When Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah studied law at Lincoln's Inn in London one of his favourite books was a thought-provoking one on Morality written by one of Britain's renowned statesmen, Lord Morley. He commanded an excellent reputation for impeccable honesty and an unblemished, clean record in private and public life through-out his many long years of public office at the highest rungs of the political ladder.
The Quaid imbibed the high virtue of morality, which was the hallmark of Lord Morley's political life. As a member of the Imperial Legislative Council in the British-ruled India, the Quaid practised the sermon on morality in public life given by Lord Morley.
August 11, 1947 was a momentous day in the life of the Quaid and his immortal creation, Pakistan. The first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan met on that historic day in Karachi and elected Jinnah as its first President. He was invited to address this august body on August 11, barely three days before the dramatic act of the Partition of India and the transfer of power and conferment of independence on the two new independent Dominions of India and Pakistan on August 14, 1947.
The Constituent Assembly was also the first federal legislature of Pakistan, which the Quaid rightly called a sovereign legislative body. Uppermost in his thoughts was what he described in his perfect English "an unprecedented cyclonic revolution" that had partitioned the Subcontinent and established two independent sovereign dominions in this Subcontinent.
He added: "there is no parallel in the history of the world". He called the constitutional plan, which had created two independent Dominions in the Subcontinent, as titanic and what was aimed at had been achieved peacefully.
Earlier the Quaid-i-Azam had in the choicest words of the English language profusely thanked the members of the Constituent Assembly for electing him as their first President.
In the Quaid's words this was the greatest honour that was possible for this sovereign body to confer on him. He sought the members' co-operation in making Pakistan's constituent Assembly an example to the world".
He impressed upon the members that their was a sovereign legislative body with all the powers.
He said, the first duty of a government is to maintain law and order so that the life and property and the religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the State.
The Quaid-i-Azam was a stickler for constitutional propriety and parliamentary decorum. He reminded the members of the House of the grave responsibility placed on their shoulders to frame Pakistan's Constitution. He preferred not to give any guidelines for Constitution-making. But he made a very important observation when he declared in categorical words that the biggest curse from which India was suffering was bribery and corruption.
Some other countries were also suffering from it but in India it was much worse. That really is a poison. "We must put that down with and iron hand, and I hope that you will take adequate measures as soon as it is possible for this Assembly to do so.
The Quaid-i-Azam then mentioned black-marketing as another curse. He said. I know that black-marketeers are frequently caught and punished. According to our judicial notions, sentences are passed and some times fines only are imposed. Now you have to tackle this monster which today is a colossal crime against Society in our distressed conditions when we constantly face shortages of food and other essential commodities of life.
A citizen who does black-marketing commits, I think, a greater crime than the most grievous of crimes. I think they ought to be very severely punished.
The Quaid gave this advice to the members of the Constituent Assembly: If we want to make this great State of Pakistan happy and prosperous we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well-being of its people and especially of the masses and the poor. If you will work in co-operation, forgetting the past and burying the hatchet you are bound to succeed.
In his August 11 address to the Constituent Assembly, he also cautioned against sectarianism, provincialism nepotism and jobbery. This evil must be eradicated, said the Quaid. When students of Pakistan's history scan the pages of our history it is a tragic fact that we as Pakistan is did not translate into action and deeds the words of wisdom and advice the Founding Father gave our lawmakers on August 11, 1947.
Our deviation from the path he chose for us has been a heinous blunder which has weakened the foundations of law and justice in Pakistan. Following the Quaid's commandments may change our future and make the foundations of our state strong and stable.
The pearls of wisdom and advice on how to manage the affairs of the State of Pakistan handed down to us by the Quaid-i-Azam in its incipient years are still as valid today as the time when they were uttered by the Father of the Nation. I remember having heard from Justice M.B. Ahmed, Secretary of the first National Assembly of Pakistan, that the Quaid had as Pakistan's Governor-General sent a hand-written outline of the draft anti-Corruption law for consideration by the members of the Federal Legislature and enactment into law with modifications as deemed necessary by the Legislature.
Corruption has blighted the progress of Pakistan and weakened our Administration and destroyed integrity of character in our political life. Graft and corruption are still eating up the vitals of our political system.
The Quaid seems to have had a premonition that this curse would clog Pakistan's progress. Hence his counsel to the nation to wipe out bribery and corruption with an iron hand.
He passed on his counsel of wisdom in State Management to Quaid-i-Millat Liaquat Ali Khan whom Mr Jinnah made subsequently Pakistan's first Prime Minister. He was present in the Constituent Assembly in Karachi when Governor-General Jinnah addressed and personally gave it his sagacious advice on August 11, 1947.
The Quaid-i-Azam advice to the nation against the perils of provincialism was uttered in powerful and commanding words when he addressed the students of the Islamia College in Peshawar on 12 April, 1948. The Islamia College was so dear ton him that he included a share for it in his will and personal bequest. He said: "Our duty to the State comes first, our duty to our province, to our district, to our town, and to our village and to ourselves comes next, our duty to the State often demands that we must be ready to submerge our individual or provincial interests unto the common cause for common good".
In his addresses to the people and Muslim League workers all over Pakistan the Quaid-i-Azam repeated his impassioned plea against the ban of provincialism. He wanted the people of Pakistan and their administrators to have uppermost in their minds the good of Pakistan as a whole. He had galvanised the Muslim nation into a Wall of Steel in the fold of the Pakistan Movement and won the electoral battle of 1946 that made the achievement of Pakistan possible for him and his resolute Muslim nation.
In his personal life, the Quaid was indeed the personification of impeachable morals, integrity of character and utmost respect for his pledged word. His beloved wife, Rutti, died in 1929. He never remarried although countless Muslim ladies of high birth, wealthy lineage and large personal wealth were wanting to be his wife.
He had no amorous connections with any female after Rutti's death. He had tremendous respect and affection for his devoted sister Fatima Jinnah. She said to me in 1955 during a visit to the Jinnah's Flagstaff House residence in Karachi that the Quaid was like a father to me, on his return from London when he started his legal practice in Bombay, he got me and other members of our family from Karachi to Bombay and took care of all us, like a loving caring father.
I owe all my education as a Dentist to my loving elder brother. He treated me like his own daughter, Dina. In fact at times, especially during our London years, I felt he cared for me more than Dina. One of the reasons was that among his brothers and sisters, whose Guardian and Sustainer, he had become after our Father's death, I was the youngest and true image of our mother who my eldest brother loved most devotedly. One of his regrets in life was the fact that he was away in London when she died in Karachi and he could not say goodbye to her when she embarked on her journey to the Heavens.
As a lawyer of great repute, the Quaid was most honest and scrupulous, refusing to take up cases in which he suspected the smear of falsehood. He returned to a client his fee of Rs 5000 when the hearing of the case was finished in a single hearing. The Quaid practised what he preached. This spirit he tried to infuse in those who would be called upon on the morrow to administer the State of Pakistan.
The Quaid virtually duelled with Lord Willingdon, the British Governor of Bombay Presidency on a matter of principle. Tempting offers of high position and wealth from the British satrap in Bombay had effect on Jinnah. He was immune to such offers from the British rulers when he attended the Round Table Conferences in London in 1930-31. When he fought the election to the Calcutta-based Imperial Legislative Council in 1909 from Bombay's Muslim constituency Number Two Mr Jinnah, refused to make false promises to garner votes from the voters.
His voters loved him for nearly four decades he represented in Parliament Bombay's Muslims. No Muslim legislator in India's parliamentary history remained the representative of a single Muslim constituency in the country's legislature for so many long decades as was the privilege of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and his loyal Bombay Muslim Constituency.
He was by far the best Muslim Parliamentarian in subcontinent history. He was also the best lawyer and legal brain in India. He was the first Muslim who became Governor General of a huge country in the British Commonwealth of Nations. Pakistan under him was the first Muslim country to be a full member of this commonwealth of Nations.
Comments
Comments are closed.