"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 his book "Jinnah of Pakistan"
A must read for anyone interested in Pakistan and its origins. It's amazing to see how little we know about such a great man.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
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12 comments:
Yes, many pple have said good things about that book.
Fair to say, many pple didnt think he was all that great (my dada included!). All depends on which side of the political equation you're on....
jinnahwhat i mean??
Agreed, but then there is no one throughout history without critics.
My own perspective on Jinnah changed a few times through the course of this book.
Also, Jinnah is solely blamed by many for the violence that followed the partition, my two cents are that it would have happened anyway, and wouldve been the case even if there was a united india. It was mostly a by-product of the uncertain future that lay ahead of the multi-ethnic subcontinent, which wasnt ready for self-government at the time.
The important thing to note however, is that we are unable to appreciate Jinnah or his motivations unless we delve deeper into his life.
It is a remarkable journey of a man from an Indian Nationalist to the founder of a Nation State, with an assortment of stakeholders that shaped the destiny of the region.
- "If youre not part of the solution, then you must be part of the problem" -anonymous
i wonder if i'd be able to beat him in snooker.
Jinnah rules
Ali, I havent read the book so I dont know if this comes up but I would like to think that Jinnah had the foresight to see that the danger of history repeating itself was more than inevitable. Through out history, invariably the oppressed become the oppressors - it happened in South Africa after apartheid, and then the Jews, etc.
Perhaps Jinnah saw that the muslims were in for the same at the hands of the hindus (esp. post-Moghul period) and therefore a seperate nation was the only safe way out!
(I should read the book!)
But I do also think that the man had faults like any human being and the pervasive idea that he was a flawless leader are an exaggeration...
SA, well said.. and this point is validated by his numerous attempts to reconcile with the I N Congress, while protecting the interests of the mussalmaans of India.
On a side note, I'm of opinion that the term 'flawless leader' is an oxymoron in itself, but he did have both positives and negatives to him as well.
P.S I'm quite elated at all the comments/feedback, and the whole point of the blog is to engage everyone in some sort of a discussion, regardless of how pointless it may seem.
For those of you that want to read the book, here is a really good website about M.A.Jinnah
http://www.majinnah.com.pk/html_files/quaid_vision.htm
sex
whats with the immature comments???
Amna, I must clarify..this friend of mine is the king of one-word comments, which I appreciate (It may seem immature to everyone else, but I can definitely understand).
Thanks for your concern.
'Aaap Beeti', it wont hurt to write a little detail once in a while.
ok
ink more.
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