Jinnah: charisma and leadership

Major history-making political movements have three common features. First, a consensus-issue that becomes the focal point of the movement. This consensus-issue is the product of the political process and consensus develops over time. Second, the role of leadership is crucial to shaping a political movement.
The leader(s) articulates the issue and mobilises the people in support of the demand. In this process both the leader and the followers are influenced by each other but, at the end, the leader symbolises the movement and steers it in a particular direction. Third, no political issue can become the basis of a major movement unless the people are brought into the process. Initially the political activity may be confined to a small section of the populace. However, it has to be transformed into a popular movement in order to strengthen the credibility of the demand. The role of leadership becomes crucial in transforming an elitist demand into a popular demand.
The movement for the establishment of Pakistan altered the course of South Asian history. It transformed a community into a nation and brought into existence a pre-dominantly Muslim state. This movement had all the three major ingredients of historically significant movements: the consensus-issue, leadership and popular mobilisation.
The key link between the consensus-issue and popular mobilisation is the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who played a decisive role in articulating the key issue and then changed the political landscape of British India by successful mobilisation of the Muslims in favour of the demand for a separate state. Like a clear-headed and determined leader, Jinnah transformed the separate homeland demand, initiated by the Muslim League elite, into the demand of a vast majority of the Muslims of British India.
Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah's politics was shaped by his intellectual background that had a strong imprint of British liberal traditions. Other factors that molded his disposition included a dispassionate analysis of Indian political history, special concern for the Muslim rights and interests in British India and their future after the British quit India, a strong belief in political and constitutional struggle for protection and advancement of the rights of the Muslim community and self-confidence and determination to pursue one's political agenda.
Jinnah was influenced by British liberal traditions during his education in England. On his return to India in 1896 he joined the legal profession which facilitated his entry into the Indian political class in Bombay. He maintained close interaction with Indian leaders of liberal and moderate political disposition and joined the Congress Party in 1906. He contested the elections to Indian legislative council in 1909 and joined this body in early 1910. He joined the Muslim League in 1913 and retained his formal association with the Congress until 1920.
Another source of Jinnah's political worldview is his role in the legislative council and the outside in the political domain. His speeches and statements, inside and outside the Legislative Council from 1910 to 1935, reflect a strong preference for liberal constitutionalism, democracy, the rule of law, civil and political rights and socio-economic equity. While defending the rule of law and civil and political rights he never assigned weight to religious, ethnic or regional background. He was vocal in defending the civil and political rights of all Indians against what he considered the oppressive policies of the British-Indian government.
While working for greater co-operation between the Hindus and the Muslims, Jinnah was extremely conscious of problems of the Muslim community. As a legal expert and champion of civil and political rights, Jinnah paid greater attention to the issues of Muslim identity, rights and interests. The Lucknow Pact between the Congress Party and the Muslim League in 1916 was an attempt to achieve two objectives simultaneously: secure political guarantees for the rights and interests of the Muslims as well as promote co-operation between the Congress and the Muslim League, in order to extract political and constitutional reforms from the British government.
His greatest achievement was to develop a broadly-based consensus among the Muslim on their political, economic and cultural demands whose most comprehensive expression can be found in his famous address in 1929, popularly described as Jinnah's Fourteen Points. This was a rejoinder to the neglect of the Muslims rights and interests by the Nehru Report (1928) on constitutional reforms prepared for the Congress Party.
Jinnah's Fourteen Points were not a set of religious demands. These were worldly demands for constitutional safeguards and guarantees for the historical and cultural identity of the Muslims as well as secure their political and economic rights and interests, which included, among other things, representation of the Muslim in legislatures, cabinets and government jobs.
A major shift in Jinnah's politics came after his return from England in 1934. He took two major decisions: re-organisation of the Muslim League in order to make it the most influential political organisation of the Muslim, and mobilisation of the ordinary Muslims in favour of the Muslim League demands.
The popular mobilisation during 1937-47, especially after the adoption of the Muslim League resolution for a separate homeland in March 1940, aimed at strengthening the Muslim League struggle for protection and advancement of Muslim identity, rights and interests and moving their demands from the elite to the popular level. The ceaseless efforts for popular mobilisation strengthened the credibility of the Muslim League and its political demands.
It was during this period that Jinnah began to invoke Islamic identity and discourse for identity-formation and popular mobilisation of the Muslims. Islam based slogan were at their peak in the Punjab and NWFP during the course of the 1946 provincial elections.
Further, political experience suggested that the Muslim League could not rely on the goodwill of the Congress Party for the protection and advancement of Muslim identity, rights and interests. Jinnah wanted these issues to be incorporated into any constitutional arrangements for India. Therefore, Jinnah decided to go for popular mobilisation to establish the popular credentials of the Muslim League and its demand for a separate homeland. The results of the 1946 provincial elections showed that popular mobilisation was very successful because the Muslim League won most Muslim seats in the provincial assemblies.
It was in the late 1930s that Jinnah acquired charismatic appeal amongst the Muslims who reposed full confidence in his leadership. They viewed him a saviour. A recently published book entitled The Charismatic Leader: Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Creation of Pakistan by Dr Sikandar Hayat offers the most comprehensive explanation of Jinnah's charisma that swept aside all other Muslim leaders. The following qualities enabled Jinnah to develop a charismatic appeal for the ordinary Muslims.
1. Jinnah was a self-confident person, who was always absolutely sure of himself and his cause. He maintained close interaction with senior leaders of the party and consulted them before taking the final decision.
2. He responded to the aspirations and concerns of the Muslims and articulated them as concrete demands.
3. His exceptionally brilliant legal background was suited to negotiations on complex political, legal and constitutional issues.
4. He was a well-organised person with strong discipline in his private and public life that strengthened his management capacity.
5. He was the most articulate advocate of Muslim rights and interests in British India. He had the capacity to make his case in a forceful manner and change his strategies over time. However, he did not waver on the goal of protecting and promoting Muslim identity, rights and interests.
He advocated participatory governance, constitutionalism, the rule of law and civil and political right for Pakistan because he wanted Pakistan to be a modern democratic state that derived ethical inspirations from the teaching and principles of Islam. He was a strong advocate of equal citizenship for all Pakistanis irrespective of their religion, caste or creed. He assured full protection and equal citizenship to all religious minorities.
He was convinced that the state must work towards socio-economic justice for its people and improve the quality of life for them. He advised industrialists and business people to look after the welfare of their workers and other people. Speaking in Delhi four years before independence, Jinnah said that there would be no use of having Pakistan if it did not end the exploitation of millions of people. While laying the foundation-stone of the Valika Textile Mills in Karachi in September 1947, Jinnah remarked, "I also hope that in planning your factory, you have provided for proper residential accommodation and other amenities for the workers, for no industry can thrive without contented labour."
Jinnah died on September 11, 1948 before he could translate his ideals into concrete institutions and processes. There is a need to return to Jinnah's life and statements for inspiration and guidance for governance and political management.
On way to counter religious extremism and terrorism is to re-emphasise Jinnah's views on religious and cultural tolerance, equal citizenship, constitutionalism and civil and political rights. His statements on these issues should be included in courses of studies in schools and propagated through the media so that the people imbibe Jinnah's vision of Pakistan.