیاقت علی خان (پاکستان کے پہلے وزیرِ اعظم)
نور الامین (پاکستان کے آٹھویں وزیرِ اعظم)
سردار عبد الرب نشتر (قیامِ پاکستان کے بعد پنجاب کے دوسرے گورنر)
فاطمہ جناح (قائدِ اعظم کی ہمشیرہ)

کراچی کے دورے پر آنے والی ہر سیاسی و عسکری شخصیت کی مزار پر حاضری اہم تصور کی جاتی ہے۔ مزارِ قائد پر خصوصی مہمانوں کے تاثرات درج کرنے کے لیے ایک رجسٹر بھی موجود ہے۔ پاکستان کے قومی دنوں خاص کر یومِ پاکستان 23 مارچ، یومِ آزادی 14 اگست، اور قائدِ اعظم کی رحلت 11 ستمبر کے دن مزار پر خصوصی تقریبات ہوتی ہیں۔ اُن دنوں مزار کی حاضری کا الگ ہی لطف ہوتا ہے۔

On Eve of 25th December, I just want to say to the soul of Quaid e Azam Muhammed Ali Jinnah that Baba, we are ashamed that after 11th September, 1948, we lost our unity, we lost our dignity, people around the world recognized us as terrorists, culprits and incompetent. Baba, you freed this homeland for [...]

A snooty arts academy professor failing an applicant created Adolf Hitler. A minor design oversight sunk the Titanic. A wrong turn by a driver led to an assassination of a crown prince, which in turn ushered in World War I. Small tremors have set off many an avalanche. Slight cracks in foundations have brought down proud skyscrapers. Seemingly immaterial actions or events have proven to have far bigger consequences over time than could ever have been originally envisaged.

In the same manner, human attributes which are towering strengths in a given set of circumstances can be fatal weaknesses in others.

Jinnah in 1948 was a physically exhausted and emotionally drained titan. The heady early days of independence had given way to the daily grind of trying to forge out a viable state where none had existed before. The lonely existence was taking its toll and melancholy seemed to be a constant companion. He missed Dina terribly; and his sister’s overbearing manner was becoming almost intolerable.

And then there was the thought of his impending demise. Death, no respecter of status, had served a clear notice some years before. Having driven for years his frail body to its extreme limits on the basis of iron will power he now knew that the end was near. A man of great personal courage he felt no particular fear about facing the ultimate truth.

However it was the increasingly nagging doubts about his legacy which occupied his thoughts the most. Had he managed to create the largest Islamic state or would this turn out to be a bizarre failed experiment? Had he been guilty of opening a Pandora’s box? The months since that fateful day in August seemed to have ushered in a seemingly endless series of crises. The heart wrenching plight of the refugees, war with India over Kashmir, almost non-existent administrative structure, the precarious economic condition being some of the almost insurmountable obstacles facing the new born state…

He was further depressed witnessing the seemingly endless political infighting in the Muslim League, as various leaders jockeyed for positions of influence. Then there was the mutual animosity with the Prime Minister, Liaqat Ali Khan. Jinnah had wanted to nominate Sardar Abdul Rab Nishtar for the post, but was forced to accede to the clout of the Urdu speaking members of the Muslim League higher echelons.

His own personality was not really suited to being a politician in the traditional sense of the word. An intellectual giant, he could come across as haughty, cold and aloof. Compromise on principles was a concept alien to him. He was not comfortable interacting with the ordinary crowd. A grand orator, he had never mastered the art of constant glib dialogue so necessary for keeping constituents engaged. His speeches therefore, while being brilliantly incisive, were more of logical dissertations rather than being appealing in nature.

Then there was his style of leadership. Bordering on the dictatorial he would only listen to the advice of those whose intellect he respected. This was an absolutely essential attribute during the freedom movement but ill suited to the affairs of running of a state. This resulted in a lack of delegation in critical areas and consolidated too much power with himself. He was simultaneously the Governor General, head of the Muslim League and president of the constituent assembly.

And he had very little time for the emotional side of any issue. His legal training had attuned his whole being to the logical and left precious little for the appreciation of the poignant.

The sum result of all of the above was his neglect of three fundamental issues which ultimately led to the creation of Bangladesh. First being the building up of Muslim League into a proper political party from a sort of mass movement, the second being the need to set up a constitutional committee with clear direction and mandate. But the fatal challenge was in understanding and addressing the hugely emotive issue of the national language…

The ineffectiveness of Muslim League and the lack of a constitution in the formative year led later on to misbalance of power between the two wings which in turn fuelled the sense of injustice in the Eastern wing. The issue of national language further exacerbated the cultural divide and provided a powerful cause for Bengali nationalism.

Predictably it was Jinnah’s two speeches which really inflamed the Bengali sentiments around the language issue. Look at these two speeches on a stand-alone basis and these are essentially brilliant expounding of facts. However, keep the political circumstances of those times in mind and some lines therein were really inflammatory for Bengalis.

Both speeches were delivered in Dhaka; one at a huge civic reception and the second at the Dhaka University. There had been wide spread agitation in the then East Pakistan in support of making Bengali one of the national languages. Had Jinnah adopted a conciliatory tone in the speeches the simmering feeling would most probably have been adequately assuaged. Instead, true to form, he adopted a very direct posture towards the agitators. He only conceded Bengali’s status as a provincial language. And to further add fuel to the passions launched into a paean about Urdu.

A pity. Had this language issue been tackled in the earlier days it would have prevented the bitterness and mistrust which ultimately destroyed relations between the two wings. Jinnah created a country single-handedly but could not provide the foundation for keeping it united.

This is not to detract from what he managed to achieve during the short time granted to him post-independence. His overall leadership was inspiring and he was a symbol of unity and hope. He bestowed us with something for which we Pakistanis should be eternally grateful: a leader whose integrity we can truly believe in.

Quaid-e-Azam was, afterall, only human…