Pakistan, Jinnah (contd-1)

Emibai Jinnah, Jinnah's first wife

Jinnahbhai (1857-1901), father of M.A.Jinnah,was a prosperous Gujarati merchant, whose father, grandfather of M.A.Jinnah,Poonja Gokuldas Meghji was a Hindu Bhatia Rajput from Paneli Village in Gondal State in Katiawar. Jinnah's ancestors were Hindu Rajput who converted to Islam, probably in 18th century. Before going to England Jinnah was married to Emibai from Paneli village when he was 16and Emibai was only 14.marriage was forced on him by his mother as she was afraid of getting an English girl as  daughter-in-law due to the marriage of his son in England.But this marriage did not last long due to the death of Emibai within few months. The marriage took place on February,1892 and Jinnah left for England in November, 1892.

Jinnah in his student life in England, in Lincoin's Inn, became in three years at the age of 19, the youngest Indian to be called to the Bar of England. While he was a student he came under the spell of nineteenth-century British Liberalism, as many other future Indian Independence leaders. His education also included exposure to the idea of the democratic nation and progressive politics.He admired William Gladstone and John Morley. He was also admirer of the indian political leaders Dadabhai Naoroji and Sir Pherozeshah Mehta. He also took part in the successful campaign of Dadabhai Naoroji to become  the first Indian to hold a seat in the British parliament. By this time, Jinnah had developed a constitutional views which was exposed during his participation in Freedom Struggle of India.    

But he condemned the arrogance of British officials in India as also the discrimination practiced by them against Indians.His progressive ideas formed during his study in England faced a good deal of contradiction when he participated, practically, in the freedom struggle of India and put him into great difficulty in reconciling between the two.

During the final period of stay in England, Jinnah was pressurised to come back to india as his father's business was gradually going down. He became a successful lawyer and built a house in Malabar Hill, later known as Jinnah House.His reputation as a lawyer prompted Indian leader to hire him as a defence counsel in the sedition trial of Bal Gangadhar Tilak trial in 1905.  

Jinnah got close contact with Congress leaders such as Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Pherozeshah Mehta and Surendra nath Banerjee. 

Pakistan, Jinnah

There are confusions about the birth place and the date of birth of M.A. Jinnah. Two birthplaces have been mentioned in two different sources. Similarly, two dates of birth are recorded.
  Place of birth :
  1. Wazir Mansion, Karachi District of Lower Sindh.
  2. Jhirk.
Any way Jinnah was born in Sindh. Formerly, Sindh was in Bombay Presidency in British India.
  Date of birth :
  1. 20 Oct.,1875
  2. 25 Dec., 1876 (Jinnah's 1st Biography written by Sarojini Naidu. The latter date is officially accepted.

M.A.Jinnah was the 1st son of seven children of his parents'
Jinnahbai Poonja-Father of M.A.Jinnah  
Jinnah's other brothers and sisters are ;
Ahmad Ali,Bunde Ali, Rahmat Ali and sisters are;
Maryam,Fatima,Shireen.
Their mother tongue was Gujrathi, though they were came to learn Kutchi, Sindhi and English.
Jinnah was a restless studemt and studied in many schools in his boy hood days.
1. Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam in Karachi, 2. Gokal Das Tej primary school at Bombay, and finally 3.Christian Missionary Society High School at Karachi, where he passed matriculation at the age of 16, from University of Bombay.
Jinnah took his higher education in England and obtained law degree and worked in Douglas Graham and Company. He worked under Sir Fredrick Leigh Croft who left a lasting impression on Jinnah's life. Jinnah then practised in Bombay and got reputation there.

Pakistan, Alll parties Muslim Conference

The immediate result of the Publication of the Nehru Report was that Muslims of all shades opinion united in opposition to it. The two wings of the Muslim league that had been split since 1924 came closer. On jan 21m 1929, the all parties Muslim Conference convened in Delhi under Aga Khan . Nearly every shade of opinion was represented. The conference laid down Muslims demands in the clearest possible terms.
1. The only form of Govt. suitable to Indian conditions was a federal system with complete autonomy and residuary powers vested in the constituent states.
2. Muslims should not be deprived of the right to elect their represenatives through separate electorates without their consent.
3. Muslims should continue to have weightage in the Hindu majority Provinces and they were willing to accord the same privilege to non-muslim minorities in Sindh, The N..F.P. and Baluchistan.
4. Muslims should have their due share in the central and provincial Legislature.
5. Muslim majority in all all muslim majority provinces (with particular reference to Bengal and Punjab) should in no way be disturbed.      

Pakistan, Nehru Report

"(Motilal) Nehru Report"(1928) was a memorandum outlining a proposed constitution for India. It was prepared by a Committee of the All Parties conference chaired by Motilal Nehru with his son Jawaharlal Nehru acting as Secretary. There were 9 other members in this committee including 2 Muslims.
The British Govt., as per their policy, wanted to construct the Indian constitution to be in practiced after Independence stated in the govt. of India Act, 1919, conceded the rights of indians' to frame their own Constitution in the 1942 Cripps declaration.
This was not a first attempt by indians to draft a new constitution . A non-official effort was made by mrs. Besant with some of her Indian friends which was revised by a so-called All-Parties Conference met at Delhi in jan.-feb., 1925,and was formally approved by a convention held at Cawnpore in April. It was drafted as a stute and introduced in the House of commons by Mr. George Lansbury, Dec. 9, 1925, under the Title "The Commonweaith of India Bill." The Bill proposed to confer upon India the Full Status of a Dominion subject to some temporary reservations. The right to frame own constitution by Indians was strongly debated in the British Parliament. Lord Birkenhead , the Secretary of State for India, made a speech in the house of lords that the Indians could not produce one of such Constitution which would acceptable by the leaders of the variois indian communities and campbell in some other terms was also in the same line of thinking.
  Muslim league leaders rejected Nehru Proposals.

Pakistan, Delhi Muslim Proposal (1927)

Considering separate electorates to be the main hindrance in improving hindu-Muslim relations Quad -i-Azam proposed that if the Hindus agreed to provide certain safeguards, the Muslim would give up the demand of separate electorate .Consequently, the proposals were formally approved at a conference held by the Muslims in 1927 at Delhi, and are now called "The Delhi-Muslim Proposals,1927". Following are the safeguards that were proposed;
1. The formation of a separate Province of Sindh (Previously Sindh was along with bombay Province)
2. Introduction of reforms in the north west frontier Province and in Baluchistanon the same footing as in other province.
Unless and until the above proposals were implemented, the Muslims would never surrendor the right of their representation through separate electorates.Muslims would be willing to abondonseparate electorates in favour of joint electorates with the reservation of seats  fixed in proportion to the population of different communities . If the above two proposals were implemented to the full satisfaction of the Muslims and also if the following proposals were accepted.
4. Hindu minorities in Sindh, Balochistan and the NWFP be accorded the same concessions in the form of reservation of seats over and above the proportion of their population as Muslims would get in Hindu majority provinces.
5. Muslim representation in the central Legislative would not be less than one-third.
6. In addition to provisions like religious freedom , there was to be a further guarantee in the constitution that on the communal matters no bill or resolution would be considered or passed if three-fourth of the members of the community concerned were opposed to it.
These proposals were to be accepted or rejected in toto. So, in effect, the Muslims agreed to give up the separate electorates in form of the reservation of seats . Unfortunately, the Congress first accepted but latter rejected the proposal.    

Pakistan, Simon Commission

Sir John Simon (1873-1954):

was a British a British Politician, educated at Fettes College in Edinburg and Wadham College, Oxford, where he was a near-contemporary of F.E.Smith and of the athlete C.b.Fry, he became a fellow of All Souls in 1897 and was called to the bar at the inner temple in 1899.
in the early 1920s he practiced successfully at the bar, before winning Spen Valley at the General election in 1922, and in 1922-24 he was treated almost as deputy leader of the Liberal Party, a role he relinquished when Asquith once again lost his seatin Parliament and Lloyd George, Simon opposed the general strike in 1926. From 1927 to 1931 he chaired the Simon Commission on India's constitution.
The non-cooperation movement launched by Congress under the leadership of Gandhi on 4th Sep. 1920, was suspended due to an incident known as Chauri Chaura on Feb 1922 and the Communal riot which spread after Khilafat Movement and Mopla Revolt caused stalemate of the Freedom struggle initiated by the Congress. To stop the turning of the freedom struggle in the line of the armed struggle the British govt.announced a Commission with seven members of the British parliament headed by Sir john Simon to supplement the Indian Act,1919., on Nov. 8, 1927 without a single member from Iindia. This action of the Govt roused a all round protest from the Indian soil. The leadership of this movement was taken by Lala Lajpat Rai who              moved a resolution in the Central Legislative Assembly in February, 1928.
  "The present constitution of the commission and its term of reference are unworthy of acceptance by this house ; therefore, this house advises the govt that it should have nothing to do with the Commission."  

Pakistan, Hindu-Muslim riot

Records of Hindu-Muslim riots are available since first decades of 18th century. But those riots were mainly based on contradictory behavior of the religions of the two committees. At the beginning of the 20th century it took a new turn due to the intervention of a third vested interest of divide and rule. Speciallly when Govt. of India granted 14 lakhs of Ruppees to the Nawab of Dhaka at a very low rate of interest.Two districts Mymensing and Comilla were worst affected by riots.
Beginning with year 1920 there occurred in that year in Malabar what is known as the Mopla Rebellion. But what baffled most was the treatment of accorded by the Moplas upon the Hindus. The number of those  who were killed, wounded or converted are not known.In 1925-26 the antagonism between the Hindus and the Muslims became widespread.A deplorable condition was started in Calcutta.there were 44 deaths and 584 injured.