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Jinnah of Pakistan
Stanley Wolpert is an American academic who is considered to be one of the world's foremost authorities on the political history of modern South Asia. During a trip to Bombay in 1948, he became interested in the complexities of Indian culture, history and politics. Since 1962, he has published many fictional and non-fictional books on his favorite subject.
In the preface, Wolpert adds: “For more than a quarter century, I have been intrigued by the apparent paradox of Jinnah’s strange story which has to date never been told in all the fascinating complexity of its brilliant light and tragic darkness.”
“Jinnah of Pakistan” was published in 1984. This unique and insightful biography explores the fascinating public and private life of founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah from his birth in 1876 till his death in 1948. In recording the events that unfold and shape Jinnah’s life, Wolpert also chronicles almost eight decades of Indian history to the point where India achieves independence from British rule amid growing Muslim-Hindu antagonism.
It is a tragedy that the new generation of Pakistan knows about the founder of their country only through text books, a few websites and television programs. These limited resources do not tell the complete picture of a very intelligent, shrewd and resilient lawyer, politician and statesman who altered the map of South Asia through his sheer indomitable will against all odds.
It is almost a standard statement in Pakistani text books that Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a great man but after reading Stanley Wolpert’s “Jinnah of Pakistan” one can get a better understanding of why Jinnah can be….. and should be…. regarded as such a great leader. Physically a frail man, he alone gave courage, hope, strength and voice to millions of Muslims of South Asia who were dismissed as second class citizens in United India before partition in 1947.
The biography is placed on a huge canvas and takes the readers to the bustling port of Karachi where Jinnah was born and follows him to London, Bombay, Calcutta, Lucknow, Nagpur, Amritsar, New Delhi, Simla, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Ziarat and finally Karachi again where lies buried “ one of history’s most remarkable, tenacious, enigmatic figures.”
The book reveals Jinnah’s failings, his loneliness, his pain, his broken marriage, his estrangement from his only daughter, his long and fatal disease which he kept under wraps and yet the true worth of his gigantic accomplishment can only be more appreciated when viewed alongside his human weaknesses.
The book also brings under spotlight, Jinnah’s love and marriage to the beautiful and vivacious “flower of Bombay" Ruttie. The whole episode is dealt with great deal of compassion as Wolpert gives a rare glimpse into Jinnah’s most private moments and thoughts___ and his ultimate pain when due to Jinnah’s extremely demanding political and legal career, the marriage breaks down and ends with Ruttie’s tragic death when she was only 29.
An excerpt from the book: “It (the funeral) was a painfully slow ritual. Jinnah sat silent through all of its five hours. As Ruttie’s body was being lowered into the grave, Jinnah as the nearest relative was the first to throw the earth on the grave. He broke down suddenly and wept and sobbed like a child for minutes together. That was the only time when I found Jinnah betraying some shadow of human weakness.”
The best thing about the book is that is very impartial and does not gloss over any facts or resort to hyperbole. Like an artist who creates a masterpiece with careful strokes of his paintbrush, Wolpert also records small anecdotes and major incidents to show Jinnah’s shrewd and skilful leadership as well his single-minded tenacity to win his case for the creation of Pakistan on behalf of the Muslims of South Asia.
For this great and engrossing biography, Stanley Wolpert has won a great deal of gratitude from those who have read and enjoyed this book. ’Jinnah of Pakistan’ is an absolute must read for the students of political history of South Asia and for every Pakistani who is interested in knowing the extent of debt owed to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah for freedom and a separate country after the end of British Raj in the sub-continent.
In the preface, Wolpert adds: “For more than a quarter century, I have been intrigued by the apparent paradox of Jinnah’s strange story which has to date never been told in all the fascinating complexity of its brilliant light and tragic darkness.”
“Jinnah of Pakistan” was published in 1984. This unique and insightful biography explores the fascinating public and private life of founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah from his birth in 1876 till his death in 1948. In recording the events that unfold and shape Jinnah’s life, Wolpert also chronicles almost eight decades of Indian history to the point where India achieves independence from British rule amid growing Muslim-Hindu antagonism.
It is a tragedy that the new generation of Pakistan knows about the founder of their country only through text books, a few websites and television programs. These limited resources do not tell the complete picture of a very intelligent, shrewd and resilient lawyer, politician and statesman who altered the map of South Asia through his sheer indomitable will against all odds.
It is almost a standard statement in Pakistani text books that Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a great man but after reading Stanley Wolpert’s “Jinnah of Pakistan” one can get a better understanding of why Jinnah can be….. and should be…. regarded as such a great leader. Physically a frail man, he alone gave courage, hope, strength and voice to millions of Muslims of South Asia who were dismissed as second class citizens in United India before partition in 1947.
The biography is placed on a huge canvas and takes the readers to the bustling port of Karachi where Jinnah was born and follows him to London, Bombay, Calcutta, Lucknow, Nagpur, Amritsar, New Delhi, Simla, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Ziarat and finally Karachi again where lies buried “ one of history’s most remarkable, tenacious, enigmatic figures.”
The book reveals Jinnah’s failings, his loneliness, his pain, his broken marriage, his estrangement from his only daughter, his long and fatal disease which he kept under wraps and yet the true worth of his gigantic accomplishment can only be more appreciated when viewed alongside his human weaknesses.
The book also brings under spotlight, Jinnah’s love and marriage to the beautiful and vivacious “flower of Bombay" Ruttie. The whole episode is dealt with great deal of compassion as Wolpert gives a rare glimpse into Jinnah’s most private moments and thoughts___ and his ultimate pain when due to Jinnah’s extremely demanding political and legal career, the marriage breaks down and ends with Ruttie’s tragic death when she was only 29.
An excerpt from the book: “It (the funeral) was a painfully slow ritual. Jinnah sat silent through all of its five hours. As Ruttie’s body was being lowered into the grave, Jinnah as the nearest relative was the first to throw the earth on the grave. He broke down suddenly and wept and sobbed like a child for minutes together. That was the only time when I found Jinnah betraying some shadow of human weakness.”
The best thing about the book is that is very impartial and does not gloss over any facts or resort to hyperbole. Like an artist who creates a masterpiece with careful strokes of his paintbrush, Wolpert also records small anecdotes and major incidents to show Jinnah’s shrewd and skilful leadership as well his single-minded tenacity to win his case for the creation of Pakistan on behalf of the Muslims of South Asia.
For this great and engrossing biography, Stanley Wolpert has won a great deal of gratitude from those who have read and enjoyed this book. ’Jinnah of Pakistan’ is an absolute must read for the students of political history of South Asia and for every Pakistani who is interested in knowing the extent of debt owed to Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah for freedom and a separate country after the end of British Raj in the sub-continent.
450 pages, Paperback
First published May 3, 1984
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About the author
Stanley Wolpert
23 books112 followersStanley A. Wolpert is an American academic, Indologist, and author considered one of the world's foremost authorities on the political and intellectual history of modern India and Pakistan and has written fiction and nonfiction books on the topics. He taught at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1959-2002.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
December 25, 2020
I've always remembered these lines from Wolpert's introduction :
"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."
It is quite an achievement for an American academic to write such a comprehensive book on Pakistan's founder,one which all Pakistani students of history should read.
Jinnah was a complex personality,cold and aloof,yet brilliant,resilient and very charismatic.He was born to a Karachi businessman in 1876,and was sent for a business education to England.However,he chose to study law at Lincoln's Inn.
On his return,he moved to Bombay and struggled initially as a young,unknown lawyer.That would change,however.His legal acumen would eventually make him one of the most successful lawyers in the country.
Interested in politics,he joined the Indian National Congress and was initially dubbed the ambassador of Hindu Muslim unity.But Congress was dominated by Gandhi and Nehru,and Jinnah eventually parted ways.
For a while,he was so disheartened by politics that he voluntarily went into exile in England for several years,concentrating on the practice of law there.
Then,the idea of Pakistan was first presented by Chaudhry Rehmat Ali.Jinnah was initially not enthusiastic,but with the passage of time,and with some persuasion from Iqbal the poet,Jinnah reentered the political fray.Now,he was the undisputed leader of the All India Muslim League and there was only one thing on his mind,the attainment of that seemingly impossible dream,Pakistan.
The Pakistan Resolution was passed in 1940.Within seven years,Pakistan was a reality.Jinnah had achieved the impossible and ensured his place in history.
Wolpert's book essentially comprises two parts.
The first deals with the life of Jinnah the man.This part is very interesting with plenty of interesting anecdotes about his personal life.He also describes Jinnah's unhappy marriage to Ruttie Jinnah (she was to die tragically at only 29).
Jinnah's relationship with his only daughter,Dina was also troubled.She chose to marry a Parsi man and only came to Pakistan a couple of times in her life.She also declined Wolpert's request for an interview for this book.
The second part of the book deals with the Pakistan Movement.However,here things get a bit dull and dry.
Wolpert has undoubtedly done exhaustive research on the Pakistan Movement. Here,the book could have done with a fair bit of editing,to make this part of the book more interesting.It does get bogged down with too many details about meetings and statements.
Still,a must read book,which provides a fascinating character study of Pakistan's founder,his life and times.
"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."
It is quite an achievement for an American academic to write such a comprehensive book on Pakistan's founder,one which all Pakistani students of history should read.
Jinnah was a complex personality,cold and aloof,yet brilliant,resilient and very charismatic.He was born to a Karachi businessman in 1876,and was sent for a business education to England.However,he chose to study law at Lincoln's Inn.
On his return,he moved to Bombay and struggled initially as a young,unknown lawyer.That would change,however.His legal acumen would eventually make him one of the most successful lawyers in the country.
Interested in politics,he joined the Indian National Congress and was initially dubbed the ambassador of Hindu Muslim unity.But Congress was dominated by Gandhi and Nehru,and Jinnah eventually parted ways.
For a while,he was so disheartened by politics that he voluntarily went into exile in England for several years,concentrating on the practice of law there.
Then,the idea of Pakistan was first presented by Chaudhry Rehmat Ali.Jinnah was initially not enthusiastic,but with the passage of time,and with some persuasion from Iqbal the poet,Jinnah reentered the political fray.Now,he was the undisputed leader of the All India Muslim League and there was only one thing on his mind,the attainment of that seemingly impossible dream,Pakistan.
The Pakistan Resolution was passed in 1940.Within seven years,Pakistan was a reality.Jinnah had achieved the impossible and ensured his place in history.
Wolpert's book essentially comprises two parts.
The first deals with the life of Jinnah the man.This part is very interesting with plenty of interesting anecdotes about his personal life.He also describes Jinnah's unhappy marriage to Ruttie Jinnah (she was to die tragically at only 29).
Jinnah's relationship with his only daughter,Dina was also troubled.She chose to marry a Parsi man and only came to Pakistan a couple of times in her life.She also declined Wolpert's request for an interview for this book.
The second part of the book deals with the Pakistan Movement.However,here things get a bit dull and dry.
Wolpert has undoubtedly done exhaustive research on the Pakistan Movement. Here,the book could have done with a fair bit of editing,to make this part of the book more interesting.It does get bogged down with too many details about meetings and statements.
Still,a must read book,which provides a fascinating character study of Pakistan's founder,his life and times.
August 24, 2015
4.75 stars.
I don't really write reviews but I felt I should for this one. This was my first biography on Jinnah (and definitely not the last) and I learnt so much about him that surprised me. What I loved most about this account is the fact that Jinnah is not presented as an infallible superhero but in all his human complexity. The book made me realize how true the accusations of the state distorting history textbooks are.
The politics take center stage in the book in all their amoral "glory(?)". The writer wants the reader to know that for Jinnah, Pakistan was built as as much of a slap on the Congress's face as for the Muslims in India. He wants to make it clear that the people were moved (in masses) by the League after the decision to build a Muslim nation was taken. Jinnah was a talented, brilliant man who was not appreciated in the party he had decided to dedicate his life to. Therefore, it's almost like he decided to show them what they had lost and make them pay for it. Wolpert shows Jinnah as a man driven almost as much by his ego as by his brilliance and political comprehension. That's the thing about brilliance, it demands appreciation.
Most of all, it explains clearly one of Jinnah's most mystifying qualities. How can I man, so adamantly secular, the "Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity", could adopt such a religious (bordering, as portrayed in the book, to an almost extremist zeal) approach? The answer is difficult to explain in a few words, although it is definitely not that Jinnah was a devout Muslim himself. He went through many, many changes in his life because of a number of events. The "betrayal" of the Congress coincided with the League's respect and the path was clear for Jinnah.
All in all, this is a very insightful account of Jinnah's life. Highly recommended.
I don't really write reviews but I felt I should for this one. This was my first biography on Jinnah (and definitely not the last) and I learnt so much about him that surprised me. What I loved most about this account is the fact that Jinnah is not presented as an infallible superhero but in all his human complexity. The book made me realize how true the accusations of the state distorting history textbooks are.
The politics take center stage in the book in all their amoral "glory(?)". The writer wants the reader to know that for Jinnah, Pakistan was built as as much of a slap on the Congress's face as for the Muslims in India. He wants to make it clear that the people were moved (in masses) by the League after the decision to build a Muslim nation was taken. Jinnah was a talented, brilliant man who was not appreciated in the party he had decided to dedicate his life to. Therefore, it's almost like he decided to show them what they had lost and make them pay for it. Wolpert shows Jinnah as a man driven almost as much by his ego as by his brilliance and political comprehension. That's the thing about brilliance, it demands appreciation.
Most of all, it explains clearly one of Jinnah's most mystifying qualities. How can I man, so adamantly secular, the "Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity", could adopt such a religious (bordering, as portrayed in the book, to an almost extremist zeal) approach? The answer is difficult to explain in a few words, although it is definitely not that Jinnah was a devout Muslim himself. He went through many, many changes in his life because of a number of events. The "betrayal" of the Congress coincided with the League's respect and the path was clear for Jinnah.
All in all, this is a very insightful account of Jinnah's life. Highly recommended.
May 13, 2015
one of the history's most tenacious enigmatic figures.
Every Pakistani knows quiet a bit about Muslim League History and final 10 years before partition. We have to. But there are many things we never hear. Quaid started as Muslim-Hindu unity ambassador. Was young, intelligent and a great believer of the constitution. He spent 24 years of his life struggling for Hindu Muslim unity denying all those who thought otherwise. Every effort was repudiated by the Congress and its leadership. It took 24 years of endless arguments, debates, conferences, dialogues and destruction of his marriage and loss of woman he loved to convince him that his endeavors were in vain. While reading this book i realized exactly how much humiliation he faced. How many doors were slammed on his face and how many time he was discarded, along with his opinions. Even after all that he kept his head high, he knew how to keep his composure and never to lose an argument, even though those arguments fell on deaf ears and he lost most of his early fights.
Than comes the second phase of his life, in which he appears as proud, vain, whimsical man. who remained adamant on his "crazy" demands as dubbed by the British viceroys, secretarys and governors of late 1930s and 1940s. Most Britishers thought of him as self indulgent man, who wanted glory. He was unreasonable, never had a valid argument and was most uncooperative. By this time Quaid had figured out that wasting his strained breath on people who would never actually listen to him even when they claimed differently was useless. He had already spent too much of his life arguing with them and had been utterly fruitless. He in 1940s isolated himself, hiding his deteriorating health. Also he had lost complete trust in Congress and had grown a bit paranoid even of his own party leadership. He was a man who had been betrayed one too many times and was not about to lose this time around. And he did not. He lost his health, and his only daughter but did not lose this final fight. Many thought that Pakistan was his obsession one last attempt to show his rivals who and humiliated him, his true worth.
But people have known to talk and they will always, had always, would always, one thing is for sure a country can not be built on a man's vanity and whim. It takes determination, will and loyalty to a true cause. All of which he had. Quaid was nothing if he was not, strategic, persistent and intent.
Mountbatten, the reason of the bloodiest partition of Punjab. Termed Jinnah as psychopathic man, who wanted nothing more than to be Governor General himself, Odd thing for him to say as he had shown strong desire to be GG of not one but two subcontinental domains at the same time!! Never the less Jinnah made his point with Battens multiple times. In being photographed at Battens Jinnah insisted that Lady Mountbatten should stand between him and the lord but the Lord and Lady insisted that Jinnah must stand between them. Which Quaid termed as a rose between two thorns what i would not give to see the expression on the faces of those insolent people, when Quaid made that pun.
There are few things i had problem on in this book. Number one whenever it comes to loss of the life of Hindus the writer gave figures but when it came to the massacre of Muslims the writer took great pains to keep the figures and religion of the deceased fuzzy. Many Muslim unfortunately and shamefully acted as hooligans but the crime against Muslims were 3 fold worse and organized and that was just the year of 47. There is no accounting before that and not to mention the horribleness in Calcutta the year before. And district of Gurdaspur, a Muslim Majority area given on purpose to India where Muslims were killed so extensively that they were whipped out.
Also the presidential address of Quaid "You are free, you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques ... all members of the Nation.". The writer questions what was he thinking about, when he said this? was he pleading for united India? why would he talk about religious harmony equality and unity and freedom when millions were migrating towards a "Muslim" state. Well answer is this Pakistan was to be free place for Muslims a place where discrimination on the bases given above would not exist and be condemned. He was not pleading for united India he was pleading for the brutality taking place on the both sides of border to stop. He wanted a Muslim state that stood for everything which had been denied to Muslims in one way or another. A state which would not treat its minorities the way they had been treated before.
All and all it was good book. There is not much on Quaid's personal life, he was a very private man. Also a man who worked from 14 to 18 hours and even went to office at 8:30 in morning at age of 71 with cancer in his body hard for him a have a personal life. He had many allies eve more followers and even greater number of admirers but he had very few friends. And one companion his sister. He is the least talked about leader, least studied and least admired leader. Never the less he was a single man who brought the most unlikely people to work together and made a weak party into the 2nd largest party of the India and placed Pakistan on the map. If that man was not one of the greatest leader of the modern world than i do not know who is.
Every Pakistani knows quiet a bit about Muslim League History and final 10 years before partition. We have to. But there are many things we never hear. Quaid started as Muslim-Hindu unity ambassador. Was young, intelligent and a great believer of the constitution. He spent 24 years of his life struggling for Hindu Muslim unity denying all those who thought otherwise. Every effort was repudiated by the Congress and its leadership. It took 24 years of endless arguments, debates, conferences, dialogues and destruction of his marriage and loss of woman he loved to convince him that his endeavors were in vain. While reading this book i realized exactly how much humiliation he faced. How many doors were slammed on his face and how many time he was discarded, along with his opinions. Even after all that he kept his head high, he knew how to keep his composure and never to lose an argument, even though those arguments fell on deaf ears and he lost most of his early fights.
Than comes the second phase of his life, in which he appears as proud, vain, whimsical man. who remained adamant on his "crazy" demands as dubbed by the British viceroys, secretarys and governors of late 1930s and 1940s. Most Britishers thought of him as self indulgent man, who wanted glory. He was unreasonable, never had a valid argument and was most uncooperative. By this time Quaid had figured out that wasting his strained breath on people who would never actually listen to him even when they claimed differently was useless. He had already spent too much of his life arguing with them and had been utterly fruitless. He in 1940s isolated himself, hiding his deteriorating health. Also he had lost complete trust in Congress and had grown a bit paranoid even of his own party leadership. He was a man who had been betrayed one too many times and was not about to lose this time around. And he did not. He lost his health, and his only daughter but did not lose this final fight. Many thought that Pakistan was his obsession one last attempt to show his rivals who and humiliated him, his true worth.
But people have known to talk and they will always, had always, would always, one thing is for sure a country can not be built on a man's vanity and whim. It takes determination, will and loyalty to a true cause. All of which he had. Quaid was nothing if he was not, strategic, persistent and intent.
Mountbatten, the reason of the bloodiest partition of Punjab. Termed Jinnah as psychopathic man, who wanted nothing more than to be Governor General himself, Odd thing for him to say as he had shown strong desire to be GG of not one but two subcontinental domains at the same time!! Never the less Jinnah made his point with Battens multiple times. In being photographed at Battens Jinnah insisted that Lady Mountbatten should stand between him and the lord but the Lord and Lady insisted that Jinnah must stand between them. Which Quaid termed as a rose between two thorns what i would not give to see the expression on the faces of those insolent people, when Quaid made that pun.
There are few things i had problem on in this book. Number one whenever it comes to loss of the life of Hindus the writer gave figures but when it came to the massacre of Muslims the writer took great pains to keep the figures and religion of the deceased fuzzy. Many Muslim unfortunately and shamefully acted as hooligans but the crime against Muslims were 3 fold worse and organized and that was just the year of 47. There is no accounting before that and not to mention the horribleness in Calcutta the year before. And district of Gurdaspur, a Muslim Majority area given on purpose to India where Muslims were killed so extensively that they were whipped out.
Also the presidential address of Quaid "You are free, you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques ... all members of the Nation.". The writer questions what was he thinking about, when he said this? was he pleading for united India? why would he talk about religious harmony equality and unity and freedom when millions were migrating towards a "Muslim" state. Well answer is this Pakistan was to be free place for Muslims a place where discrimination on the bases given above would not exist and be condemned. He was not pleading for united India he was pleading for the brutality taking place on the both sides of border to stop. He wanted a Muslim state that stood for everything which had been denied to Muslims in one way or another. A state which would not treat its minorities the way they had been treated before.
All and all it was good book. There is not much on Quaid's personal life, he was a very private man. Also a man who worked from 14 to 18 hours and even went to office at 8:30 in morning at age of 71 with cancer in his body hard for him a have a personal life. He had many allies eve more followers and even greater number of admirers but he had very few friends. And one companion his sister. He is the least talked about leader, least studied and least admired leader. Never the less he was a single man who brought the most unlikely people to work together and made a weak party into the 2nd largest party of the India and placed Pakistan on the map. If that man was not one of the greatest leader of the modern world than i do not know who is.
December 5, 2013
At the start, the book just felt like a chapter from Pakistan Studies text book. Besides, at start I found the account, a typical book with praises for Jinnah and villainizing of his opponents. I gave up on the first 50 pages. But the recent blowing up of Jinnah's residency motivated me to explore who the man really was. And as explored page by page, this was the first account of Jinnah I find no difficulty to believe in. As the charming, eloquent, intelligent and always wining advocate turns into a stubborn, cold, and egoistic man, who was so used to of the idea of winning that failure wasn't a choice. Those who have read the book would agree that I'm not denouncing Jinnah, I'm instead praising him!
He was the most extraordinary man this land could ever produce.
He was the most extraordinary man this land could ever produce.
June 27, 2010
This book contains a lot of information about what Jinnah thought, what he said, and what others said about him, however it seems that a lot of the more interesting parts that would get into his personality and some of the non-political aspects of his life were left out. The barrage of details about what was said at almost every meeting he ever attended makes the book exceptionally dry and at times difficult to read.
March 21, 2012
A fascinating book that elucidates the life of Jinnah without any prejudices and preconceived notions. It has helped me, as a Pakistani, understand my great leader. His life, his trials and tribulations. The successes he achieved and the perseverance he demonstrated in the face of unimaginable opposition and adversity are admirable and inspiring.
October 28, 2011
Jinnah, in post WW-II scenario, proved himself to be the wisest amongst the polititions and freedom strugglers in the subcontinent. India was awakening to get independence from British Empire which by then had become too weak, administratively and militarily, to prolong their rule. India had to be left to self rule by native leadership. It was here that Jinnah foresaw the future turbulent political mood in the polity of India.
The life of jinnah was driven by sheer logic and principles. Law studies and practices made his mind work on constitutional lines. Jinnah, gentleman in his outlook, fair in manners but very sharp at mind and winner on negotiation table created Pakistan at the time of "the shameful flight" of British.
Amongst the prominent political figures of Pre independence India like Gandhi, Nehru, Vallabhai Patel, his stature stands tallest for he primarily added his successes on the blunders of his rivals.
To surmount the difficulties of the time, when British ruled and Congress seemed to be the obvious heir to the next rule of India was to take up the task as underdog right from the beginning. Jinnah did so.
Champion of Hindu-muslim cause once had made up his mind to create a country-state where right of the muslims can be safeguarded as Congress had shown total disregard to the muslim demands like separate electorates. Under Gandhi's leadership All India Congress had done nothing to accommodate muslims or assent to safeguards of muslim rights.
Ironically he or All India Muslim League never enjoyed overwhelming majority in any of the Indian province. He had before him, this magnanimous task of unifying all muslims under one banner and to have the right to represent the case of Muslims of All India.
Stanley Wolpert's words at the preface of the book holds true that "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. Jinnah did all three".
The life of jinnah was driven by sheer logic and principles. Law studies and practices made his mind work on constitutional lines. Jinnah, gentleman in his outlook, fair in manners but very sharp at mind and winner on negotiation table created Pakistan at the time of "the shameful flight" of British.
Amongst the prominent political figures of Pre independence India like Gandhi, Nehru, Vallabhai Patel, his stature stands tallest for he primarily added his successes on the blunders of his rivals.
To surmount the difficulties of the time, when British ruled and Congress seemed to be the obvious heir to the next rule of India was to take up the task as underdog right from the beginning. Jinnah did so.
Champion of Hindu-muslim cause once had made up his mind to create a country-state where right of the muslims can be safeguarded as Congress had shown total disregard to the muslim demands like separate electorates. Under Gandhi's leadership All India Congress had done nothing to accommodate muslims or assent to safeguards of muslim rights.
Ironically he or All India Muslim League never enjoyed overwhelming majority in any of the Indian province. He had before him, this magnanimous task of unifying all muslims under one banner and to have the right to represent the case of Muslims of All India.
Stanley Wolpert's words at the preface of the book holds true that "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. Jinnah did all three".
July 15, 2008
I never finished it (of course) but this-and the whole partition if India thing-is a fascinating story with a bitter ending. Pakistan was created as a Muslim nation (Jinnah would have argued it was secular at the government level, though) and the consequences were disastrous for Sikhs and Hindus there and Muslims who stayed in India. Israel was created around the same time. Take note, Israel...
June 11, 2021
This has to be the most comprehensive, detailed and vivid account of one of the history’s most remarkable, tenacious and enigmatic figures. Prior to this, I have read other biographies on Jinnah as well; almost all of them going along with the Pakistan Studies’ outline we have been studying since childhood; but Stanley Wolpert has done an awe-amazing job; on researching Jinnah’s early life, his course to London, his career as a Barrister, his jumping into the Indian Politics, and the most tiring process of establishing Pakistan on to the map of the world, by consecutive work of many decades; all the while shedding light on his personality, little tidbits from his personal life; the reflections of all the people he had met, their aspirations, reservations, and how Jinnah handled each and every one of them; the biography reads like a novel, the language is the most beautiful.
This has been to be the most intimate and vivid portrayal of Jinnah’s magical personality, which the opening lines of the book describe like none other:
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. Mohammed Ali Jinnah did all there.
This has been to be the most intimate and vivid portrayal of Jinnah’s magical personality, which the opening lines of the book describe like none other:
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. Mohammed Ali Jinnah did all there.
November 9, 2018
Note : I skipped over the initial few chapters that were on the beginning years of Mr Jinnah's life. So the review is principally on the second half of the book which i find more interesting.
I have no particular answer as to what i find so fascinating about Mr Jinnah, but i have lately discovered that i enjoy reading about him words after words, pages after pages.
This book in particular is famous for being unbiased in its depiction of the man under discussion and rationally takes us through the events that shaped this gigantic man and how he shaped the gargantuan events in the modern life of this majestic subcontinent. His cold demeanor, urbanity, leadership skills and resoluteness has often awed me. I wonder what he would make of his own life if he were to judge it. A Fight, A victory, A Failure or as i see it as An inexplicable Enigma.
I have no particular answer as to what i find so fascinating about Mr Jinnah, but i have lately discovered that i enjoy reading about him words after words, pages after pages.
This book in particular is famous for being unbiased in its depiction of the man under discussion and rationally takes us through the events that shaped this gigantic man and how he shaped the gargantuan events in the modern life of this majestic subcontinent. His cold demeanor, urbanity, leadership skills and resoluteness has often awed me. I wonder what he would make of his own life if he were to judge it. A Fight, A victory, A Failure or as i see it as An inexplicable Enigma.
July 19, 2014
wow , this biography of Jinnah is much better then the one written by Hector Bolitho. It is detailed and very well researched. I also felt that the writer had a very deep knowledge about the politics in British India, and this made the book a very precise document on political history of subcontinent under British rule and the subsequent independence of Pakistan and india. A must read for every Pakistani.
September 1, 2013
A very fascinating tale that's unfolding slowly,
the most interesting thing is reading about Jinnah as a person, since history is full of his political deeds but very less is known about his personality.
a treat for Jinnah fans!
the most interesting thing is reading about Jinnah as a person, since history is full of his political deeds but very less is known about his personality.
a treat for Jinnah fans!
November 11, 2021
One of the most authentic account on the life of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder and creator of Pakistan.
Stanley Wolpert has meticulously discussed the life of M.A Jinnah, his personality, work ethic, his contributions.
Besides this biography other work on Jinnah that comes to my mind is that of Hector Bolithio's Creator of Pakistan, although Bolithio's biography of Jinnah has its merits but Wolpert's Jinnah of Pakistan stand out, it is more detailed, comprehensive, highly researched, at times very engaging and on moments very poetic and mesmerizing. Maybe the reason of this is that Wolpert's biography is written in the 80s, so he had the advantage of extensive research available to him whereas Bolithio's biography is of 50s, so there weren't many academic research on the subject back then.
This biography is above all is the story of Jinnah's life, his ups and down, his journey as a leader, as a Barrister, as a Statesman, his work ethic, of his resilience against all odds, Jinnah was no doubt a shrewd and skillful leader, Jinnah's journey is indeed a rollercoaster one.
This biography is candidly written, Professor Wolpert has delve into great depth and details about Pakistan's founder life.
Well, Stanley Wolpert started his book with following lines, and I'm cutting my review short on those lines..
" 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. Muhammad Ali Jinnah did all three.
Stanley Wolpert has meticulously discussed the life of M.A Jinnah, his personality, work ethic, his contributions.
Besides this biography other work on Jinnah that comes to my mind is that of Hector Bolithio's Creator of Pakistan, although Bolithio's biography of Jinnah has its merits but Wolpert's Jinnah of Pakistan stand out, it is more detailed, comprehensive, highly researched, at times very engaging and on moments very poetic and mesmerizing. Maybe the reason of this is that Wolpert's biography is written in the 80s, so he had the advantage of extensive research available to him whereas Bolithio's biography is of 50s, so there weren't many academic research on the subject back then.
This biography is above all is the story of Jinnah's life, his ups and down, his journey as a leader, as a Barrister, as a Statesman, his work ethic, of his resilience against all odds, Jinnah was no doubt a shrewd and skillful leader, Jinnah's journey is indeed a rollercoaster one.
This biography is candidly written, Professor Wolpert has delve into great depth and details about Pakistan's founder life.
Well, Stanley Wolpert started his book with following lines, and I'm cutting my review short on those lines..
" 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. Muhammad Ali Jinnah did all three.
August 30, 2011
Jinnah is one of the most "untouched" and "unexplored" yet one of the great leaders of the world. Only Stanley Wolpert and Jaswant Singh have enlightened his leadership calibre and strength of his chracter, will power and vision. Great book to know more about Jinnah. I suggest reading it along with Jaswant Singh's book on Jinnah and you will get to know more about this great leader. I wonder why remained unnoticed amongst the other global leaders of his era. He surely stands taller than most of global leaders of his era.
June 23, 2019
5 stars for Jinnah
July 22, 2017
Quaid e Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, is the most iron willed Pakistani I have ever met. That's right! Reading this account of the Quaid's life is nothing short of actually meeting the person in real life. The account is as vividly detailed as it can get. After reading this, it would no longer come as a surprise that an enigmatic and eccentric person such as Jinnah succeeded in carving out Pakistan out of a cesarean procedure done on the then unstable subcontinent bleeding from the strife predominantly between Hindus and Muslims. This book would help the reader, besides learning about the personal and political life of the Quaid, develop an objective view of the process of the birth of Pakistan, and of the current situation that has prevailed ever since the great divide.
The book starts from the birth of the person who was Jinnah. Takes us to London where Jinnah developed a taste for acting and out of respect for his father's opinion, opted for a lawyer's profession. We are then immersed into the passionate transformation of a lawyer into a visionary who, through his fatalistic legal charms and a razor like focus, would work 14 hours a day laboring in nothing other than the dream of achieving Pakistan, developing life long rivalries, and dealing single-handedly with Indian political giants such as Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. The last section of the book is about the last year of the Quaid's life, after the creation of Pakistan, in Quetta, Lahore and Karachi where he was finally laid to rest in peace.
The Pakistani reader feels an emotional connection with the Quaid and regardless of his/her opinion on the creation of Pakistan, feels an optimistic obligation to the nation literally "gifted" to us. The average reader would learn from the fatal negotiation tactics and the political maneuvers applied by Jinnah in leading his life and in creation of Pakistan.
I would recommend this book to open minded readers eager to learn the history of Pakistan from a personal perspective through Jinnah's life.
The book starts from the birth of the person who was Jinnah. Takes us to London where Jinnah developed a taste for acting and out of respect for his father's opinion, opted for a lawyer's profession. We are then immersed into the passionate transformation of a lawyer into a visionary who, through his fatalistic legal charms and a razor like focus, would work 14 hours a day laboring in nothing other than the dream of achieving Pakistan, developing life long rivalries, and dealing single-handedly with Indian political giants such as Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. The last section of the book is about the last year of the Quaid's life, after the creation of Pakistan, in Quetta, Lahore and Karachi where he was finally laid to rest in peace.
The Pakistani reader feels an emotional connection with the Quaid and regardless of his/her opinion on the creation of Pakistan, feels an optimistic obligation to the nation literally "gifted" to us. The average reader would learn from the fatal negotiation tactics and the political maneuvers applied by Jinnah in leading his life and in creation of Pakistan.
I would recommend this book to open minded readers eager to learn the history of Pakistan from a personal perspective through Jinnah's life.
September 13, 2016
It's a great book if you are looking to investigate the reasons and circumstances which ultimately led to the creation of Pakistan. Mr. Wolpert provides a detailed account of the numerous deliberations and discussions that took place in order to arrive at a solution. However, for a biography the book rarely delves into the personal aspects of Mr. Jinnah's life. To Mr. Wolpert's defense, Mr. Jinnah was rather too aloof a man and hence very less is known about him especially his initial days as a legal practitioner in Bombay.I would have certainly liked to know more about his triumphs as a lawyer, his affair,marriage and the ultimate breakdown with Ms. Ruttie Petit (The Flower of Bombay) and further introspection as to how a man who was considered as an ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity became so bitter in later life that he considered the idea of communal harmony as utopia. A man as intriguing as Mr. Jinnah he has rather been too unjustly vilified and ignored in history. This book certainly gives a more objective sketch of this enigma called Jinnah.
November 25, 2014
Excellent insight on the Journey and changing thought of the man, Jinnah.
May 18, 2020
When I first started reading Jinnah of Pakistan by Stanley Wolfpert, I thought it would be a boring biography, all about his life, from birth to death, a to z, but I was wrong. This biography of Jinnah can be considered as the prequel to Pakistan, as the book depicts Jinnah and Pakistan as one entity, in a wonderful story-like structure, providing the whole picture of the history of the sub-continent. Retelling the story of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his journey from being a young boy in Karachi to becoming Jinnah of Pakistan.
Most people have probably heard of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the man who solely founded Pakistan, but many probably do not know that he had given up at one point and had moved back to London. Stressed, frustrated, and just done with all the pointless arguments leading in no direction, Jinnah left, but so many think that it was because of his lung problems, even though they started later. This is just one instance of a life filled with emotion, complications, and the complex everyday hurdles of a human, that Jinnah was. A human. The same as the man who lives across the street or the woman at the store. He had a completely different life behind the political stage where people were used to seeing him. By reading this book, I fully got to understand how the fearless leaders we all look up to are just as terrified of life and what it brings, as the rest of us. It has changed me by introducing me to this reality of leaders and how they are humans and have been put on a pedestal so high up, it’s hard for them to jump down, afraid of disappointing others. This has just brought me closer to the leader than I’ve ever been before, as first Jinnah seemed like this perfect hero who knew exactly what he was doing, but after reading the conflicts in his marriage, family, and how he had internal struggles as well has having half the world against him, his pedestal lowered just enough to make me respect and admire him even more.
Jinnah of Pakistan also shows how most of Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s life had been devoted to Pakistan. From him being the Muslim-Hindu ambassador to fighting for a separate state, he has almost always been involved in politics. Since he had devoted most of his time and energy to the beneficiality of Muslims, I got a deeper insight into the history of Pakistan. For example, one of the first contracts drafted for the independence of India, when it was claiming to stay united, was the Nehru Report. This report gave Muslims a considerably less amount of seats in the legislative council and since Jinnah did not approve, it did not get acted upon. This kind of information is not explained in detail in textbooks, but merely mentioned. On the other hand, in JInnah of Pakistan it is not only mentioned but different sides are explained and the contract is fully clarified. Many other contracts like the Nehru Report were proposed when negotiating for independence and by reading this book I fully understand how many late nights, headaches, and arguments went into fighting for this land, Pakistan.
I also got a deeper insight into how politics actually works. When Jinnah was in the middle of the negotiations, he knew he was getting nowhere and so took liberty of his connections and met with Lord Irwin, who then came up with the Round Table conference idea. This was a milestone on the way to independence. Also, in the beginning, Jinnah was connected in both the Congress and Muslim League and because of this he was able to listen and discuss with both parties, conceptulizing both points of view. These strategies and unconventional ways of thinking is what led to Jinnah being able to make this dream of Pakistan come true and has changed me in a way, to think of the bigger picture when making decisions or coming up with strategies.
Not only does Jinnah of Pakistan provide a balanced view of different sides and opinions of all other characters in this play of history, but describes events in Jinnah’s life, never heard before. How he wanted to go into theatre and acting. How he came to join law in the first place. How he fell in love with Ruttie. This book dives into the very personal aspects of Jinnah’s life with dialogues from Jinnah, his sister, Fatima, and his other close friends. In one instance, Ruttie expresses how she feels so isolated that she wants to experience a spiritual state in a letter to Kanji (a person who worked with Jinnah and could be trusted by Ruttie to reveal her feelings). She states,
“Lately, I have been very much drawn towards the subject of Spirit Communication and I am most anxious to know more and get at the Truth. It is such an elusive Subject and the more I hear of it the more puzzled do I become, though still more passionately interested.”
No one knows to what extent she tried to experience Spirit Communication but by reading the extract, you can tell how lonely, sad, and confused she must be to be thinking about drug usage. Jinnah and Ruttie started out as inseparable beings in love and slowly drifted apart into two lonely people, and Jinnah of Pakistan gives extracts from letters and events that occured to provide the full picture. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about Jinnah’s life; more than what the textbooks say, as Jinnah of Pakistan renders a great read for all those who want to know more than just the political side of Jinnah’s life.
On the other hand, Jinnah of Pakistan also goes into great detail on the political side of Jinnah’s life. From the address to Lord Minto about the muslim rights and political standing to the last meeting for negotiations for Pakistan. There are many letters that can be read in this book that are conversations between the two great leaders of the sub-continent; Jinnah and Gandhi. Many of these letters are not easily available and so are a great learning resource for those who want a deeper look into the political strategies that came into play. Due to the difficulty in vocabulary though, I would suggest this biography to higher middle schoolers and above, although kids younger can definitely give it a try!
Here is an excerpt from the book that depicts the difficult wording,
“Since every candidate would be obliged to appeal to joint electorates for support, they would all have to tone down, if not entirely abstain from, narrow communal rhetoric, and run only on national issues and appeal more often to secular interests of economic development and reform.” (Wolfpert 94)
As you can see, the vocabulary is a little different from common English spoken today as, first, the book was written at a different time period, and second, that it is more towards the political side and so uses the formal language, so if you are not familiar with a style of language used, this book might be more difficult to understand.
Overall, Jinnah of Pakistan provides a balanced look at Jinnah’s life, both politically and personally.
Jinnah of Pakistan was such a complex yet emotional and raw look into Quaid-e-Azam’s life. Because of the confusion and chaos in his world, some thought-provoking questions occured to me while reading this book. One of them was,
“Jinnah always wanted to study theatre, so if he had decided to join the theatre, would Pakistan have come into existence, and if so, who would have taken his place as leader?”
Some questions on the partition and Pakistan history also popped into my head when concluding the book that I would like to ask Jinnah himself,
“ Was there any one event that caused you to abandon the whole muslim-hindu unity concept that you spent many years defending?”
“Do you think if you had not been so stubborn, you would have ended the partition on better terms and have gotten all the resources needed for the country, or do you believe the stubbornness was needed in the situation to get a fair share for the Muslims even though the resources required were not fully provided after the partition?”
Professor Stanley Wolfpert is the author of Jinnah of Pakistan as well as other great books on the sub-continent such as India and Pakistan: Continued Conflict, Gandhi’s Passion: The Life and Legacy, and many more. He was an American historian and indologist, meaning he studied the history of Indian culture and life. In 1948 he arrived in India while serving as an engineer on a steamship. Gandhi had recently died and Wolfpert became greatly affected by the way people were mourning his death, touching his ashes and crying in the streets. This was a pivotal point in Wolfpert’s life and he decided to study India’s history instead. After receiving his Ph.D from Pennsylvania University and becoming a professor at UCLA, Wolfpert began to write history books and biographies on the sub-continent’s heroes. Wolfpert has impacted the world in a tremendous way, providing accurate and honest biographies on heroes and events in the sub-continent. This has spread the truth about many topics, which no one had been able to do before on the sub-continent history.
Wolfpert’s biography of Jinnah, which was published in 1984, was so raw and genuine that the General Dictator of Pakistan at the time, Zia-ul-Haq banned the book because of the truth behind Jinnah’s dietary habits being displayed in the biography itself. Wolfpert’s book changed the world’s perspective by giving an authentic insight into the hero’s life. People could actually see the facts how they were, without the fabrications of events. Jinnah of Pakistan impacted the world by letting people know the truthful details about Jinnah to see the full picture. Alongside Jinnah’s personal life, the world’s eyes were opened to the truth in the struggle to create Pakistan. Hardships and injustices which were never available to the public became open to them and people could see the sly and cruel opposition Jinnah was facing in full truth and detail.
Wolfpert is a very unique author. He has written many biographies and since he is a historian, his writing style differs from many other authors. Not only does he provide all the accurate information in an easily read, story kind of way, but also uses a respectable amount of figurative language. By using figurative language, he engages the reader and keeps the story interesting which can be hard, especially for biographies, since they are the truth and not fictitious.
For instance Wolfpert explains the controversy yet to attack the fourteen points Jinnah prepared (on muslim rights), in a form of a metaphor of a badly made ark in a dangerous storm.
“He took the Aga Khan ‘four principles,’ and patched them together with his Delhi Muslim proposals of 1927, hammered a few more planks onto either end, and hoped it would float, an ark in which all of them might survive the coming flood.” (Wolfpert 105)
Not only does Wlfpert use the metaphor to describe the dangers facing the points, but the muslims as a whole as well.
Furthermore, the way Wolfpert titles his chapters differ dramatically from other books I have read. Instead of naming the chapters by time, he named them by the place where Jinnah spent that time period; the first chapter’s title is Karachi as it was Jinnah’s birthplace and the setting for that portion of his life.
Another interesting strategy Wolfpert uses to provide an honest look into Jinnah’s life, is using many excerpts from letters, meetings, and interviews from all the people somehow connected to Jinnah to give different perspectives on the hero. By skillfully combining all these aspects, Wolfpert produced a biography worth reading.
Jinnah of Pakistan is an art piece. Complex, yet mesmerizing, it provides the perfect combination of the political and personal life of Jinnah, never seen before. By doing so, readers can truly come to terms with the whole being of Jinnah and not just an ideal image.
Most people have probably heard of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the man who solely founded Pakistan, but many probably do not know that he had given up at one point and had moved back to London. Stressed, frustrated, and just done with all the pointless arguments leading in no direction, Jinnah left, but so many think that it was because of his lung problems, even though they started later. This is just one instance of a life filled with emotion, complications, and the complex everyday hurdles of a human, that Jinnah was. A human. The same as the man who lives across the street or the woman at the store. He had a completely different life behind the political stage where people were used to seeing him. By reading this book, I fully got to understand how the fearless leaders we all look up to are just as terrified of life and what it brings, as the rest of us. It has changed me by introducing me to this reality of leaders and how they are humans and have been put on a pedestal so high up, it’s hard for them to jump down, afraid of disappointing others. This has just brought me closer to the leader than I’ve ever been before, as first Jinnah seemed like this perfect hero who knew exactly what he was doing, but after reading the conflicts in his marriage, family, and how he had internal struggles as well has having half the world against him, his pedestal lowered just enough to make me respect and admire him even more.
Jinnah of Pakistan also shows how most of Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s life had been devoted to Pakistan. From him being the Muslim-Hindu ambassador to fighting for a separate state, he has almost always been involved in politics. Since he had devoted most of his time and energy to the beneficiality of Muslims, I got a deeper insight into the history of Pakistan. For example, one of the first contracts drafted for the independence of India, when it was claiming to stay united, was the Nehru Report. This report gave Muslims a considerably less amount of seats in the legislative council and since Jinnah did not approve, it did not get acted upon. This kind of information is not explained in detail in textbooks, but merely mentioned. On the other hand, in JInnah of Pakistan it is not only mentioned but different sides are explained and the contract is fully clarified. Many other contracts like the Nehru Report were proposed when negotiating for independence and by reading this book I fully understand how many late nights, headaches, and arguments went into fighting for this land, Pakistan.
I also got a deeper insight into how politics actually works. When Jinnah was in the middle of the negotiations, he knew he was getting nowhere and so took liberty of his connections and met with Lord Irwin, who then came up with the Round Table conference idea. This was a milestone on the way to independence. Also, in the beginning, Jinnah was connected in both the Congress and Muslim League and because of this he was able to listen and discuss with both parties, conceptulizing both points of view. These strategies and unconventional ways of thinking is what led to Jinnah being able to make this dream of Pakistan come true and has changed me in a way, to think of the bigger picture when making decisions or coming up with strategies.
Not only does Jinnah of Pakistan provide a balanced view of different sides and opinions of all other characters in this play of history, but describes events in Jinnah’s life, never heard before. How he wanted to go into theatre and acting. How he came to join law in the first place. How he fell in love with Ruttie. This book dives into the very personal aspects of Jinnah’s life with dialogues from Jinnah, his sister, Fatima, and his other close friends. In one instance, Ruttie expresses how she feels so isolated that she wants to experience a spiritual state in a letter to Kanji (a person who worked with Jinnah and could be trusted by Ruttie to reveal her feelings). She states,
“Lately, I have been very much drawn towards the subject of Spirit Communication and I am most anxious to know more and get at the Truth. It is such an elusive Subject and the more I hear of it the more puzzled do I become, though still more passionately interested.”
No one knows to what extent she tried to experience Spirit Communication but by reading the extract, you can tell how lonely, sad, and confused she must be to be thinking about drug usage. Jinnah and Ruttie started out as inseparable beings in love and slowly drifted apart into two lonely people, and Jinnah of Pakistan gives extracts from letters and events that occured to provide the full picture. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about Jinnah’s life; more than what the textbooks say, as Jinnah of Pakistan renders a great read for all those who want to know more than just the political side of Jinnah’s life.
On the other hand, Jinnah of Pakistan also goes into great detail on the political side of Jinnah’s life. From the address to Lord Minto about the muslim rights and political standing to the last meeting for negotiations for Pakistan. There are many letters that can be read in this book that are conversations between the two great leaders of the sub-continent; Jinnah and Gandhi. Many of these letters are not easily available and so are a great learning resource for those who want a deeper look into the political strategies that came into play. Due to the difficulty in vocabulary though, I would suggest this biography to higher middle schoolers and above, although kids younger can definitely give it a try!
Here is an excerpt from the book that depicts the difficult wording,
“Since every candidate would be obliged to appeal to joint electorates for support, they would all have to tone down, if not entirely abstain from, narrow communal rhetoric, and run only on national issues and appeal more often to secular interests of economic development and reform.” (Wolfpert 94)
As you can see, the vocabulary is a little different from common English spoken today as, first, the book was written at a different time period, and second, that it is more towards the political side and so uses the formal language, so if you are not familiar with a style of language used, this book might be more difficult to understand.
Overall, Jinnah of Pakistan provides a balanced look at Jinnah’s life, both politically and personally.
Jinnah of Pakistan was such a complex yet emotional and raw look into Quaid-e-Azam’s life. Because of the confusion and chaos in his world, some thought-provoking questions occured to me while reading this book. One of them was,
“Jinnah always wanted to study theatre, so if he had decided to join the theatre, would Pakistan have come into existence, and if so, who would have taken his place as leader?”
Some questions on the partition and Pakistan history also popped into my head when concluding the book that I would like to ask Jinnah himself,
“ Was there any one event that caused you to abandon the whole muslim-hindu unity concept that you spent many years defending?”
“Do you think if you had not been so stubborn, you would have ended the partition on better terms and have gotten all the resources needed for the country, or do you believe the stubbornness was needed in the situation to get a fair share for the Muslims even though the resources required were not fully provided after the partition?”
Professor Stanley Wolfpert is the author of Jinnah of Pakistan as well as other great books on the sub-continent such as India and Pakistan: Continued Conflict, Gandhi’s Passion: The Life and Legacy, and many more. He was an American historian and indologist, meaning he studied the history of Indian culture and life. In 1948 he arrived in India while serving as an engineer on a steamship. Gandhi had recently died and Wolfpert became greatly affected by the way people were mourning his death, touching his ashes and crying in the streets. This was a pivotal point in Wolfpert’s life and he decided to study India’s history instead. After receiving his Ph.D from Pennsylvania University and becoming a professor at UCLA, Wolfpert began to write history books and biographies on the sub-continent’s heroes. Wolfpert has impacted the world in a tremendous way, providing accurate and honest biographies on heroes and events in the sub-continent. This has spread the truth about many topics, which no one had been able to do before on the sub-continent history.
Wolfpert’s biography of Jinnah, which was published in 1984, was so raw and genuine that the General Dictator of Pakistan at the time, Zia-ul-Haq banned the book because of the truth behind Jinnah’s dietary habits being displayed in the biography itself. Wolfpert’s book changed the world’s perspective by giving an authentic insight into the hero’s life. People could actually see the facts how they were, without the fabrications of events. Jinnah of Pakistan impacted the world by letting people know the truthful details about Jinnah to see the full picture. Alongside Jinnah’s personal life, the world’s eyes were opened to the truth in the struggle to create Pakistan. Hardships and injustices which were never available to the public became open to them and people could see the sly and cruel opposition Jinnah was facing in full truth and detail.
Wolfpert is a very unique author. He has written many biographies and since he is a historian, his writing style differs from many other authors. Not only does he provide all the accurate information in an easily read, story kind of way, but also uses a respectable amount of figurative language. By using figurative language, he engages the reader and keeps the story interesting which can be hard, especially for biographies, since they are the truth and not fictitious.
For instance Wolfpert explains the controversy yet to attack the fourteen points Jinnah prepared (on muslim rights), in a form of a metaphor of a badly made ark in a dangerous storm.
“He took the Aga Khan ‘four principles,’ and patched them together with his Delhi Muslim proposals of 1927, hammered a few more planks onto either end, and hoped it would float, an ark in which all of them might survive the coming flood.” (Wolfpert 105)
Not only does Wlfpert use the metaphor to describe the dangers facing the points, but the muslims as a whole as well.
Furthermore, the way Wolfpert titles his chapters differ dramatically from other books I have read. Instead of naming the chapters by time, he named them by the place where Jinnah spent that time period; the first chapter’s title is Karachi as it was Jinnah’s birthplace and the setting for that portion of his life.
Another interesting strategy Wolfpert uses to provide an honest look into Jinnah’s life, is using many excerpts from letters, meetings, and interviews from all the people somehow connected to Jinnah to give different perspectives on the hero. By skillfully combining all these aspects, Wolfpert produced a biography worth reading.
Jinnah of Pakistan is an art piece. Complex, yet mesmerizing, it provides the perfect combination of the political and personal life of Jinnah, never seen before. By doing so, readers can truly come to terms with the whole being of Jinnah and not just an ideal image.
July 16, 2023
Jinnah was one of the Indian big guns. He was a juggernaut who single handedly steered the course of splintered Muslim power houses toward a common end. However, like many other great personalities, development of this personality was not simple. When he first came to Indian political scene, he was imbued with Indian nationalism. He glued the schisms between two people "who were fanatically at odds, with their different diets and incompatible gods". He shone like a northern star on Indian sky for what he did was never done before through negotiations. He started believing that he was the one who would deliver India from British colonial rule. But then the table turned for him for the first time. Other juggernauts came around and he was sidelined. They made him feel, through their actions, that he was not one of them, that he belonged to a minority and that they would not gather under his wings to achieve the freedom for India. He tried his best to convince them but without any popular support his pleas fell on deaf ears. They peeled off the glue he had applied on India's politico-religious fissures and set upon to convert them into unbridgeable chasms. He offered them many binding solutions but they shunned him out. He gave up on them and flew West to try his luck there. Practice was great there as well his house but the doors for leadership were closed. Meanwhile in India a minority party was in shambles and was desperately searching for a seasoned politician to save it from falling into abyss. Jinnah was the obvious candidate, readied this time to outshine all other stars, simultaneously, on north western and south eastern Indian sky. He came back and started preparing the party in shambles for upcoming elections. The narrative he build was of equitable share in power for minority. His party perfomed good but he was not going to get equitable share anywhere. Majority came to power and blundered as is the norm with it. Jinnah exploited their blunders and build a strong narrative for the protection of minority rights. Meanwhile an idea was circulating in the upper echelons of atmosphere; it was the idea of separation which had an emence tnt power. Jinnah adopted the principal, some say as a bargaing chip, and threw it before populace. Minority gathered around this narrative as at last they were in possession of something which they believed could deliver them from both the ongoing and incumbent masters. Afterwards it was the narrative and popular support behind it which drove Jinnah more than he drove himself. His party secured victory after victory and won almost all minority seats. Majority party whose narrative was of integration, miserably failed in selling it to the minority population. This authenticated Jinnah's credo of separate homeland. Jinnah won his case for his party, his people and for himself. India and Pakistan gained independence in August 1947. Partition was bloody but it saved India from civil wars. Gandhi, Nehru and Jinnah got their fair share in Indian struggle for independence. Britishers took a shameful flight by not stopping communal roits while they can. Perhaps they didn't want people to kill them instead of eachother.
December 15, 2025
জিন্নাহকে নিয়ে লেখা বইগুলোর মধ্যে মনে হয় সবচেয়ে আলোচিত ও তথ্য বহুল এ বইটা। চলাফেরায় ভীষণ ফ্যাশনেবল জিন্নাহ কিভাবে মুসলমানদের প্রধান নেতায় পরিণত হলেন তা দারুণভাবে ফুটিয়ে তোলা হয়েছে এ বইয়ে।
সে সময়টাতে ঘটে যাওয়া অনেক কিছুর বর্ণনা আছে এ বইয়ে। বিশেষত গান্ধী, নেহেরু, বল্লভ ভাই প্যাটেল, রাজা গোপালচারীর মতো কংগ্রেস নেতৃবৃন্দের বিপক্ষে অনেকটা একাই লড়ে গিয়েছেন জিন্নাহ। সে সময়টাতে লিয়াকত আলী, ইস্পাহানি, সোহরাওয়ার্দী, মামদোতের নবাব, ফজলুল হকের মতো নেতারা থাকলেও কেউই আসলে সে অর্থে জিন্নাহ র সমকক্ষ ছিলেন না। সেদিক থেকে চিন্তা করলে তাঁকে অনেকটাই নিঃসঙ্গভাবে নেতৃত্ব দিতে হয়েছে।
এক ব্যবসায়ী পরিবারে জন্ম জিন্নাহ র। অল্প বয়সে বিয়ে করে বিলেতে পাড়ি জমান ব্যারিস্টারি পড়তে। পড়াশোনা শেষ করে তিনি লন্ডনেই আইনপেশায় নিয়োজিত হন। এ সময়ে তিনি দাদাভাই নওরোজির অনুসারী হন। এরপর ঘটনা চক্রে ভারতে ফিরে তিনি তৎকালীন বোম্বাইয়ে (অধুনা মুম্বাই) প্রথমে ম্যাজিস্ট্রেসি ও পরবর্তীতে আইনজীবী হিসেবে নিযুক্ত হোন। মালাবার হিলে তিনি তাঁর আবাস গড়ে তোলেন। জিন্নাহ্ প্রথম বিয়ে বেশ আগে করলেও দ্বিতীয় বিয়ে করেন পার্সি সম্প্রদায়ে। তাঁর সে বিয়েও সুখের হয়নি। জিন্নাহ র জীবদ্দশায় তিনিও মারা যান। এরপর জিন্নাহ পুরোপুরিভাবে রাজনীতিতে মনোনিবেশ করেন।
পাকিস্তান আন্দোলনের নেতৃত্ব দিলেও শেষ পর্যন্ত দেশকে স্থিতিশীল অবস্থায় নেয়ার মতো শারীরিক অবস্থায় ছিলেন না জিন্নাহ। পাকিস্তানের জন্মের অ��্পকাল পরেই তিনি মৃত্যুবরণ করেন। তিনি নেহেরু বা বল্লভ ভাই প্যাটেলের মতো দীর্ঘ সময় পেলে পাকিস্তানকে স্থিতিশীল অবস্থায় নিতে পারতেন কি-না সেটা নিয়ে বিতর্ক আছে অনেক। তবে আজ পর্যন্ত চির অস্থিরতার দেশ পাকিস্তানের সবচেয়ে বড়ো নেতা হিসেবে থেকে গিয়েছেন জিন্নাহ।
সে সময়টাতে ঘটে যাওয়া অনেক কিছুর বর্ণনা আছে এ বইয়ে। বিশেষত গান্ধী, নেহেরু, বল্লভ ভাই প্যাটেল, রাজা গোপালচারীর মতো কংগ্রেস নেতৃবৃন্দের বিপক্ষে অনেকটা একাই লড়ে গিয়েছেন জিন্নাহ। সে সময়টাতে লিয়াকত আলী, ইস্পাহানি, সোহরাওয়ার্দী, মামদোতের নবাব, ফজলুল হকের মতো নেতারা থাকলেও কেউই আসলে সে অর্থে জিন্নাহ র সমকক্ষ ছিলেন না। সেদিক থেকে চিন্তা করলে তাঁকে অনেকটাই নিঃসঙ্গভাবে নেতৃত্ব দিতে হয়েছে।
এক ব্যবসায়ী পরিবারে জন্ম জিন্নাহ র। অল্প বয়সে বিয়ে করে বিলেতে পাড়ি জমান ব্যারিস্টারি পড়তে। পড়াশোনা শেষ করে তিনি লন্ডনেই আইনপেশায় নিয়োজিত হন। এ সময়ে তিনি দাদাভাই নওরোজির অনুসারী হন। এরপর ঘটনা চক্রে ভারতে ফিরে তিনি তৎকালীন বোম্বাইয়ে (অধুনা মুম্বাই) প্রথমে ম্যাজিস্ট্রেসি ও পরবর্তীতে আইনজীবী হিসেবে নিযুক্ত হোন। মালাবার হিলে তিনি তাঁর আবাস গড়ে তোলেন। জিন্নাহ্ প্রথম বিয়ে বেশ আগে করলেও দ্বিতীয় বিয়ে করেন পার্সি সম্প্রদায়ে। তাঁর সে বিয়েও সুখের হয়নি। জিন্নাহ র জীবদ্দশায় তিনিও মারা যান। এরপর জিন্নাহ পুরোপুরিভাবে রাজনীতিতে মনোনিবেশ করেন।
পাকিস্তান আন্দোলনের নেতৃত্ব দিলেও শেষ পর্যন্ত দেশকে স্থিতিশীল অবস্থায় নেয়ার মতো শারীরিক অবস্থায় ছিলেন না জিন্নাহ। পাকিস্তানের জন্মের অ��্পকাল পরেই তিনি মৃত্যুবরণ করেন। তিনি নেহেরু বা বল্লভ ভাই প্যাটেলের মতো দীর্ঘ সময় পেলে পাকিস্তানকে স্থিতিশীল অবস্থায় নিতে পারতেন কি-না সেটা নিয়ে বিতর্ক আছে অনেক। তবে আজ পর্যন্ত চির অস্থিরতার দেশ পাকিস্তানের সবচেয়ে বড়ো নেতা হিসেবে থেকে গিয়েছেন জিন্নাহ।
July 14, 2022
3.5/5 ⭐
Well safe to say, I'll not be reading any political books in the future. It was a...pain. I like history, surely but the politics of the last couple of centuries is boring and frustrating to read. 😮💨
I'm confused between 3⭐ or 4⭐.
I really liked how Wolpert began the book and how he carried it halfway through but after that, I don't know if it's his bias or it is mine, that I stopped liking the tone of the book. Quaid was wrongly or rightly, deliberately or un, painted in this picture of someone with high ego issues. Enough to push this opinion that Islam or Pakistan didn't matter to him and it was his ego that he was satisfying with all this struggle.
The author started putting fwd his speculations and opinion too much by the end. "Jinnah must have thought that..." "Jinnah must've felt that..."
Dude, NO. You can't speculate about a person's inner thoughts! And that too only when you wish to paint him negatively.
I do understand that the idols we had in childhood never are who we expected them to be. And reading this book reiterated that. But I still find in my heart the same respect of Quaid as I did before. Some facts may have changed. Some parts of his personality may have taken a shift. But he's still on that same pedestal. I believe in Pakistan and its cause. I believe in why we needed it, more now than ever.
Well safe to say, I'll not be reading any political books in the future. It was a...pain. I like history, surely but the politics of the last couple of centuries is boring and frustrating to read. 😮💨
I'm confused between 3⭐ or 4⭐.
I really liked how Wolpert began the book and how he carried it halfway through but after that, I don't know if it's his bias or it is mine, that I stopped liking the tone of the book. Quaid was wrongly or rightly, deliberately or un, painted in this picture of someone with high ego issues. Enough to push this opinion that Islam or Pakistan didn't matter to him and it was his ego that he was satisfying with all this struggle.
The author started putting fwd his speculations and opinion too much by the end. "Jinnah must have thought that..." "Jinnah must've felt that..."
Dude, NO. You can't speculate about a person's inner thoughts! And that too only when you wish to paint him negatively.
I do understand that the idols we had in childhood never are who we expected them to be. And reading this book reiterated that. But I still find in my heart the same respect of Quaid as I did before. Some facts may have changed. Some parts of his personality may have taken a shift. But he's still on that same pedestal. I believe in Pakistan and its cause. I believe in why we needed it, more now than ever.
April 11, 2021
Finally, finally, finally!
Done with this book. Throughout the hectic exam routine, I had to drag this book. Took too much time to complete.
The book tells Jinnah's life in it's complete glory. It can also serve as a basis to understand the history of struggle for Pakistan.
The book deserves five stars but the only thing it lacks is that there should have been more information about Jinnah's private life. At times, it seemed as if I were reading history of formation of Pakistan and not a biography.
A good thing however, is the author's unique sarcastic remarks at various points. The remarks, however, do not prevent the reader from developing an opinion of his own.
Absolutely loved this book.
Done with this book. Throughout the hectic exam routine, I had to drag this book. Took too much time to complete.
The book tells Jinnah's life in it's complete glory. It can also serve as a basis to understand the history of struggle for Pakistan.
The book deserves five stars but the only thing it lacks is that there should have been more information about Jinnah's private life. At times, it seemed as if I were reading history of formation of Pakistan and not a biography.
A good thing however, is the author's unique sarcastic remarks at various points. The remarks, however, do not prevent the reader from developing an opinion of his own.
Absolutely loved this book.
April 21, 2020
What an incredible life, a man who's collective will power and resolve was able to manifest an entire nation into being. For someone who grew up in the western world, Wolpert provides comprehensive insight into history of the indian subcontinent throughout WWI and WW2 and beyond. Extremely detailed and very well written, Wolpert does a great job in balancing the art of story telling. This book is rare to come across, nearly $400 on amazon and no kindle version available, this needs to be on kindle ASAP!
February 6, 2021
A deeply moving portrait of an ambitious leader who was determined to succeed despite so many odds stacked against him. Jinnah of Pakistan does not only details Quaid-e-Azam’s ascent from a Bombay-based barrister to a revolutionary politician. It is also an unrelentingly honest account of Muhammad Ali Jinnah as a husband, brother and father. This book embellishes historical facts that are conveniently omitted in the textbooks of Pakistan Studies. Stanley Wolpert documents Jinnah’s strengths as well as his flaws and that is what makes this book the most authentic biography of the man lauded as the greatest Muslim leaders of the subcontinent.
February 19, 2021
The enigmatic personality of one of the most important personalities of the sub-continent is well explained by the author. The book does not feel emotional, except only in the last chapter where Mr. Jinnah is mentioned to be weighing only 70pounds at the time of his demise.
February 2, 2021
Reads like a thriller. With a tragic end when the main protagonist wins, yet loses his life.
February 1, 2022
Great book with detail and the emotion. Loved it. What a writer Stanley Wolpert is.
December 16, 2016
This is an excellent narrative that explores all facets of Jinnah's life, including the ones conveniently ignored by Pakistan Studies books. However, it is an incredibly dense and scholarly affair, in which Wolpert pores over Jinnah's speeches and letters in much detail in an effort to decipher the enigma that was his character.
Through this book, I learnt about Jinnah and his single-minded perseverance in achieving his goals. I learnt of his long march towards Pakistan that was laden with pitfalls and betrayals. I learnt of his high-wire negotiation techniques that blocked no future recourse yet superseded Congress on every turn. And I learnt of the creation of Pakistan in all its nuances and not in a generalized form like one witnesses in Pak. Studies textbooks.
Through the course of this book I was surprised to see how much Pakistan was a product of the Muslim League's hard work as it was of the conceited and impertinent attitudes of Congress notables. They drove the secular visage of Jinnah away through repeated attacks on his ego and metamorphosed him into a sherwani-clad Quaid seeking Pakistan as a personal vendetta.
Furthermore, Congress was obtrusively ignorant of the British brand of gentlemanly politics. Up until the creation of Pakistan, Gandhi remained a two-tongued, self-serving opportunist who seeked to further his political stock while never staying true to his word. While Nehru was politically naive and inclined to taking rash and impulsive decisions. Birla, Prasad, and others maintained their non-statesmanlike, petty haggling demeanor throughout the lengthy negotiations that led to the Partition. In serving Mother India in such a manner, they ultimately tipped the scales in favor of Pakistan.
In conclusion, it is a great book that is a little too detailed for the casual reader who is alien to the subcontinent. Indians and Pakistanis, however, would appreciate this factual, insightful and heavily-referenced work on the life of one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century.
Through this book, I learnt about Jinnah and his single-minded perseverance in achieving his goals. I learnt of his long march towards Pakistan that was laden with pitfalls and betrayals. I learnt of his high-wire negotiation techniques that blocked no future recourse yet superseded Congress on every turn. And I learnt of the creation of Pakistan in all its nuances and not in a generalized form like one witnesses in Pak. Studies textbooks.
Through the course of this book I was surprised to see how much Pakistan was a product of the Muslim League's hard work as it was of the conceited and impertinent attitudes of Congress notables. They drove the secular visage of Jinnah away through repeated attacks on his ego and metamorphosed him into a sherwani-clad Quaid seeking Pakistan as a personal vendetta.
Furthermore, Congress was obtrusively ignorant of the British brand of gentlemanly politics. Up until the creation of Pakistan, Gandhi remained a two-tongued, self-serving opportunist who seeked to further his political stock while never staying true to his word. While Nehru was politically naive and inclined to taking rash and impulsive decisions. Birla, Prasad, and others maintained their non-statesmanlike, petty haggling demeanor throughout the lengthy negotiations that led to the Partition. In serving Mother India in such a manner, they ultimately tipped the scales in favor of Pakistan.
In conclusion, it is a great book that is a little too detailed for the casual reader who is alien to the subcontinent. Indians and Pakistanis, however, would appreciate this factual, insightful and heavily-referenced work on the life of one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century.
July 15, 2025
The most astonishing aspect of this book, in my opinion, remains Jinnah’s ability to fiercely advocate/negotiate in favor of the creation of Pakistan despite his rapidly deteriorating health. In a world devoid of Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and virtual/flexible meeting softwares, it was required of Jinnah to be physically present for a large number of meetings to get his point across, which more often than not, necessitated traveling long distances to attend them! To a person of sound health this may not seem to be a concern, but I can imagine this being a gargantuan task for someone battling a deadly disease. Although it is debated whether Jinnah wanted the creation of Pakistan so intensely for the satiation of his ego (I highly doubt this) or for the genuine betterment of Muslims in India, he was quite adamant towards the realization of this mighty goal, come what may!
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