Making of Pakistan: The Return of Jinnah – 1934

Surprisingly, Jinnah biographers, such as Stanley Wolpert, Hector Bolitho and Jaswant Singh, have not mentioned Dard in their works. Jaswant Singh mentions Jinnah’s lecture on Indian Constitutional Reform in but he makes no reference to the latter even though the event was entirely Dard’s initiative.

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By Amaar Ahmad | October 5, 2011

The history behind Jinnah’s return to Indian politics in 1934 makes for an inconvenient truth. The man whose eloquent persuasion left Jinnah no escape in returning to politics, has been forgotten in the annals of official Pakistani history. That man was not Liaqat Ali Khan and certainly not Dr. Muhammad Iqbal but Abdur Rahim Dard – an Ahmadi missionary in London.

After the Round Table Conference of 1932, Muhammad Ali Jinnah had been disillusioned about Indian politics. The major reasons for this were both the hardline Hindu “attitude” and Muslims who were either “flunkeys” of the British or “campfollowers” of the Congress who impeded national unity [1, pg. 94]. After feeling “utterly helpless” he decided to quit Indian politics for good. Taking up residence at Hampstead, he began the practice of law in the more congenial British settings. Known for remaining firm in his decisions, Jinnah’s exit seemed to have have been irrevocable and final.

A. R. Dard met Jinnah in March 1933 and tried to convince him that the Indian Muslims were bereft of good leadership and desperately needed a sincere politician like him. Such was the force of Dard’s advocacy that Jinnah relented. To symbolize his return to politics, Dard arranged for a lecture on the future of India at the Mosque in Putney London in April 1933.
Jinnah spoke of how “the eloquent persuasion of the Imam left me no way of escape”. Presided over by Sir Nairne Sandeman, Jinnah’s address criticized the recent White Paper on Indian Constitutional Reform and argued for self-government by Indians [2][3][4][7, pg. 203].

Surprisingly, Jinnah biographers, such as Stanley Wolpert, Hector Bolitho and Jaswant Singh, have not mentioned Dard in their works. Jaswant Singh mentions Jinnah’s lecture on Indian Constitutional Reform in [7, pg 203] but he makes no reference to the latter even though the event was entirely Dard’s initiative. Instead, Wolpert and Bolitho credit Liaqat Ali Khan for the change of heart in Jinnah in returning to India. For example, Wolpert describes the meeting between Liaqat Ali Khan and his wife Begum Ranaa in the summer of 1933 [5, pg. 133]. According to Wolpert, Begum Ranaa’s passionate appeals and Liaqat Ali Khan’s “imprecations, offers of assistance and flattery” became the factor in Jinnah’s decision. Bolitho says that Jinnah asked Liaqat Ali Khan to “survey” the feelings in India and if the environment was conducive enough, he would decide to come back. Begum Ranaa confided to Bolitho that Liaqat Ali Khan then “amassed his evidence” and finally asked Jinnah to “come” [1, pg. 98-99].

At any rate, in all recorded history, Dr. Muhammad Iqbal has not been mentioned even once in debating Jinnah in person about his future plans. It cannot be proved that Iqbal corresponded with Jinnah on the issue either. On the other hand, Liaqat Ali Khan seems to have facilitated the logistics of Jinnah’s return. He and Begum Ranaa met Jinnah in July 1933 and extended an invitation which can indeed be seen in the context of laying groundwork for his eventual arrival. However, Liaqat Ali Khan’s efforts – vital as they were – are only subsequent to Dard’s meeting with Jinnah (in March 1933) and Jinnah’s consequent address on India’s future (in April).

In any case, in Jinnah’s own words, it was not Iqbal or Liaqat Ali Khan but A. R. Dard whose “eloquent persuasion” left Jinnah with “no way of escape.” Dard describes that the most powerful argument which he used in his long discussions with Jinnah was that Jinnah’s abandonment of politics at that juncture would make him a “traitor” for the Muslim cause [6, pg. 103][8]. Interestingly, Jinnah displayed sensitivity on the issue of loyalty even in his early life. In fact, after his legal education completed in London (circa 1896), Jinnah had resolved to be a stage actor. His father angered by this wrote a scathing letter telling him “do not be a traitor to the family” [5, pg. 14]. Jinnah’s resolve melted immediately and he proceeded to India. Perhaps hidden by Jinnah’s stoic and firm decision-making was intense loyalty to his homeland that was laid bare through Dard’s probing.

Equally interesting is the fact that A. R. Dard had been deputed as the Ahmadiyya Missionary in London only weeks earlier [6, pg. 103]. Dard narrates that he had received advice from the Head of the Ahmadiyya Community, Mirza Mahmud Ahmad, to meet and convince Mr. Jinnah to return to India [8][6, pg. 103]. Therefore, the Ahmadiyya Community’s spiritual leader must duly be credited for recognizing the importance of Mr. Jinnah in serving the political cause of the Indian Muslim minority and also for using his influence to bring Jinnah back to India. The rest, as they say is history.

Unfortunately, just as have other historical facts of Pakistan’s creation have been ruthlessly brushed aside, this part of our history too, has been officially ignored for political expedience. Hiding inconvenient truths such as these have only reinforced the public trend to deny facts even in the face of stark reality, to make heroes into villains and villains into heroes. The outcome of falsifying realities is that today the Pakistani state is unwilling to respond to threats to its own existence and to bitter facts on the ground. The earlier this mindset changes the better. Otherwise, to imagine that Pakistan can continue to live in its present state of denial and yet return to Jinnah’s vision will be to live in a fool’s paradise.

References

[1] Hector Bolitho, “Jinnah Creator of Pakistan”, Oxford University Press, 2006.
[2] The Sunday Times, London, 9th April 1933.
[3] Civil and Military Gazette, Lahore, 8th April 1933.
[4] Madras Mail, 7th April 1933.
[5] Stanley Wolpert, “Jinnah of Pakistan”, Oxford University Press, 2006
[6] Tarikh-i-Ahmadiyyat (Urdu), vol. 6, (available online: http://www.alislam.org/urdu/library/253.html)
[7] Jaswant Singh, “Jinnah India-Partition-Independence”, Rupa & Co., 2009.
[8] Daily Al-Fazl, 1st January 1955.


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