Karachi Fun

In the endless corridors of history, a new name was added in August 1947. It was that of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Founder of Pakistan. Born into a Karachi mercantile family on December 25, 1876, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had his early schooling at Karachi. Later, he joined the Lincoln’s Inn, to become the youngest Indian barrister to be called to the bar. By sheer native ability and determination, young Jinnah rose quickly to prominence, and soon became a successful lawyer. In 1910 he was elected by Bombay Muslims to the newly constituted Imperial Legislative Council. All through his parliamentary career, which spanned some four decades, he supported or opposed measures solely on their merits. His was also among the most powerful voices in the cause of India’s freedom, Indian’s rights and freedom. He broght the Congress and League together, and was chiefly responsible for the Congress-League Pact (1916) a joint scheme for postwar reforms. For his untiring efforts to effect a communal settlement, he was hailed as “the ambassador of Hindu Muslim Unity”. Since he stood for civic freedoms he resigned from the Imperial Council in 1919, when the Rowlatt Bill was passed into law, and since he stood for “ordered progress”, moderation, gradualism, and constitutionalism, he left the Congress in 1920. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah re-organized the League of which he was President since 1916, and devoted the next seven years to bringing about unity among Muslim ranks. Despaired alike of the “negative” Congress attitude and of chronic disunity in Muslim ranks, he went into self-exile in London (1931), but returned to India in 1934 at the fervent appeal of the Muslims, became the President of the reunited Muslim League, and assumed its leadership. In 1940, he spelled out the concept of Muslim nationhood, asserting that “We are a nation, with our own distinctive culture and civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of value and proportion, legal laws and moral code, customs and calendar, history and traditions, aptitudes and ambitions. Despite the vehement opposition of the Congress and the antipathy of the British to his demand Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah organized his movement so adroitly that the Pakistan Movement gathered momentum within a few years, became the central issue in all subsequent constitutional proposals, and was overwhelmingly voted for by Muslims in the 1945-46 general elections. Pakistan was finally established on 14 August, 1947, he became first Governor-General of Pakistan.