By: Munaza Kazmi
Islam gave the Muslims of India a sense of identity, Mughals gave them territory, Iqbal gave them a sense of destiny. However, Jinnah by leading the Pakistan movement and creating the state of Pakistan gave them all three. To say, for a Pakistani he is simply the Quaid-i-Azam or the Great Leader. Whatever their political affiliation, they believe there is no one quite like him.
Jinnah requires no introduction, this name itself is a legend, an identity, an ideology, in fact history orbits Jinnah. He was the greatest of leaders, indeed a chosen one. The guardian of Muslims of India. Today’s Colleges and Universities parade him as a role model, and we can see numerous records of papers describing Jinnah.
Jinnah was a man of concrete character and limitless qualities, the attributes like honesty, determination, integrity, and concreate resolution are some of the parts of his characteristics that portray Mr. Jinnah as extraordinary, however were recognized by all his contemporaries as well. Let’s say, British diplomat Lord Listowel rated Mr. Jinnah as, A bigger political giant of the twentieth century than even General de Gaulle. American President Harry S. Truman considered him as, The recipient of the devotion of loyalty seldom accorded to any man. However, Sir Agha Khan III said: “Of all the statesmen that I have known in my life – Clemenceau, Lloyd George, Churchill, Curzon, Mussolini, Mahatma Gandhi – Jinnah is the most remarkable. None of these men in my view outshone him in the strength of character, and in that almost uncanny combination of prescience and resolution which is statecraft.”
Moreover, Jinnah’s hostile critics The Big Three—Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee, and U.S. President Harry Truman considered him as, A Political Saint, since Jinnah was an exemplary figure, he set a high standard of ethics in politics and an air of not compromising on the principles. His statesmanship was recognized by his political adversaries like Nehro and Gandhi. Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, has expressed him as, “One of the most extraordinary men in history”. Gandhi was also sure about the honesty of Jinnah when he said: “I believe no power can buy Mr. Jinnah”. Nehru’s sister and a prominent figure, Mrs Vijay Lakshmi Pundit, stated: “If the Muslim League had 100 Gandhis and 200 Azads and Congress had only ONE Jinnah, then India would not have been divided!”
The remarkable pillar of his character was working with diligence, which resulted in him in winning an independent state. The historian, Hector Bolitho in his Book “Jinnah Creator of Pakistan,” Jinnah-one of the few men in India who knew that to die for a cause was easy, but that to live for it called for massive and constant courage.
Indeed, Jinnah was a man of iron discipline, who had denied himself the luxury of any qualities which might loosen his concentration upon his purpose. He was dogmatic and sure of himself, Jinnah’s ability and personality are such that it is not much of an exaggeration to say that he was the Muslim League. He was a man whose judgment and authority were never questioned lightly by his colleagues since he was capable of winning trust and confidence of his people. Also, he was credited with ruling the working committee of the Muslim League with an iron hand.
In fact Jinnah was a Miracles in himself, of which history speaks the louder. For the entire community of Muslim India, he is a Political Saint, A Messiah; by turning the Muslim minority of the Indian subcontinent into a nation, by giving them identity, a safe haven in the form of establishing the largest Muslim state, of which the entire nation is obliged.
Although, Jinnah was not only a sympathizer of Muslims but to humanity, as he strongly projected unity, justice, and equality for all communities in Pakistan. In support of minorities, he, during his address to the first Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947, stated, You are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed, that has nothing to do with the business of State.