Adil Najam
Today is 9/11. Much will be written and much discussed on the 5th anniversary of the cruel attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, on what has happened since, on all the ways in which the world changed, and on all the other ways in which it did not. Today is a sad day, and at ATP our hearts and prayers go out to the dear ones of the victims of this tragedy, and to the loved ones of all who have lost their lives in the events that were unleashed by it.
While 9.11.2001 will be much debated elsewhere, we here at ATP want to recall the events of 9.11.1948.
For Pakistanis, 9/11 has always been a sad date. A date on which – barely a year after the nation’s birth – its founding leader, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, died. Here is a short (50 sec) newsreel video clip on Mr. Jinnah’s death :
Like every year, APP has announced in advance how the “nation” will mark this occasion, and every newspaper (e.g., Dawn) has printed this “news” on its front page:
ISLAMABAD, Sept 10: The nation will observe Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s 58th death anniversary on Monday with a pledge to transform Pakistan into a vibrant, progressive and enlightened country as envisioned by the great leader.
I am glad that the APP has he psychic power to know exactly how this “nation” will observe the anniversary, even before the occasion. They have been making the same stale prediction every year for as long as I can remember. Maybe, we as a “nation” do actually make that “pledge” every year. Its just that we have not been very good at keeping the pledge.
Some might argue that the “nation” had already begun to let Mr. Jinnah down even in those brief 13 months that he lived in the country he had founded. Others like to believe that Pakistan’s history might have taken a very different path had he lived longer. It may well have. I am just not sure what that path might have been given that tensions between him and those who were running day-to-day Pakistan had begun to appear even while he was alive.
His death, and the circumstances of his death, was itself not without controversy (see, for dramatic effect, the opening scenes of the movie, Jinnah, here). But today, September 11, should not only be a sad reminder of his untimely death. It should also be a moment to reflect on his life. And, maybe, it should be a moment to reflect on what lessons that life might have to offer for the future.
From its very inception, ATP has had an ongoing discussion on the legacy of Mr. Jinnah and the various meanings it has for different people. Today seems to be an appropriate day to continue that discussion; to think, yet again, about the meaning of the life and death of Mr. Jinnah.
Related ATP Posts:
– Read about the Other Side of Mr. Jinnah
– Watch Jinnah: The Movie
– Read about Jinnah’s first message to the nation
– Watch historic footage from August 1947
– Read about the Jinnah-Gandhi relationship
– Listen to and watch Mehdi Hassan’s classic, “yeh watan tumhara hai”, which is in many ways Jinnah speaking to the rest of us.
dear MLQ I already answered here .Christianity and Islam are not same religion and those who think are same and hence required sepration are actually betraying themselves.
[quote post=”301″]so by the same token… how could he have participated in the “freedom movementâ€
Brother Adnan,
Re your point number 4.
Being a liberal and a good Muslim are not mutually exclusive. One can be both. Similarly, in my view, one can be secular and Muslim at the same time.
Regarding Mr. Jinnah, the subject of this post,I suggest you read, if you find time, Ardeshir Cowasjee’s column in Dawn (Sunday, Sep. 17). It removes a lot of cobwebs from one’s mind about Jinnah’s vision of Pakistan.
dear bro MQ,walikum salam!
1-I know this thing ,I am always sorry for that.
2-I know you are not wrong about spelling mistakes but they are not intentional.Also I don’t feel shame that my written english is not as good as others herere or around the world so one would have to bear that or if proper english is a core requirment then I happily surrender to comment here.
3-No you took me wrong here.I just despise that if some x person is potrayed in form other than its orignal to justify statements.This is what I always disagree and I am not ashamed of it.
4-The definition you provided is not what Islam never touched.I’m sure you didn’t mean that Islam don’t comply all attributes you mentioned above.Usually I met people who calls themselves liberals are far away from basics of Islam[e.g; Namaz] so I use my experience to give any such statment.
Brother Adnan Siddiqui, A.O.A.(W.R.W.B.H)
Much as I would like to read your comments at lenght I cannot because they tend to be too lengthy and not easy to read. May I suggest a few tips that might help:
1. Keep your comments to within 300 words or 30 lines in the space provided for typing your comment.
2. Before hitting the Submit button go over what you have typed and edit the spelling and other obvious mistakes. Such mistakes negatively affect the credibility of your message. Also, edit out the anger from your message. It doesn’t help the reader.
3. Don’t make every discussion a battle between “good” and “evil” or “kufr” and “Islam”.
4. You often use the terms “liberal” and “secular”. Liberal does not mean ‘drinking and dancing’ as most Pakistanis tend to interpret it. Liberlism relates to basic freedoms: economic, political, religious and of speech. Similarly, secualrism does not mean absence of religion or “la-deeniyat”. It means non-interefence of state in religious matters.
Now to the topic under discussion, all credible accounts of Jinnah’s life indicate that he was a liberal and a secular person. And that, were he alive today, the article 62 (?) of the constitution would not allow him to be a candidate for the National Assembly or the senate.
P.S: This comment of mine is a longish comment but I have only used about 260 words.
Dear Adnan,
Here are some points.
1. I have read Shahab Nama and I have the book. I stand by my views on the book and the man who wrote it. Yes he was an ICS officer… so by the same token… how could he have participated in the “freedom movement” and/or “Pakistan movement”? Was he ever a member of the Muslim League or the Congress or any other party? He was a loyal ICS officer.
2. If Saima Nasir thinks Jinnah is secular, to her (and to me) that is a positive thing. So you may argue on the merits of such a claim but this is not the basis for claiming what you are claiming.
3. Jinnah was born into an Ismaili household and was later an ithna ashari shiite in his personal life. You may consult any book and you’ll find the same answer… Jinnah’s shia credentials are beyond question.
4. That Jinnah ate pork and drank whisky is claimed by many sources. Amongst the most reliable sources is “Roses in December” by M C Chagla and “Jinnah of Pakistan” by Stanley Wolpert. In any event this was his personal business and hence outside the purview of this discussion.
5. Your question about Dina Wadia is also misplaced. Dr. Akbar S Ahmad has conclusively proved that Jinnah did not cut off ties with Dina Wadia… that infact Dina Wadia remained in touch with her father… the fact Dina (married in 1939) was there with her father in the aftermath of an assassination attempt on Jinnah’s life… shows that this is propaganda later invented. Also look at the link “A personal side of Mr Jinnah”… the picture where he is leaning on Dina is most probably from after Dina’s wedding. It is well known that Jinnah used to carry his grandchildren’s photographs in his wallet… this is recounted in Begum Jahanara Shahnawaz’s autobiography. While Jinnah was upset about his daughter’s decision initially (primarily because he suspected that his mother in law Lady Petit was getting back at him for marrying her daughter) and this was the time the mullahs had already taken to calling Jinnah “kafir-e-Azam”… but the way the matter was hushed up shows that things were quite different from what is presented to us naively.