1. When Jinnah’s father accepted Islam:

Jinnah was born (1876) in Karachi, British India to a wealthy Gujarati merchant family. His official name was Mahomedali Jinnahbhai. His Grandfather, Premji bhai Thakkar, was from Gondal, Gujarat who was ostracized from his community owing to his entry into fish trade as opposed to his community’s practice of vegetarianism. This enraged Jinnah’s father (Premji’s son) to adopt Islam.

2. He studied law in London:

In 1892, Jinnah was offered an apprenticeship in London by his father’s business associate which he accepted. Soon after his arrival in London, he gave up his apprenticeship and went on to study Law going against the wish of his father.

3. Emibai, Jinnah’s first wife:

Before he left for London, he was married to Emibai (his first wife) who was 2 years younger than him, and belonged to his ancestral village. Mithibai Jinnah ( Jinnah’s mother) feared that her son would marry an English woman. Both his mother and first wife died when he was away in London. He barely knew his wife, but his mother’s death affected him deeply.

4. He was the youngest Indian to pass law examination:

Muhammad Ali Jinnah, in 1896, became the youngest Indian to pass law examination in England. At a remarkable age of 20 Jinnah was the only Muslim Barrister in the city of Bombay.

5. He never wore the same tie twice

Jinnah was a classy gentleman and he never wore the same tie twice. Even on his deathbed he insisted to be formally dressed saying: "I will not travel in my pajamas."

6. He relished pork in breakfast:

”As we were drinking our coffee and enjoying our sausages, in came an old, bearded Muslim with a young boy of about ten years of age, probably his grandson. They came and sat down near Jinnah. It was obvious that they had been directed from Town Hall. I then saw the boy's hand reaching out slowly but irresistibly towards the plate of pork sausages. After some hesitation, he picked up one, put it in his mouth, munched it and seemed to enjoy it tremendously. I watched this uneasily. After some time they left and Jinnah turned to me, and said angrily: "Chagla, you should be ashamed of yourself." I said: " What did I do?" Jinnah asked: "How dare you allow the young boy to eat pork sausages?" I said: "Look, Jinnah, I had to use all my mental faculties to come to a quick decision. The question was: should I let Jinnah lose his election or should I let the boy go to eternal damnation? I chose in your favour."- M.C. Chagla, Roses in December, as quoted in Jinnah of Pakistan by Stanley Wolpert

President/General Zia trying to convince Wolpert to censor parts of his book that talked about Jinnah eating pork and drinking alcohol so it could be mandatory reading for all undergraduate students. Wolpert refused to have passages from his book censored, even after being given the promise of 'making millions' off the book. Diplomatic touts of Zia even had the audacity to approach his daughter, Dina, living in New York, she was clandestinely asked to deny that her father ever drank alcohol or ate ham. When she refused to oblige , she was threatened with ´disclosures´ about her private life if she ever made it public that she had been approached.

7. When he was around 40 he ran away with daughter of his friend:

He was 42 and she was 18. The union of the reclusive and enigmatic Mohammad Ali Jinnah and the free spirited Ruttie Petit, was not a match made in heaven.

The unlikely relationship that took 1918 Bombay by storm, is the subject of senior journalist Sheela Redddy’s new book, “Mr and Mrs Jinnah: The Marriage that Shook India”.

According to the author, while Jinnah’s contemporaries like Mahatma Gandhi have been written about extensively, the Qaid-e-Azam’s personal life remained largely under wraps.

8. Fixed his salary at Rs1/month:

Jinnah was one of the most expensive and most sought after lawyers of his time, earning around Rs1,500 per case. The Founder of Pakistan, however, fixed his salary at Rs1 per month as the Governor General of Pakistan. The reason being, he didn't want to indebt the nascent state with financial burden.

9. He disowned his own daughter When she married a Parsee:

Jinnah’s daughter Dina Wadia, at the age of 19 married Neville Wadia, a Parsi Mumbai industrialist, against the wishes of her father who did not want her to marry a Parsi. However, her mother Rattanbai Petit was a Parsi and after marrying Jinnah, she converted to Islam and was renamed as Maryam Jinnah.

When she confronted her father over this fact that her mother too was a Parsi, she was told that there were millions of Muslim boys in India, and she could have anyone she chose. Mahommed Ali Currim Chagla, who was Jinnah’s assistant at that time, quoted her conversation as, “Father, there were millions of Muslim girls in India. Why did you not marry one of them?” To this, Mr Jinnah’s response was, “She became a Muslim”. His adamancy led to a strained relationship between the father and the daughter. She married Neville Wadia in 1938 and moved to Bombay.

10. He could not speak or write Urdu:



His mother tongue was Kutchi a form of Gujarati. He could not speak or write Urdu but he was fluent in English. Though he chose Urdu as official language of Pakistan.

11. He is father of problems created in Jammu & Kashmir and Baluchistan:



Jinnah charged Khan of Kallat his weight in gold soveirgn for fighting case to prove Kallat enjoyed the same relation with GB as Nepal, Bhutan, Ceylon, and Burma.

Kallat became independent on 5 th August 1947 because of efforts of Jinnah.

Jinnah signed Standstill agreement with Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu & Kashmir recognising independence of Jammu & Kashmir. He renegaded from both the agreement with Kallat and Jammu & Kashmir.

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