Comment Mohammad Ali Jinnah: His Vision and Legacy

Abstract

Eighty years ago, when Mohammad Ali Jinnah started his address to the 1938 Session of the All-India Muslim League, he spoke in Urdu: Jab hum Patna ka tariki shahr mein aya. Immediately the public started shouting: “English! English!” and the Quaid-i-Azam resumed his address: “When I came to this historic city of Patna…”. What was the reason behind the public’s odd demand? At that time it was clearly understood that Independence had to be taken from the British. The Muslims knew that they needed a leader who could speak to the colonial masters in their own language. That is why, though only a fraction of the gathering could speak or understand the language, they wished their leader to speak in English