Jinnah family

Summary

The Jinnah family (Urdu: خاندان جناح) was a political family of Pakistan. It has played an important role in the Pakistan Movement for creation of Pakistan, a separate country for Muslims of India. The family held the leadership of All-India Muslim League, and its successor, Muslim League, until it was dissolved in 1958 by martial law.

Jinnah family
Mazar-e-Quaid, the final resting place of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Fatima Jinnah
Place of originKathiawar, Bombay Presidency, British India[1]
(now in Kathiawar, Gujarat India)
MembersMuhammad Ali Jinnah
Fatima Jinnah
Jinnahbhai Poonja
Emibai Jinnah
Rattanbai Jinnah
Dina Wadia
Connected familiesWadia family
Petit family
DistinctionsPolitical prominence
Estate(s)See full list

Members of Jinnah family, Muhammad Ali Jinnah (often referred to simply as Jinnah) and Fatima Jinnah, have been important figures in the history of Pakistan. Jinnah is considered as the founder of Pakistan and served as the first Governor General of Pakistan upon independence, while Fatima played an important role in the struggle for Pakistan Movement and was the founding mother of Pakistan. Several public places, universities, and hospitals in the world have been named after Jinnah and his sister Fatima, and the former's birth and death anniversary are among the public holidays in Pakistan.[2][3]

Jinnah's family history is disputed among various sources.[4] Originally from a Khoja background,[5][6] they moved to Karachi from Kathiawar, Bombay Province in 1875.[7] Jinnah's paternal grandfather was from Paneli Moti village in Gondal state in Kathiawar peninsula (now in Gujarat, India).[8] Jinnah was the eldest of seven children of Jinnahbhai Poonja, a prosperous merchant, and his wife, Mithibai. His family was a member of the Khoja caste, Hindus who had converted to Islam centuries earlier and who were followers of the Aga Khan.[5] Although born to a Khoja (from Khwaja or 'noble') family who were disciples of the Aga Khan, Jinnah moved towards the Sunni sect early in life. There is evidence later, given by his relatives and associates in court, to establish that he was firmly a Sunni Muslim by the end of his life.[9]

Members of the Jinnah family edit

Jinnah's family was from Khoja caste, who had converted to Islam from Hinduism centuries earlier and were followers of the Aga Khan.[5]

First Generation edit

  • Poonja Meghji. He was the last generation to give his children Hindu names. He also observed most Hindu religious rituals:[10]
    • Manbai
    • Valji
    • Nathoobhai
    • Jinnahbhai

Second generation edit

  • Jinnahbhai Poonja.[5] (also referred to as Jina Poonja),[11][unreliable source?] a Khoja (1857–1902), was married to Mithhibai.[12][unreliable source?][5]
    • m. Mithhibai
    • Jinnahbhai Poonja was a prosperous merchant.[5] He moved to Karachi before Muhammad Ali Jinnah's birth. He and his wife, Mitthibhai, had 7 children to whom they stopped giving Hindu names, stopped observance of Hindu chatti ritual, and began giving Quran lessons to their children:[13][10]
  1. Muhammad Ali Jinnah
  2. Ahmed Ali Jinnah
  3. Bunde Ali Jinnah
  4. Rahmat Bai Jinnah
  5. Shireen Bai Jinnah
  6. Maryam Bai Jinnah
  7. Fatima Jinnah

Third generation edit

  • Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876–1948)
    • The founder of Pakistan and was the country's first Governor-General. His first marriage in 1892 was the result of his mother urging him to marry his cousin Emibai Jinnah before he left for England to pursue higher studies. However, Emibai died a few months later. His second marriage took place in 1918 to Rattanbai Petit, a Parsi who was 24 years his junior. Rattanbai converted to Islam when she married Jinnah.[14] In 1919, she gave birth to their only child, Dina Jinnah.[15][16]
    • Emibai Jinnah (1878–1893)
      • Dawn Fact File: "In his youth, Mohammad Ali Jinnah was married to a distant cousin named Emibai from Paneli village in Gujarat at his mother's urging. At the time of their marriage, Jinnah was only 16 and Emibai was 14. The marriage was arranged by his mother because she feared that when Jinnah went to England, he might end up marrying an English girl. The couple hardly lived together as Jinnah sailed from India soon after his marriage and Emibai died a few weeks later."[13]
    • Rattanbai Jinnah (1900–1929)
  • Ahmed Ali Jinnah
  • Bunde Ali Jinnah
  • Rahmat Bai Jinnah
  • Shireen Jinnah
  • Fatima Jinnah (1893–1967)
    • Fatima Jinnah was a dental surgeon, biographer, stateswoman, and one of the leading Founding mothers of modern-state of Pakistan. She also played a pivotal role in civil rights and introduced the women's rights movement in the Pakistan Movement. After her brother's death she continued to play a pivotal role in Pakistani politics and in 1965 returned to active politics by running against Ayub Khan in the 1965 elections.
  • Maryam Bai Jinnah

Fourth generation edit

She had a rift with her father when she expressed her desire to marry a Parsi from her mother's family, Neville Wadia. According to M C Chagla in "Roses in December", Jinnah, a Muslim, disowned his daughter after trying to dissuade her from marrying Neville. Dina Wadia was the only direct living link to Jinnah and the nation of Pakistan claiming her father as its own father of the nation is assumed to have some kind of kinship with her according to Akbar S. Ahmed.[17] His descendants through her are part of the Wadia family and reside in India as she married and stayed in India after the creation of Pakistan in 1947. Dina Wadia lived alone with staff in the New York City, United States.[18] Wadia died of pneumonia at her home in New York on 1 November 2017 at the age of 98.[19][20][21][unreliable source?]

Estates edit

Private estates
  • Wazir Mansion, Jinnah's birthplace in Karachi
  • South Court, Muhammad Ali Jinnah's former residence in Mumbai, India, currently owned by the government of India.
  • Muhammad Ali Jinnah House, Jinnah's former House at 10 Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road, New Delhi, currently the Dutch Embassy in India.
  • Quaid-e-Azam House, Muhammad Ali Jinnah's House in Karachi
  • Jinnah House, a property owned by Jinnah in Lahore, currently the Corps Commander House
Official residences

Family photos edit

Family tree edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Maroof Raza, M. (1996). Wars and No Peace Over Kashmir. Lancer Publishers. ISBN 9781897829165.
  2. ^ The story of Pakistan
  3. ^ a b Guriro, Amar (30 June 2009). "Aslam Jinnah's claim of being Quaid's family disputed". Daily Times. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  4. ^ Ahmed 2005, p. 3–4: Jinnah's family traced its descent from Iran and reflected Shia, Sunni and Ismaili influences; some of the family names -- Valji, Manbai and Nathoo -- were even 'akin to Hindu names'...Another source has a different explanation of Jinnah's origins. Mr Jinnah, according to a Pakistani author, said that his male ancestor was a Rajput from Sahiwal in the Punjab who had married into the Ismaili Khojas and settled in Kathiawar.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Mohammed Ali Jinnah". britannica.com. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  6. ^ Ahmed 2005, p. 4.
  7. ^ Gujrats gifts to India and Pakistan
  8. ^ Pirbhai, M. Reza (2017). Fatima Jinnah. Cambridge University Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-107-19276-8.
  9. ^ Ahmed 2005, p. 4: Although born into a Khoja (from khwaja or 'noble') family who were disciples of the Ismaili Aga Khan, Jinnah moved towards the Sunni sect early in life. There is evidence later, given by his relatives and associates in court, to establish that he was firmly a Sunni Muslim by the end of his life.
  10. ^ a b Panigrahi, D. N. (2004). India's Partition: The Story of Imperialism in Retreat. Routledge. p. 16.
  11. ^ The truth about Aslam Jinnah, Dawn, Liaquat Merchant, (the grandson of Maryam Bai, one of Quaid-e-Azam's sisters), JUL 10, 2009
  12. ^ "Closed fist worth millions". Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  13. ^ a b Fact file: Jinnah's family
  14. ^ Newspaper, the (21 December 2012). "Maryam Jinnah". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  15. ^ Khalid, Amna (30 December 2011). "Ruttie's love letter to Jinnah". Daily Express. The Express Tribune. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  16. ^ Official website, Government of Pakistan. "Early Days: Birth and Schooling". Archived from the original on 5 November 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2006.
  17. ^ Ahmed 2005, p. 21.
  18. ^ Business baron Nusli Wadia attends to his ailing mother [dead link]
  19. ^ Dawn.com (2 November 2017). "Jinnah's only daughter, Dina Wadia, passes away at 98". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  20. ^ "Jinnah's daughter Dina Wadia dies in New York". The Hindu. PTI. 2 November 2017. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  21. ^ Web Desk. "Quaid-e-Azam'S daughter Dina Wadia dies in New York - SUCH TV". SUCH TV. Retrieved 2 November 2017.

Sources edit

  • Ahmed, Akbar (2005). Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin. Routledge. ISBN 9781134750221.