Jinnah’s journey remains an enigma, shrouded in controversy. Despite starting his career as a respected leader in the Indian National Congress, he later became its staunchest opponent. Interestingly, while he was not a devout Muslim, he advocated for Pakistan in the name of Islam. Although he lacked fluency in most Indian Muslim languages, he captivated millions during the Pakistan campaign.
The details of Jinnah’s family background and character are as mysterious as his political motivations and success. Born into a merchant family of recent converts to Islam in Karachi, little is known about his early life. Even his birth date remains uncertain, though he always maintained it was on Christmas Day, 1876. Throughout his life, Jinnah remained distant and inscrutable, rarely revealing his true self in public or private settings. The final Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten, found greater comfort in the sociable Jawaharlal Nehru, Jinnah’s leading Congress Party adversary, than in Jinnah. Their meetings early in April 1947 were often frustrating, leading Mountbatten to describe Jinnah as a “psychopathic case” after one seemingly unresponsive discussion.
