Fatima Jinnah (Madr-e-Millat - Mother of the Nation) (1893 - 1967) was the sister of Pakistan's first governor-general, Muhammed Ali Jinnah.
Early Life
Miss Fatima Jinnah, younger sister of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was born in 1893. Of his seven brothers and sisters, she was the closest to the Quaid. Jinnah became her guardian upon the death of their father in 1901. Due to her brothers’ keen interest, and despite strident family opposition, Miss Fatima received excellent early education. She joined the Bandra Convent in 1902. In 1919 she got admitted to the highly competitive University of Calcutta where she attended the Dr. Ahmed Dental College . After she qualified, Jinnah went along with her idea of opening a dental clinic in Bombay and helped set it up in 1923.
Miss Fatima Jinnah had first lived with her brother for about eight years until 1918, when he got married to Rattanbai Petit. Upon Rattanbai Petits' death in February 1929, Miss Jinnah wound up her clinic, moved into Jinnah's bungalow and took charge of his house. Thus began the life long companionship that lasted till Jinnah's death on 11 September 1948.
Her Brother and Political Career
In all, Miss Jinnah lived with her brother for about 28 years - including the last nineteen trying years of his life.Jinnah discussed various problems with her, mostly at the breakfast and dinner table. Paying tribute to her sister, the Jinnah once said, "My sister was like a bright ray of light and hope whenever I came back home and met her. Anxieties would have been much greater and my health much worse, but for the restraint imposed by her." Miss Jinnah not only lived with her brother but also accompanied him on his numerous tours. In 1932, she joined him in London when he remained there after the second Round Table Conference .
When the All-India Muslim League was being organized, Miss Fatima Jinnah was taken as a member of the Working Committee of Bombay Provincial Muslim League, and worked in that capacity until 1947.
In March 1940, she attended the Lahore session of the Muslim League. Ms Jinnah felt that the Hindus intended to subjugate and dominate the Muslims completely. It was primarily due to her initiative that All-India Muslim Women Students Federation was organized in February 1941 at Dehli.
Partition
During the transfer of power phase in 1947, she was an inspiration to Muslim women and formed the Women's Relief Committee , which later formed the nucleus for the All Pakistan Women's Association . She also played a significant role in the settlement of refugees in the new state of Pakistan.
Dormant Period
Despite her old age, she continued to help social and educational associations. During the Quaid’s illness, she remained passionately attached to him. After his death, she often issued important statements on important occasions, as a reminder to the nation of the ideals on which Pakistan had been established.
Return to Politics
In 1964, Miss Fatima Jinnah ran for President as a candidate of the Combined Opposition Party (COP). Even a conservative party like the Jammat-i-Islami accepted her, a women, as a presidential candidate. Miss Jinnah's great advantage was that she was the sister of the founder of Pakistan and had been detached from the political conflicts that had plagued Pakistan after the founder’s death. The sight of this dynamic lady moving in the streets of big cities, and even in the rural areas of a Muslim country, was both moving and unique. She proclaimed her opponent Presidential candidate, Ayub Khan, to be a dictator. Miss Jinnah's line of attack was that by coming to terms with India on the Indus Water dispute, Ayub had surrendered control of the rivers over to India. Her campaign generated such tremendous public enthusiasm that most of the press agreed that if the contest were by direct election, she would have won against Ayub.
Most legal groups in Pakistan came out for Miss Jinnah, and were denounced by Ayub as "mischiefmongers." In reply, the Karachi Bar Association overwhelmingly adopted a resolution urging "the party in power to get rid of the notion that wisdom, righteousness and patriotism are the monopoly of their yes men." The usually complaisant newspaper editors defied the regime's attempts to make them endorse a restrictive new press law.
To Ayub's claim that he is trying to develop "basic democracy," Miss Jinnah replied: "What sort of democracy is that? One man's democracy? Fifty persons' democracy?" As for Ayub's charge that the country would revert to chaos if he is defeated, his rival snapped: "You can't have stability through compulsion, force and the big stick."
Ayub-designed electoral system was not half bad, giving the vote to 80,000 middle-and upper-class electors. While that is a tiny percentage in a total population of 110 million, most of those millions are not only illiterate but totally ignorant of political issues.
Ayub Khan was running scared, because Candidate Jinnah has managed to focus every form of discontent in the country. To brake her bandwagon, he abruptly decreed that elections would be held Jan. 2, instead of March, as originally scheduled. Explaining lamely that the situation is "a little tense," the government also rescinded a law specifying that political rallies must be open to the public. However,with heavy support in rural areas, where many Muslim electors particularly disapprove of a woman's candidacy and where Ayub's economic reforms have helped more than in the cities, Ayub was expected to win the election.
Biography of Jinnah
It seems that the thought of doing a biography of her illustrious brother came to Miss Jinnah about the time when Hector Bolihtos ' "Jinnah" was first published in 1954. It was felt that Bolihto had failed to bring out the political aspects of Jinnah’s life in his book. Miss Jinnah started looking for a Pakistani author to do a biography of Jinnah.
G. Allana was her choice. G. Allana assisted Miss Jinnah on the assignment but they parted company due to reasons undisclosed. Later both carried on their independent works on Jinnah. Her book “My Brother” was published by the Quaid-i-Azam Academy in 1987.
Last Days
The people of Pakistan hold Miss Fatima in high esteem. Due to her selfless work for Pakistan, the nation conferred upon her the title of Madre-Millet (Mother of the Nation) . She died on July 8, 1967 at Karachi. She is buried along side Mohammad Ali Jinnah,her brother.(In some books the date of demise of Miss Fatima Jinnah is indicated as July 2, 1967.)
Ms Fatima Jinnah's Message to the Nation on Eid-ul Azha, 1967: “The immediate task before you is to face the problem and bring the country back on the right path with the bugles of Quaid-i-Azam’s message. March forward under the banner of star and the crescent with unity in your ranks, faith in you mission and discipline. Fulfill your mission and a great sublime future awaits your enthusiasm and action. Remember: ‘cowards die many times before death, the valiant never tastes death but once.’ This is the only course of action which suits any self-respecting people and certainly the Muslim Nation.”
Last updated: 10-12-2005 02:41:27
