''Pakistan National Hero Biography''
Birth And Schooling
In 1887, Jinnahbhai’s only sister came to visit from Bombay. Jinnah was very fond of his Aunt and vice versa. She offered to take her nephew back with her in order to give him a chance of better education at the metropolitan city Bombay, that was much to his mother’s dismay who could not bear the thought of being separated from her undisputedly favorite child. Jinnah joined Gokal Das Tej Primary School in Bombay. His spirited brain rebelled inside the typical Indian primary school which relied mostly on the method of learning by rote. He remained in Bombay for only six months, returned to Karachi upon his mother’s insistence and joined the Sind Madrassa. But his name was struck off as he frequently cut classes in order to ride his father’s horses. He was fascinated by the horses and lured towards them. He also enjoyed reading poetry at his own leisure. As a child Jinnah was never intimidated by the authority and was not easy to control.
Karachi proved more prosperous for young Jinnah than Bombay had been. His father’s business had prospered so much by this time that he had his own stables and carriages. Jinnahbhai Poonja’s firm was closely associated with the leading British managing agency in Karachi, Douglas Graham and Company. Sir Frederick Leigh Croft, the general manager of the company, had a great influence over young Jinnah, which possibly lasted his entire life.
Jinnah looked up to the handsome, well dressed and a successful man. Sir Frederick liked Mamad, recognizing his extreme potential, he offered him an apprenticeship at his office in London. That kind of opportunity was the dream of all young boys of India, but the privilege went to only one in a million. Sir Frederick had truly picked one in a million when he chose Jinnah.
The Wedding !
mother heard of his plans of going to London for at least two years, she objected strongly to such a move. For her, the separation for six months while her dear son had been in Bombay was testing, she said that she could not bear this long never ending stretch of two to three years. Maybe the intuition told her that separation would be permanent for her and that she would never see her son again.
After much persuasion by adamant Jinnah, she consented, but with the condition that Jinnah would marry before he went to England. ‘England’, she said ‘was a dangerous country to send an unmarried and handsome young man like her son. Some English girl might lure him into marriage and that would be a tragedy for the Jinnah Poonja family.’ Realizing the importance of his mother’s demand, Jinnah conceded to it.
‘Mohammad was hardly sixteen and had never seen the girl he was to marry.’ Jinnah’s sister Fatima reports. ‘Decked from head to foot in long flowing garlands of flowers, he walked in a procession from his grand-father’s house to that of his father-in-law, where his fourteen year old bride, Emi Bai, sat in an expensive bridal dress, wearing glittering ornaments, her hands spotted with henna, her face spotted with gold dust and redolent with the fragrance of attar.’
The ceremony took place in February 1892; it was a grand affair celebrated by the whole village. Huge lunch and dinner parties were arranged and all were invited. It was the wedding of Jinnahbhai Poonja and Mithibai’s first son and the entire village was lured into the festivity.
During their prolonged stay in Paneli, Jinnahbhai’s business began to suffer. It was needed for him to return but he wished to take his family and his son’s new bride along with him. The bride’s father however, was adamant that Jinnah should stay for the customary period of one and a half month after marriage. The two families, newly bonded in marriage, were about to break into a quarrel until the intervention of young Jinnah. He spoke to his father-in-law in privacy and informed him that it was necessary for his father to return immediately along with his family. He gave the option of either sending the young bride back with him or sending her later when he would go to England for two or three years. Jinnah’s persuasive power, coupled with extreme politeness was evident even at that age. Emi Bai’s father consented to send his daughter, and the wedding party returned to Karachi.
How Jinnah felt about that marriage and his new bride was uncertain, he had little time to adjust since he sailed off to England soon after his return. Upon their return to Karachi, his young bride observed the custom of covering her face with her headscarf in front of her father-in-law. But the progressive Jinnah soon encouraged her to discard this practice.
He studied in the Christian Mission School until the end of October in order to improve his English before his voyage that was planned by November 1892, though some argue that he sailed in January 1893. He was not to see his young bride ever again as she died soon after he sailed from India.
A Journey To London!
sailed for London in the midst of winter. When he was saying goodbye to his mother her eyes were heavy with tears. He told her not to cry and said: ‘I will return a great man from England and not only you and the family but the whole country will be proud of me. Would you not be happy then?’ This was the last time he saw his mother, for she, like his wife, died during his three and a half year stay in England.
The youngest passenger on his own, was befriended by a kind Englishman who engaged in conversations with him and gave tips about life in England. He also gave Jinnah his address in London and later invited to dine with his family as often as he could.
His father had deposited enough money in his son’s account to last him the three years of the intended stay. Jinnah used that money wisely and was able to have a small amount left over at the end of his three and a half year tenure.
Mrs. Page- Drake, a widow, took an instant liking to the impeccably dressed well-mannered young man. Her daughter however, had a more keen interest in the handsome Jinnah, who was of the same age of Jinnah. She hinted her intentions but did not get a favorable response. As Fatima reflects, “…he was not the flirtatious type and she could not break through his reserve.”
On March 30, 1895 Jinnah applied to Lincoln’s Inn Council for the alteration of his name the Books of Society from Mahomedalli Jinnahbhai to Mahomed Alli Jinnah, which he anglicized to M.A. Jinnah. This was granted to him in April 1895.
Though he found life in London dreary at first and was unable to accept the cold winters and gray skies, he soon adjusted to those surroundings, quite the opposite of what he was accustomed to in India.
The Theater And The Shakespears Actor!
With a theatrical prop, his monocle, always in place in court, he performed like an actor on stage in front of the judge and jury. With dramatic interrogations and imperious asides, he was regarded as a born actor.
After being enrolled to the Bar he went with his friends to the Manager of a theatrical company who asked him to read out pieces of Shakespeare. On doing so, he was immediately offered a job. He was exultant and wrote to his parents about his newfound passion.
He said, ‘I wrote to them that law was a lingering profession where success was uncertain; a stage career was much better, and it gave me a good start, and that I would now be independent and not bother them with grants of money at all. My father wrote a long letter to me strongly disapproving of my project; but there was one sentence in his letter that touched me most and which influenced a change in my decision: “Do not be a traitor to the family.” I went to my employers and conveyed to them that I no longer looked forward to a stage career. They were surprised, and they tried to persuade me, but my mind was made up. According to the terms of the contract I had signed with them, I was to have given them three months notice before I quitting. But you know, they were Englishmen, and so they said: “Well when you have no interest in the stage, why should we keep you, against your wishes?”‘
The signed contract is proof that how important the stage career was for Jinnah at that time, it was possibly his first love. His father’s letter had dissuaded him for the time being, disheartened and dejected, he had consented to his wish. But it was probably the last time he changed his mind after seriously devoting it to something.
Ruttie Jinnah !
After his return to India Jinnah chose Bombay for his residence since he no longer had any interest in Karachi after the demise of his mother and his wife. His father joined him there and died in Bombay on the 17th of April 1902, soon after Jinnah had started his political career.
In the next two decades after his return from London, Jinnah established himself first as a lawyer and then as a politician. Devoted completely to his work he sailed between England and India and from one stage of his political career to the next.
She was sixteen at that time and Jinnah was about forty. He was enamored by her beauty and charm and she was awe struck by Jay, as she called him. Jinnah spoke to Sir Dinshaw about inter-communal marriages, to which his friend had replied that he was not opposed to them. When Jinnah put forth his offer of a marriage proposal for his daughter Ruttie, Sir Dinshaw was taken aback. He refused bluntly and said there was no chance of his ever agreeing to such a thing. That was the end of their friendship as Sir Dinshaw never gave in. He forbade Ruttie to meet Jinnah while she lived in his house. The couple patiently waited for two years required for Ruttie to come of age. In February 1918 Ruttie turned 18 and was free to marry. On April 18, 1918 Ruttie converted to Islam at Calcutta’s Jamia Mosque. On April 19, 1918 Jinnah and Ruttie married at a quiet ceremony at Jinnah’s house in Bombay. The Raja Sahib of Muhamdabad and a few friends attended the wedding. The wedding ring that Jinnah presented to Ruttie was a gift from the Raja. Nobody from Ruttie’s family attended the wedding.
Jinnah’s political life began to take its toll on his time in 1922. His heavy work schedule did not allow him to spend enough time with his young and vibrant wife. Though she was supportive of his work, the element of his lack of time was taxing for her. She could not lure him away from his work. She was engulfed with feelings of desolation. By September of 1922 she packed her bags and took their only daughter Dina with her to London.
Though her heart was still set on life with Jinnah, she could not accommodate herself to his busy schedule. From London she wrote a letter to her friend Kanji in India in which she said: ‘And just one thing more – go and see Jinnah and tell me how he is – he has a habit of overworking himself and now that I am not there to tease and bother him, he will be worse than ever .’
When she returned from England, the couple tried to give their marriage another chance, but Jinnah was involved in campaigning for elections as an independent Muslim for the general Bombay seat. Jinnah was to undergo a five-month tour to Europe and North America. He decided to take Ruttie along as an attempt to save their failing marriage. But in this trip the rift grew. There was no chance of reconciliation and in January 1928 the couple separated.
Ruttie lived at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay, almost as a recluse, her health failing drastically. On February 20, 1929, Ruttie Jinnah died. It was her 29th birthday.
She was buried two days later in Bombay according to Muslim rites. Jinnah sat like a stone statue throughout the funeral. But when asked to be the first to throw earth on the grave as the closest relative, Jinnah broke down and wept uncontrollably. Later Justice Chagla said, ‘That was the only time when I found Jinnah betraying any shadow of human weakness.’
Jinnah had been good to his wife. He had been a doting husband, fulfilling the demands of his young and enthusiastic wife. She also, had played her part justly, had supported him and encouraged him in his career. But the lack of time fatefully pulled them so far apart that eventually no reconciliation was possible. The time of their separation was a trying one for Jinnah, in the photographs of this period he is never seen smiling.
Dina!
The relationship became formal after she married. They did correspond, he addressed her formally as 'Mrs. Wadia'.
Dina and Neville lived in Bombay and had two children, a boy and a girl. Shortly after that they separated.
Though isolated in many ways, Jinnah was always cared for by his sister Fatima who kept house for him and nursed him till his death. She was his sole companion, never faltering, always present for him in the time of need.
Quaid E Azam As A Lawyer !
"Having qualified as a barrister in England and having made his mark in India, Jinnah's name could be justly added to the 'list of great lawyers' academically linked to Lincoln's Inn. Jinnah practiced both law and politics for half a century; he made a fortune as an advocate and earned glory and gratitude of prosperity as leader of the Indian Muslims. When Jinnah left the shores of free England and voyaged to subject India in 1896, he had perhaps no idea that, one day, he would be obliged by the erstwhile Hindu leaders to make history and his biggest brief would be to win the case of the Indian Muslims for a separate homeland."
Life In London!
He arrived in London in February 1893 and after two months he left Graham’s on April 25 of that year to join Lincoln’s Inn, one of the oldest and well reputed legal societies that prepared students for the Bar. On June 25, 1893, he embarked on his study of the law at Lincoln’s Inn. His quest for general books especially on politics and biographies led him to apply to the British Museum Library and he became a subscriber of the Museum Library. The two years of “reading” apprenticeship that he spent in barrister’s chambers was the most important element in Jinnah’s legal education.
Entrance to Lincoln’s Inn, London
He used to follow his master’s professional footsteps outside the chambers as well.
When Jinnah landed at Southampton, it was the peak of British power and influence in the world. The Victorian era was about to end and a new economic order was struggling to be born. Young Jinnah was greatly affected by the life in what was then called, “the greatest capital of the world”, where people had more freedom to pursue what they believed in. Apart from his upbringing according to the traditions and ethics of a religious family, the Victorian moral code not only colored his social behavior but also greatly affected his professional conduct as a practicing lawyer. Jinnah’s political beliefs and personal demeanor as a public man in India for four decades clearly indicate that his training, education and life in London profoundly influenced his way of life. It was that influence and training that helped him a great deal in presenting the most important case of his life and eventually led him to win that case a free country for the Muslims of the subcontinent.
In London, he received the tragic news of the death of his mother and first wife.
Nevertheless, he completed his formal studies and also made a study of the British political system by frequently visiting the House of Commons. He was the youngest student ever to be called to the Bar.
“It was in London that he acquired love of personal freedom and national independence. Inspired by the British democratic principles and fired by a new faith in supremacy of law, liberalism and constitutionalism became twin tools of Jinnah’s political creed which he daringly but discreetly used during the rest of his life.” Aziz Beg, Jinnah and his Times.
He was greatly influenced by the liberalism of William E. Gladstone, who had become prime minister for the fourth time in 1892.
Jinnah also took keen interest in the political affairs of India. He was extremely conscious of the lack of a strong voice from India in the British Parliament. So, when the Parsi leader Dadabhai Naoroji, a leading Indian nationalist, ran for the British Parliament, it created a wave of enthusiasm among Indian students in London. Naoroji became the first Indian to sit in the House of Commons. Naoroji’s victory acted as a stimulus for Jinnah to lay the foundation of the “political career” that he had in his mind.
Life In Bombay (1896 To 1910).
He was enrolled as a barrister in Bombays’ high court on August 24, 1896. He took up lodgings in Room No.110 of Apollo Hotel. Father’s business had suffered serious losses by then, and he could hardly get any brief for a year or so but he never stopped helping the poor and needy, even in his precarious financial position. In a letter to the Times of India, Bombay, the June 10, 1910 issue, he appealed to the well-off section of the Muslim Community in Bombay to aid a Muslim orphanage in the city. He donated a handsome amount to the orphanage at a time when his practice was not even flourishing. By 1900, he was introduced to Bombay’s acting advocate-general, John Molesworth McPherson, and was invited to work with him in his office. But soon he succeeded in crossing all the hurdles to become a leading lawyer of India. He won many famous cases through powerful advocacy and legal logic.
In politics, he admired Dadabhai Naoroji and another brilliant Parsi leader Sir Pherozeshah Mehta. It was Pherozeshah Mehta, who entrusted him to defend him in the famous Caucus Case. Jinnah hit the headlines in this case; it was remarkable how a 62-year-old statesman of the Congress and an eminent lawyer had entrusted his defence to a young Muslim barrister.
Jinnah’s career as a lawyer is full of marvelous legal victories. Either it was the Sapru-Jinnah encounter in Bhopal high court or the famous Bawla murder trial of 1925; a legal case against the great Hindu leader Bal Ganghadhar Tilak or his last case in 1945 where he defended Bishen Lal at Agra; Jinnah always proved to be the most enviably popular counsel.
Sir Stafford Cripps called Jinnah the most accomplished lawyer — outstanding amongst Indian lawyers and a fine constitutionalist. As a fellow barrister of Bombay High Court put it, “he was what God made him, a great leader. He had sixth sense: he could see around corners. That is where his talents lay…he was a very clear thinker…But he drove his points home — points chosen with exquisite selection –show delivery, word by word.”
Joachim Alva said “he cast a spell on the courtroom…head erect, unruffled by the worst circumstances. He has been our boldest advocate.” Jinnah’s most famous legal apprentice M.C. Chagla, the first Indian Muslim to be appointed chief justice of the Bombay High Court said, “What impressed me the most was the lucidity of his thought and expression. There were no obscure spots or ambiguities about what Jinnah had to tell the court. He was straight and forthright, and always left a strong impression whether his case was intrinsically good or bad. I remember sometimes at a conference he would tell the solicitor that his case was hopeless, but when he went to the court he fought like a tiger, and almost made me believe that he had changed his opinion. Whenever I talked to him afterwards about it, he would say that it was the duty of an advocate, however bad the case might be, to do the best for his client”. He reminisced that Jinnah’s ‘presentation of a case’ was nothing less than a piece of art.”
Jinnah appeared in the annual session of the All India Congress, Calcutta, 1906. Dadabhai Naoroji presided over the session with Jinnah serving as his secretary. In his speech Dadabhai called the partition of Bengal a “bad blunder for England” and addressed the growing distance between the Hindus and the Muslims in the aftermath of partition. He called for a thorough political union among the Indian people of all creeds and classes. “The thorough union, therefore, of all the people for their emancipation is an absolute necessity…They must sink or swim together. Without this union, all efforts will be vain.”
Jinnah reiterated this call for national unity at every political meeting he attended in those years, and he emerged as true Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity. He met India’s poetess Sarojini Naidu at that Calcutta Congress, who was instantly captivated by the stunning appearance and rare temperament of India’s rising lawyer and upcoming politician.
Quaid E Azam The Statesman !
Aziz Beg, Jinnah and his Times.
Jinnah’s fascination with the world of politics started from his early days in London. He was very impressed by Dadabhai, a Parsi from Bombay. Upon returning to India, Jinnah entered the world of politics as a Liberal nationalist and joined the Congress despite his father’s fury at his abandoning the family business. The 20th annual session of the Congress in December 1904, was the first attended by Jinnah in Bombay. It was presided over by Pherozshah Mehta of whom Jinnah was a great admirer. Mehta suggested that two of his chosen disciples be sent to London as Congress deputies to observe the political arena at that time. His choices for the job were M.A Jinnah and Gopal Krishna Gokhale whose wisdom and moderation the former also admired
Quaid E Azam As A Leader!
Quaid E Azam As Governor General!
Quaid-i-Azam and Fatima Jinnah drove on the morning of August 14th, from the government house to the Legislative Assembly hall along a carefully guarded route, lined with soldiers as well as police alerted to watch for possible assassins, since reports of a Sikh plan to assassinate Jinnah, had reached Mountbatten and Jinnah several days earlier. But only shouts of “Pakistan Zindabad” and “Quaid-i-Azam Zindabad” were hurled at his carriage. The Mountbattens followed in the crowded semicircular chamber of Pakistan’s parliament, which had been Sind’s Legislative Assembly.
“Your Excellency, I thank His Majesty on behalf of the Pakistan Constituent Assembly and myself. I once more thank you and Lady Mountbatten for your kindness and good wishes. Yes, we are parting as friends…and I assure you that we shall not be wanting in friendly spirit with our neighbors and with all nations of the world.”
A witness reported:
“If Jinnah’s personality is cold and remote, it also has a magnetic quality -- the sense of leadership is almost overpowering…here indeed is Pakistan’s King Emperor, Archbishop of Canterbury, Speaker and Prime Minister concentrated into one formidable Quaid-i-Azam.”
The Last Years!
constitutionally independent at midnight between the 14th and 15th August 1947. The Quaid assumed charge as the Governor General of Pakistan on August 15, 1947.
Soon after that Jinnah riveted himself to work. The colossal task of building Pakistan from scratch needed his immediate attention. Since the Lahore Resolution of 1940, he never rested even for a moment. But he surpassed himself after becoming the first head of the biggest Muslim State. From the day he arrived in Karachi on August 7, till he breathed his last, is a tale of self abnegation, exemplary devotion to duty and intense activity.
Of the numerous disputes with India and domestic worries,evidently the unsolved problem of Kashmir, his inability to complete the Constitution of the new state of Pakistan, and the plight of the millions of refugees who had arrived in their new homeland utterly destitute affected him the most.
It was not only the plight of the Muslim refugees who had arrived from India that grieved the Quaid-i-Azam deeply. The sad condition of the Hindus in Pakistan hurt him no less.
Apart from Kashmir, there were two Princely states Junagarh and Hyderabad that formed the subject of disputes between India and Pakistan. All the states in the subcontinent except these three had acceded either to India or Pakistan by 14th August 1947. It so happened that all these three were ruled by princes whose own religion was different from that of the majority of their subjects.
Quaid E Azam The Legend!
Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the voice of one hundred million Muslims, fought for their religious, social and economic freedom. Throughout history no single man yielded as much power as the Quaid-e-Azam, and yet remained uncorrupted by that power. Not many men in history can boast of creating a nation single handedly and altering the map of the world but Jinnah did so and thus became a legend.
"Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three.", Stanley Wolpert
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."
Lord Mountbatten had enormous confidence in his persuasive powers. But as far as Jinnah was concerned, he felt that though he tried every trick, he could not shake Jinnah’s resolve to have partition. Mountbatten said that Jinnah had a " consuming determination to realize the dream of Pakistan." And he remained focused on that till his death.
Lord Lothian had said that though Jinnah’s scheme of partition was good, it would take at least 25 years to take shape. But great wars and great men shorten history, and Jinnah was such a man who could alter the history of a nation.
The lessons he taught his countrymen were worth remembering for the life time, especially the lesson of equality. Always a worker for Hindu Muslim unity, he served a political apprenticeship in the Congress. He said: "Whatever you may be, and whatever you are, you are a Muslim , you have carved out a territory, a vast territory . It is all yours. It does not belong to a Punjabi or a Sindhi or a Pathan. There is white too in the lovely flag of Pakistan. The white signifies the non- Muslim minorities."
An upright man who always kept his word, he thought well before he spoke. If he made a promise he made sure he kept his word. In his last days when he was suffering from extreme illness, he went to the meetings and dinners he was invited to and made it to the inauguration of the State Bank of Pakistan because he had promised he would be there. He advised, " if ever you make a promise, think a hundred times, but once you make a promise, honor your promise."
Quttabuddin Aziz remarks that Muslim India was beset by socio-economic frustration. At such a time Jinnah guided a virtually rudderless Muslim League. Aziz refers to Jinnah as the greatest Muslim leader of the 20th century who was able to turn a dream state of Pakistan into a reality.
Saleem Qureshi refers to him as a messiah in the restricted sense, that he revived the spirit of nationhood among the Muslims of India and secured a homeland for them. He wanted partition to be a peaceful one because he believed in non-violence and practiced and preached it.
Director, Center of South Asian Studies, Gordon Johnson said rightly of Jinnah: "He set a great example to other statesmen to follow by his skill in negotiation, his integrity and his honesty."
In March 1940 after laborious attempts at Hindu-Muslim unity failed, Jinnah proposed the idea of an independent nation for the Muslims of India in areas where Muslims were numerically in majority. He was then given the title of Quaid-e-Azam (supreme leader) by the Muslims of India. Yet Jinnah was more than Quaid-e-Azam for the people who followed him and more than the architect of the Islamic nation he called into being. He commanded their imagination and their confidence. He was not bogged down by the daunting task of creating a home for Muslims in which they would be able to live in the glory of Islam. Few statesmen have shaped events to their policy more surely than Jinnah. He was a legend even in his lifetime.
History Of Quaid e Azam
History Of Quaid e Azam
Quaid-e-Azam
through the years
| December 25, 1876 | Born at Karachi |
| 1882 | Education started at home |
| 1887 | Admitted to Sind Madrasatul Islam, Karachi |
| 1892 | Married Emibai at the age of 16 Left Karachi for Europe |
| 1893 | Joined Lincoln's Inn Emibai died at home |
| 1895 | Became Bar-at-Law Mother died at Karachi |
| 1896 | Returned to Karachi from London Migrated to Bombay |
| 1897 | Enrolled as Advocate in Bombay High Court |
| 1900 | Appointed Presidency Magistrate, Bombay |
| 1906 | Appointed Personal Secretary to Dadabhoy Naoroji |
| 1909 | Father died Elected to the Supreme Imperial Council uncontested |
| 1910 | Elected to the Legislative Assembly, Bombay |
| 1911 | Piloted Waqf Alal Aulad Bill -- the only private member's Bill to be passed (in 1913) |
| 1912 | Attended All-India Muslim League Council Meeting |
| 1913 | Left for England with Gokhale Founded London Indian Association Joined All-India Muslim League |
| 1915 | Initiated the move for setting up of a League-Congress joint committee for Hindu-Muslim unity |
| 1916 | Presided over the sixteenth Bombay Provincial Conference Presided over the All-India Muslim League Lucknow session; Lucknow Pact signed |
| 1917 | Became President, Home Rule League, Bombay Organised "Memorandum of the Nineteen |
| 1918 | Married Rattenbai at Calcutta Foiled the move to set up "Willingdon Memorial" in Bombay. Jinnah's People's Memorial Hall constructed as a tribute to his services. |
| 1919 | Daughter (Dina) born Resigned from the Imperial Legislative Council as a protest against Rowlatt Act |
| 1920 | Resigned from Home Rule League Resigned from the Congress on differences with Gandhi |
| 1922 | Participated in All Parties Conference in Bombay as one of the three Secretaries |
| 1923 | Elected to the Imperial Legislative Council from Bombay |
| 1924 | Presided over the All-India Muslim League session in Lahore |
| 1927 | Boycotted the Simon Commission. Presided over a meeting of all the important Muslim leaders at Delhi |
| 1928 | Attended National Convention at Calcutta |
| 1928 | Rattenbai died |
| 1929 | Jinnah's amendments to Nehru Report rejected All-India Muslim League rejects Nehru Report at its Delhi session Jinnah's Fourteen Points |
| 1930 | Attended Round Table Conference in London |
| 1931 | Stayed on in England; gave up political activities temporarily |
| 1934 | Returned to India. Got actively engaged in politics Again elected to the Central Legislative Assembly Elected Permanent President of All-India Muslim League Elected leader of the Independent Party in the Assembly |
| 1935 | Government of India Act, 1935 passed Jinnah-Rajendra Prasad Formula |
| 1936 | Constituted All-India Muslim League Central Parliamentary Board to fight elections under 1935 Act |
| 1937 | Provincial elections under 1935 Act Congress forms ministries in six provinces; Congress raj begins Jinnah presides over League session at Lucknow. All-India Muslim League turned into a mass organisation and compete independence adopted as goal |
| 1938 | Presides over Special League Session at Calcutta Presides over League Session at Patna |
| 1939 | Demand Royal Commission to inquire into Muslim grievances under Congress rule. Day of Deliverance observed (on exit of Congress Ministries) |
| 1940 | Historic Lahore (Pakistan) Resolution passed |
| 1943 | Rejected Rajagopalachariya formula Presided over All-India Muslim League's Karachi session and said: "We have got millions behind us; we have got our flag and our platform; and what is more we have now the definite goal of Pakistan." Toured the subcontinent like a storm |
| 1944 | Jinnah-Gandhi talks |
| 1945 | Participated in Simla Conference. Elected to Central Legislative Assembly |
| 1946 | January 11, All-India Muslim League sweeps the polls in Muslim constituencies; Victory Day April 4, Meeting with Cabinet Mission April 9, Called a convention of all Muslim members of the Central and Provincial Assemblies at Delhi May 16, Cabinet Mission Plan announced June League accepts Cabinet Mission Plan. League also accepts Short-Term (Interim Government) Plan July Conditional acceptance of Cabinet Mission Plan by Congress. Congress rejects Short- Term Plan. Viceroy's volte face on the formation of Interim Government. All-India Muslim League withdraws earlier acceptance, rejects Cabinet Mission Plan and announces boycott of Constituent Assembly. Called upon Members to renounce all British titles and honours in protest against British attitude towards Muslims and decides to launch Direct Action to wrest Pakistan August 16, Direct Action Day October 25, All-India Muslim League agrees to participate in the Interim Government December 2, Reaches London on invitation from Secretary of State December 6, British Government's clarification upholds League's viewpoint on Cabinet Mission Plan |
| 1947 | February 20, Prime Minister Attlee announces that the British would relinquish power in India by June 1948 June 3, Plan envisaging partition of India and establishment of Pakistan announced. Jinnah's historic broadcast accepting the Plan July, Indian Independence Act passed by British Parliament August 7, Left Delhi for Karachi by air August 11, Elected President of Pakistan Constituent Assembly. Presidential address in the Constituent Assembly. Title of "Quaid-e-Azam" conferred on him August 14, Pakistan comes into being; the Quaid-e-Azam sworn in as the first Gvernor-General October, Set up headquarters at Lahore to supervise settlement of refugees in Punjab December 25, First official birthday |
| 1948 | July 1, Inaugurated State Bank of Pakistan; gave a call for evolving a new economic system July 14, Left again for rest at Ziarat August 14, First Independence Day; last message to the nation September 11, Returned to Karachi from Ziarat; Breathed his last. |
