Jinnah -The Game Changer .Part 1.

You cant understand the politics of the subcontinent  without knowing about Mohd Ali Jinnah .I am quite surprised as to how little one knows about the people who shaped the history of India in the 20^th Century .Of course I don’t expect people to understand the complexities of the events ,but one should know the facts .Facts are sacred .One cant  and should not ignore them to get a larger picture.

Thank God ,a fair amount of youngsters know a bit about Gandhiji .I wonder however whether they knew he was born in Porbander and for what reasons he led the Dandi March .Or why the Sabarmati Ashmram is such a important place to visit for anyone who goes to Ahmedabad .It is sad that when I asked a class whether they had heard about Maddame Tassuad –quite a few hands went up .And when I asked about whether they had heard of Sabarmati –fewer went up .And when I asked about Naukhalli –none went up .Not only was it sad –it was quite frightening that we are producing children who are apparently brilliant ,but lack the basic knowledge of people and places that shaped our present .How can one understand the mess of Kashmir by not knowing much about Hari Singh ,or Sheikh Abdullah ?Or why Article 370 was introduced ?And we will continue to  indulge in passionate discussions on Facebook  about why it should be abolished or why not .!!

The main point about writing this blog is to familiarize the reader  about Jinnah .Here  are some  facts .Jinnahs grandfather was Hindu .His name was  Poonja Gokuldas Meghji, He was a Hindu from Paneli village in Gondal state in Kathiawar who embraced Islam.Hence , Jinnah had a Hindu ancestary .His father was Jinnahbhai  Poonja   who was a prosperous Gujarati merchant. He moved to Karachi from Kathiawar, because of his business  .He and his wife had 7 children.One of them was Mohd Ali Jinnah .

Jinnah was to become  a top class lawyer .One of his colleagues wrote “He was what God made him, a great pleader. He had a sixth sense: he could see around corners. That is where his talents lay ... he was a very clear thinker ...He drove his points home—points chosen with exquisite selection—slow delivery, word by word” . 

He was married off in 1892 when he was 16 while  still in school in Karachi. He travelled to Kutch to marry a bride called Emibai. Emibai fell victim to an outbreak of cholera and died in 1893.He refused to remarry even though his father insisted .As On so many  other occasions he displayed that one trait –stubborness .

However all that seemed to melt when he came into contact with Ruth . One of his numerous  clients  was Sir  Dinshaw  Petit  a millionaire  mill owner .Jinnah fell in love with Dinshaws daughter Ruth Petit or Ruttie as she was called .The love affair started when Dinshaw invited Jinnah to his summer home in Darjeeling to get away from the oppressive heat of Bombay ..Ruttie was amongst  the prettist women in Bombay  .She was reffered to as “Flower of Bombay”. When Jinnah asked Dinshaw for Ruths hand in marriage ,he refused  since she was a Parsi .Ruttie braved isolation for the sake of the man she loved and left her family to marry Jinnah in Bombay ...Only a handful of people were present .Ruth converted to Islam and  was named Maryam .They celebrated their honeymoon at Maidens Hotel in Delhi .It is a hotel  near the Delhi University -a hotel  I have frequently   more than any other hotel  in Delhi  .Everytime I went to the Hotel ,I was reminded of Jinnah  and Ruttie .

They were a head spinning couple .Jinnah was always impeccably dressed . He came to own over 200 suits, which he wore with heavily starched shirts with detachable collars, and as a barrister took pride in never wearing the same silk tie twice. Even when he was dying, he insisted on being formally dressed, "I will not travel in my pyjamas"  ,he had protested .He had one addiction –smoking .He worked with a tin of Craven "A" cigarettes at his desk, of which he  smoked 50 or more a day for the nearly  35 years, of his life .He also smoked a  box of Cuban cigars.But he had style . Ruttie matched him   with  long hair  decked in fresh flowers.She apparently had a flawless complexion and  wore vibrant silk and headbands lavish with diamonds, rubies and emeralds.They were the richest in the Bombay circuit .She called him “J” .They were madly in love !!

To be Continued