In the words of John Biggs-Davison, " Although without Ghandi, Hindustan would still have gained independence and without Lenin and Mao, Russia and China would still have endured Communist revolution, without Jinnah there would have been no Pakistan in 1947."
Mohammed Ali Jinnah ........leader was intelligent and determined , many articles and many books have been written about this great leader . I would like to discuss the role of few women in his life who did somewhat define this extraordinary man.
His parents Jinnah Bhai Ponja and Mithibai were of Kutchi Gujrati origin who moved to Karachi in 1875 , he was born a year later in 1876. They belong to a family of weavers , at that time Karachi was enjoying an economic boom which helped Jinnah" s family establish their business. His mom encouraged him to read books . He was one of the brightest student at Karachi" s Sindh Madrasa tul Islam. Jinnah was sent to England at a young age of 16 for higher studies .He married a lady named Emirbai who was two years younger than him before he left for London. Jinnah's mother and young bride died of Cholera while he was studying law at Lincoln's Inn , London.
Rattanbai Petit or "Ruttie" as she was affectionately called was a bright and very talented young girl.She was 16 when she met Jinnah who was her father Sir Dinshaw Petit's friend.She was a lady with diverse interests . Ruttie was interested in poetry and fiction on one hand ,while on the other hand she was very much interested in politics. It is believed that the first meeting between the two took place in Darjeeling. Jinnah asked her father for her hand in marriage when she was 16 years old .Sir Dinshaw Petit was extremly angry at this proposal and forbade Ruttie to meet Jinnah, as she was a minor at that time. She converted to Islam shortly after her eighteenth birthday and married Jinnah. The wedding ceremony was attended by very few friends ,the couple went to Nainital for their honeymoon. The early years of their marraige could not have been happier.The two made a "head turning couple".........Ruttie was like a beautiful flower. Jinnah was tall and dashing who was always dressed in fine tailored suits. They both enjoyed the theatre in Bombay. She was a revolutionary like her husband , she was with him when he led a demonstration against Lord Willingdon , the Governor of Bombay. In 1919 their daughter Dina was born. By the mid 1922 Jinnah was facing political problems he spent long hours at his office and also campaigning for various issues. Ruttie packed her bags and left for London with her daughter. She did deeply cared for her husband but could not tolerate the late hours.
Jinnah was appointed to a subcommittee to establish a military academy like Sandhurst in India for which he had to travel to Europe and North America, he took Ruttie with her. Even the trip overseas could help the couple to resolve their differences. Ruttie separated from him in 1927. She withdrew into a world of mysticism. She kept in touch with only few close friends and few pets . She got sick and stayed in the Taj Hotel in Bombay . She wrote many letters to Jinnah in which she expressed her love for him. She finally died in 1929 on the day of her 29th birthday , she was buried according to Muslim traditions. Jinnah sat quietly during her funeral , he was an extremly private man who never showed his emotions in public but that day he cried openly. Letters written by Ruttie to Jinnah have been made public but the letters written by Jinnah were never made public. It is believed that he tried his best to care of her but she wanted to live alone in the last few years of her life. Jinnah went to Ruttie's grave before leaving for Pakistan in 1947 , he cried openly there. Jinnah's assistant said he cried only on two occasion in his life and both times for Ruttie :once at her funeral and other at her grave.
Dina Jinnah was his only child , Jinnah and his sister took care of her after her mother's death . She was a pampered daughter who was raised as a Muslim by Jinnah. She was away at school came home during vacations .
Dina Jinnah wanted to marry a Parsi named Neville Wadia who succeeded his father as the chairman of Bombay Dyeing one of India's largest textile companies. According to Jinnah's assistant Mr Chagla; Jinnah in his usual imperious manner , told her that there were millions of Muslim boys in India and she could have anyone she chose."Father there were millions of Muslim girls in India .Why did you not marry one of them?"..........he replaid "she became a Muslim".
Ironically Jinnah and Dina Jinnah's father-daughter relationship became extremely formal after her marriage to Mr Wadia , somewhat like that of her mother Ruttie and her grandfather . He started addressing her as Mrs Wadia. She lived in Bombay had two children,it is believed that Jinnah visited his grandson and granddaughter once in Bombay. Dina Jinnah did not move to Pakistan the country created by her father .She came to Karachi in 1948 to attend his funeral. Her son Ness Wadia became the the chairman of Bombay Dyeing after her husband's death . It is also ironic that all families ; Jinnah's , Dinshaw Pettit's and Neville Wadia 's are associated with textile business. Mrs Wadia visited Pakistan in 2004 with her son and grandsons to watch a cricket match between India and Pakistan in the spirit of "Cricket Diplomacy" to improve relations between the two countries . She was given an official protocol by the government of Pakistan when she visited Jinnah's tomb in Karachi. ''"It is a very sad and wonderful for me. May his dream of Pakistan come true", she wrote in the visitors book.Fatima Jinnah was Jinnah's youngest sister , she studied dentistry in Calcutta. Fatima Jinnah closed her clinic after Ruttie's death and moved in with Mr Jinnah to help him take care of the house and his daughter. She was one of the founding and most influential members of the Pakistan Movement . She along with Mrs Rana Liaquat Ali Khan formed APWA in 1947 . She took care of her brother till the day he died. Ms Jinnah lost the 1965 elections to Ayub Khan and died in 1967 but the nation never forgot her undying support to their "Quaid" she was given the title of "Madre e Millat"(mother of the nation). Fatima Jinnah Medical College for women was established in Lahore and later on Fatima Jinnah Dental College was established in Karachi to honor Ms Jinnah.
Mohammed Ali Jinnah was a non-interfering and and an unimposing man who never confided his sister to stay home or never forced his wife and daughter to stay with him to gain political benefits. He respected and loved all four women in his life . People say he loved "Pakistan" more than anything or anyone..............may his dream for Pakistan come true !
