Daily Times

The Secretary General of The Jinnah Society, Mrs. Ameena Saiyid recently announced that the Foreign Office has placed an order for purchase of 400 copies of The Jinnah Anthology 4th Edition compiled, edited and authored by Liaquat Merchant, President of the Jinnah Society and Professor Sharif Al Mujahid for placement in all Pakistan Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates worldwide thus enabling the principles, ideals and vision of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to be spread and propagated around the world. Four Embassies have reportedly also expressed a desire to purchase 100 copies each of the Jinnah Anthology.

The Jinnah Anthology 4th Edition which was published by Lightstone Publishers (Pvt) Limited has had a twenty year journey from the 1st Edition published in 1999 concurrently with the Film Jinnah and the 4th Edition published in 2019 at Karachi. The 2nd and 3rd Editions were published by Oxford University Press, the 2nd Edition being launched at the Pakistan High Commission in London where the slogan of “Jinnah’s Pakistan” was raised by Mr. Liaquat Merchant.

The Jinnah Anthology a unique book labeled as the best reference book on Jinnah is now available for sale at all leading book stores across Pakistan and also online. It is an ideal book for Pakistanis including those residents abroad as it provides a link with Pakistan, the reasons behind its creation and why the idea of Pakistan will never die.

The Jinnah Anthology is an ideal book for Historians, Scholars, Students and the casual reader. It is a Collector’s item and the 4th Edition is the last in this series which started in 1999 with all earlier editions sold off. This book is intended primarily to be a source of inspiration for the general reader. It aims to re-emphasize Jinnah’s vision and principles relating to democracy, justice, equality, integrity, honesty, supremacy of the rule of law and rights of women and minorities, it documents the Quaid’s life, his work and achievements.

The collection of previously published and new articles by well-known academics, historians and analysts along with the collection of various speeches delivered by Jinnah between 1911 and 1947 make it an invaluable source of information for academics, researchers, historians, undergraduate and graduate students alike. The book is divided into fourteen sections, including essays, excerpts from books on the freedom movement, speeches, quotes, articles, personal recollections, tributes, historical documents and an invaluable chapter of Quotes from the Quaid. The speeches are unavailable in any other publications and therefore prove to be invaluable.

Jinnah Anthology is a study of Muhammad Ali Jinnah from multifarious perspectives- a lawyer, parliamentarian, Indian nationalist, Congress leader, Muslim League leader, ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity, politician, statesman, visionary and liberator. He became Quaid-e-Azam to his people when, in the words of his famous biographer and historian Professor Stanley Wolpert, he changed the course of history, altered the map of the world and created a Nation State, a triple achievement which hardly anyone can be credited for achieving in a life time (Jinnah of Pakistan – Professor Stanley Wolpert).

Several books on Jinnah have been written in the past but this book is unique in its own way with records, personal reflections on his life, biography, history and judicial pronouncements, all rolled into one. It will not only be of interest to scholars and historians but to students and young Pakistanis resident both within and outside Pakistan as some of the material in the book has never been published and, if published, was out of reach of the general reader.

According to Liaquat H. Merchant, it is not easy to understand Jinnah as he was looked at differently by different people. But all he wanted for the Muslims was political and economic independence where the Muslims would have equality, liberty and justice and would be free from British exploitation and Hindu domination. Jinnah claimed for the Muslims of the sub-continent a place under the Indian sun where they could live, achieve progress and prosperity, practice their religious beliefs and become a political and financially viable state in the comity of Nations.

The book also has various photographs from Jinnah’s both personal and professional life, personal recollections of contemporaries. Impression of Jinnah by people has always been inspiring. While the author of the famous book “Verdict on India” Beverly Nicholas called Jinnah the ‘most important man in Asia’, Aga Khan III called him the most remarkable statesman ranking Jinnah higher than Clemenceau, Lloyd George, Churchill, Curzon and Mahatma Gandhi.

Only independent research, a careful examination of the diverse opinions of him, and a search for the real Jinnah and not the one ‘created’ or ‘imagined’ by other people’s vested interests and ideologies can dispel the many myths that surround him. The Jinnah Anthology brings out the real Jinnah Pakistanis have been looking for

In addition to essays and articles, the book has excerpts from various books, speeches, statements and quotes, along with Jinnah’s will. The Dawn Trust which he created, The Muslim Waqf Validating Act, speech in the Legislative Assembly in 1919 and a Judgment of the High Court on Jinnah’s faith as being non-sectarian and a plain Muslim. The obituary in The Times and The Hindu have also been reproduced. The Pen Portrait of Jinnah by former Indian Congress President Sarojini Naidu is particularly inspiring when she wrote “The casual pen might surely find it easier to describe his limitations rather than to define his virtues … But the true criterion of Jinnah’s greatness lies not in the range and variety of his knowledge and experience, but in the faultless perception and flawless refinement of his subtle mind and spirit; not in the diversity of aims and challenge of a towering personality, but rather in a lofty singleness and sincerity of purpose and the lasting charm of a character animated by a brave conception of duty and an austere and lovely code of private honour and public integrity.”

When someone described it as a beautiful coffee table book, Professor Sikandar Hayat of FC College Lahore, who spoke at the recent launch of The Jinnah Anthology in Karachi, said that the book constituted serious hard work and could not be treated as a coffee table book. The Jinnah Anthology “can be regarded as an excellent reference book on Jinnah. it is invaluable to Pakistanis living here and in the diaspora as it provides a strong link with their home country. The other major beneficiaries of The Jinnah Anthology are, and will continue to be, the youth of Pakistan. This book provides them with beautiful, inspirational information and documents which will continue to make them proud of their country and its Founder.”

The Jinnah Anthology 4th Edition which is the last in this series has reached this final stage over the twenty-year period starting in 1999 when the 1st edition was published. The book underwent revisions and improvements through this process, resulting in a beautiful presentation for which the untiring efforts of Liaquat Merchant Jinnah’s grandnephew and founder President of The Jinnah Society, and the remarkable Professor Sharif Al Mujahid deserve the highest praise. As a result of their commendable work, The Jinnah Anthology 4th Edition will continue to serve the needs of historians, scholars, authors, students, and Jinnah’s admirers for a long time to come.

The Jinnah Anthology is not a book to pick up and read from cover to cover. It is a vital reference work providing information on many aspects of Jinnah and his life from a variety of perspectives. Unlike most other books on the Quaid, which are either biographies, histories, records, or recollections, the contents of ‘The Jinnah Anthology’ are uniquely varied. There is something of interest and value for everyone, the scholar as well as the student, the historian and the general reader. Adding to the value of the book is the fact that some of the material has never been published before, and much, if published, was heretofore inaccessible to the general reader – if not because of the specialized nature of the original publication, then the sheer time span or variety of sources.

In his welcome address, Liaquat Merchant S.I. President, The Jinnah Society said that in order to understand the reasons behind the creation of Pakistan and why the idea of Pakistan will never die, one has to cross the bridge which is “Jinnah”. Some people have criticized Jinnah’s ‘Two Nation Theory’ and his struggle for the creation of a separate Muslim homeland. It must be remembered that Jinnah convinced the minority Muslim community in India that they were in fact a nation even before Pakistan became a reality. Historically, Jinnah’s two nation theory has proved to be correct.

With the emergence of Pakistan as an independent nation, the Muslims were spared British exploitation and Hindu domination. The new nation gave the Muslims an opportunity to freely practice and propagate their religious faith. Jinnah wanted the Muslims to achieve political and economic independence. While the former is a fact, the latter remains a much-desired necessity.

The Jinnah Society has been propagating the principles, ideals and vision of Jinnah as a nation building exercise and in the hope of development of leadership in the role model of Jinnah – a leader respected for his private honour and public integrity. This is why the demand for “Jinnah’s Pakistan” is almost unanimous in the media and across the political divide.

In his speech in March, 1940 when the demand for a separate Muslim Nation was raised, Jinnah reminded the Muslims of India that they were not a minority but constituted a Nation. This point was driven home more effectively after the Gandhi-Jinnah talks in Bombay in 1944 when Gandhi scaffed at the idea of Muslims constituting a Nation – “How can a body of converts constitute a Nation he said to which Jinnah publicly retorted”.

Muslims are a nation

“We maintain and hold that Muslims and Hindus are two major nations by any definition or test of a nation. We are a nation of a hundred million people, and, what is more, we are a nation with our own distinctive culture and civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of value and proportion, legal laws and moral codes, customs and calendar, history and traditions, aptitudes and ambitions – in short, we have our own distinctive outlook on life and of life. By all canons of international law we are a nation.”

Ameena Sayid OBE, S.I., Secretary General, the Jinnah Society and former Managing Director of Oxford University Press in Pakistan said that ‘The Jinnah Anthology’ 4th Edition is a critical source of information on someone who is above controversy and worthy of emulating. Jinnah is a perfect role model for our youth, who need to study him deeply. Only independent research, a careful examination of the diverse opinions of him, and a search for the real Jinnah and not the one ‘created’ or ‘imagined’ by other people’s vested interests and ideologies can dispel the many myths that surround him. The Jinnah Anthology brings out the real Jinnah Pakistanis have been looking for. It will also constitute an excellent reference book on the Founder of Pakistan.

The Jinnah Anthology series came to a conclusion after twenty long years, with its fourth and final edition. All earlier editions have been sold out and the book is in constant demand by the people from both within and outside the country.

The writer is a Senior Associate Editor Daily Times