Mr and Mrs Jinnah Page 47

  Some of Hamabai Petit’s biographical details and that of her husband, Jehangir K.B. Mehta’s, from Parsi Who’s Who.

  On Hamabai Petit’s riding prowess, see Sarojini Naidu’s letter to Padmaja on 15 March 1917 from Petit Hall (Padmaja Naidu Papers, NMML archives). In the same letter: ‘Ruttie has gone out to her ride. She rides astride and looks very nice in her habit.’

  Jinnah is quoted in Gauba’s oral history transcript (Account No. 76, NMML archives) as saying: ‘Gauba, I am a Rolls Royce. Anybody who wants a Rolls Royce must pay the price of a Rolls Royce.’

  Kanji’s reminiscences of the two Miss Petits on the train to Lucknow accompanied by senior Parsi barrister D.N. Bahadurji are based on Ruttie Jinnah: The Story of A Great Friendship.

  A somewhat garbled version of Hamabai’s first meeting with Jinnah in Nice appears in In Quest of Jinnah: Diary, Notes and Correspondence of Hector Bolitho (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), edited by Sharif al Mujahid. In the introduction, Mujahid writes that Hamabai was doing her baccalaureate in Nice along with her ‘younger sister’ Ruttie (who, being seventeen years her junior, was not even born when Hamabai was in school), and that they both met Jinnah at the railway station in Nice while Jinnah was on his way to England to appear before the Privy Council in 1913.

  The incident of the coachman threatening Jinnah is cited in the Bombay Gazette of 17 November 1906; it’s reproduced in The Works of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah 1893–1912, vol. 1, edited by Riaz Ahmad.

  The description of a railway station in British India is from Inside India by Halide Edib (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2002).

  The reception to Jinnah when he arrived in Lucknow as president-elect of the All India Muslim League (AIML) is narrated in the Bombay Chronicle of 25 December 1916, and reproduced in The Works of Quaid-i-Azam 1916–1917, vol. 3, edited by Riaz Ahmad.

  Aziz Beg in Jinnah and His Times: A Biography (Lahore: Babur and Amar Publications, 1986) gives an account of how Jinnah got his first Turkish cap and wore it throughout the Lucknow session.

  Sarojini Naidu’s letter to Syed Mahmud, dated 28 April 1918, in Sarojini Naidu: Selected Letters edited by Makarand Paranjape.

  ‘Here [at the Lucknow session] Jinnah was observed travelling in Sir Dinshaw Petit’s car with Lady Petit [sic] and Ruttie, who was present throughout the conference,’ writes Khwaja Razi Haider in Ruttie Jinnah (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2010).

  Khwaja Razi Haider also quotes from Stanley Wolpert’s Jinnah of Pakistan (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2005) asserting that Jinnah’s marriage proposal came after the Lucknow session: ‘Jinnah’s triumph was unmarred. The complete contract he had written was accepted by both parties. Now he was ready to put it to the acid test of personal application. He found a way to unite the two subjects uppermost in his mind and approached Sir Dinshaw Petit . . . informing his old friend that he wanted to marry his daughter.’

  Meston’s letter to Chelmsford, dated 11 January 1917, is from the Chelmsford Papers, and quoted in The Works of Quaid-i-Azam 1916–1917, vol. 3, edited by Riaz Ahmad.

  On Ruttie proposing to Jinnah, see In Quest of Jinnah: Diary, Notes and Correspondence of Hector Bolitho, edited by Sharif al Mujahid. In the introduction, Mujahid writes: ‘He [Jinnah] excited her young imagination as no one else had, and she hero-worshipped him. Not inexplicably, therefore, it was she who asked him to marry her. Reportedly Jinnah answered, “It seems to be an interesting proposition!”’

  Undated page of Ruttie’s letter (with pages missing at beginning and end) written on letter paper, printed with ‘Mount Pleasant Road, Malabar Hill, Bombay’, says: ‘J for his part is growling because I won’t let him [illegible] [cut?] his hair—you will perhaps [illegible] how that is possible—it was one of the terms on which I accepted him i.e. that he couldn’t touch his hair without my previous sanction.’ Cited in the Padmaja Naidu Papers (NMML archives).

  Ruttie’s letters of 3 January and 20 January 1917, from the Leilamani Naidu Papers (NMML archives).

  Ruttie’s letters of 7 January and 27 January 1917, from the Padmaja Naidu Papers (NMML archives).

  Chapter Four

  Details of the Nehru home and upbringing from The Scope of Happiness: A Personal Memoir by Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (New York: Crown Publishers, 1979).

  On Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit’s previous betrothal being called off by Raja Narendra Nath, from K.L. Gauba’s Oral Transcript Account No. 76, NMML archives.

  Sarojini Naidu’s letter from Lyceum Club, 138 Piccadilly, W.1, 2 March 1920 (Padmaja Naidu Papers, NMML archives): ‘. . . cannot stand such a galvanic gallery of shocks . . . the Khilafat Deputation and on it a Syud married in some strange uncertain [way] and may be not permanent fashion to the little Sarup Nehru . . . Syud has behaved splendidly but you know the course of true love runs over difficult courses.’

  Gauba’s reference to Motilal Nehru’s daughter’s elopement, from Friends and Foes: An Autobiography by K.L. Gauba (New Delhi: Indian Book Company, 1974).

  Sarup’s experience of Gandhi and his ashram, from The Scope of Happiness and a letter to Padmaja from Anand Bhavan on 13 March (year not stated), from the Padmaja Naidu Papers (NMML archives).

  Vijaya Lakshmi’s courtship and marriage to Ranjit Sitaram Pandit, from The Scope of Happiness.

  K.L. Gauba on his inter-communal marriage, from his Oral Transcript (NMML archives).

  Aziz Beg in his Jinnah and His Times refers briefly to Sir Dinshaw Petit’s first court case against Jinnah: ‘In 1916, Sir Dinshaw filed a petition preventing Jinnah from marrying Ruttie or having any contact with her as she was a minor.’

  Jinnah’s diary of political and other engagements carried in the Bombay Chronicle, which is also cited in The Works of Quaid-i-Azam, vols. 3 and 4.

  Sarojini Naidu’s letter, from Leilamani Naidu Papers (NMML archives).

  Sarojini Naidu’s family background narrated in Sarojini Naidu: A Biography by Padmini Sengupta (London: Asia Publishing House, 1966).

  Chapter Five

  Quotes in this chapter unless otherwise stated are from My Brother by Fatima Jinnah, and edited by Sharif al Mujahid (Karachi: Quaid-e-Azam Academy, 1987).

  Aziz Beg quotes Jinnah’s sister Shirin Bai on the birthmark on the sole of his right foot for which his sisters made him take off his shoes and socks in order to examine. Cited in Jinnah and His Times.

  Another incident relating to Jinnah’s very English habits is related in Memories of Jinnah by K.H. Khurshid, and edited by Khalid Hasan (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1990): ‘Everyone was seated on the floor and it had not occurred to the hosts to provide cutlery as rice is always eaten with one’s fingers in the traditional way. Mr Jinnah felt rather embarrassed but then the situation was saved when someone produced a spoon with which [he] helped himself to some rice, washing it down with a glass of soda water.’

  Quote of the young cousin on Jinnah’s late-night studies, cited in Jinnah: Creator of Pakistan by Hector Bolitho (Karachi: Oxford University Press; reprinted from John Murray, London, 1954).

  Cicero’s ‘Offices’: Essays on Friendship and Old Age and Select Letters (London: J.M. Dent, 1911 reprint) is among Jinnah’s collection of books in the Karachi University Library.

  Bolitho in Jinnah: Creator of Pakistan describes Jinnah’s first mentor: ‘At that time when Jinnah finished his schooling, there was an Englishman, Frederick Leigh Croft, working as an exchange broker in Bombay and Karachi. He was heir to a baronetcy—a thirty-two-year-old bachelor, described by a kinswoman who remembers him as “something of a dandy, with a freshly picked carnation in his buttonhole each morning; a recluse and a wit, uncomfortable in the presence of children whom he did not like.” But he liked Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and was persuaded by his talents.’

  The astrologer’s prediction that the boy Jinnah would grow up to be a king is cited in Bolitho’s Jinnah: Creator of Pakistan. Also, Ahmedali Jinnah’s letter to his brother on 11 July 1947 from Bombay (Pakistan National Archi
ves, Islamabad): ‘You will remember telling father that an astrologer had predicted that you would one day be the uncrowned king of India. His words came true.’

  Emibai’s age at the time of her marriage was sixteen years, according to Aziz Beg’s Jinnah and His Times, which is highly unlikely considering the average age of both Hindu and Muslim brides at that time was well below twelve years, and Jinnah himself had barely turned sixteen by then.

  Although Jinnah’s home in Karachi was a modest two-room tenement in a narrow lane of a crowded bazaar, Fatima Jinnah in My Brother portrays the family as being very affluent, with her father owning several carriages and ‘a number of fine horses’ in his stable.

  The story of the young man who arrived in an English lodging house and the hot-water bottle in his bed that he mistook for a snake, as related by Jinnah, appears in Memories of Jinnah. Among the other stories Jinnah shared with Khurshid that appear in the book are his fondness for cold-water baths and learning to be orderly.

  Jinnah’s curt view of his first few months in London is mentioned in the draft note ‘Some Questions for Mr Jinnah’ sent by Sir Evelyn Wrench on 16 February 1944 (F1190, Pakistan National Archives, Islamabad): ‘To a question as to what were the things that he liked best when he was in England and the things that he liked least, Jinnah responded: “Roast beef and apple tart and flowers and fruit. I liked fogs the least.” And on what were his chief ambitions as a boy, he replied: “Went to the Court with father and saw a barrister with gown and bands and enquired who this person was.” On being told he was a barrister, he immediately said: “I want to become one,” and, in fact, he did become one, and his dream of boyhood came true. He began taking an interest in politics as a boy of 17 studying in London.’

  Jinnah’s Latin textbook, Sallust Catiline, in his collection of books in the Karachi University Library; edited by T.M. Neatly and B.J. Hayes (University Correspondence College Press/University Correspondence College Tutorial Series). It’s signed M.A. Jinnah, for the first time since he changed his name, on two separate pages. Heavily marked till two-third of the book until chapter twenty with notes especially in the section marked ‘Vocabulary’, and sometimes even English words explained such as ‘gait=manner of walking’.

  The only poem that struck a chord with Jinnah was a verse from Dante quoted in Sesame and Lilies by John Ruskin (George Allen, 1899—from Jinnah’s collection of books in the Karachi University Library). The lines are underlined with pencil on page 100: ‘But on thee dwells my every thought and sense; / Considering that from thee all virtues spread / As from a fountain head, / That in thy gift is wisdom’s best avail, / And honour without fail.’ And the second stanza has been underlined twice, as if for double effect: ‘A man from a wild beast / Thou madest me, since for thy love I lived.’

  On Jinnah’s short career on the stage, Aziz Beg in Jinnah and His Times quotes a former diplomat, Malik Wahedna, who asked Jinnah about his acting career and received the following reply: ‘I used to read out Shakespeare before my friends. Soon the news got around. “Jinnah reads well.” After I was called to the Bar, I was taken by some friends to the Manager of a theatrical company, who asked me to go up to the stage and read out pieces of Shakespeare. I did so. His wife and he were immensely pleased and immediately offered me a job. I was exultant, and I wrote to my parents craving for their blessings . . . My father wrote a long letter to me, strongly disapproving of my project; but there was one sentence in his letter which touched me most and which influenced a change in my decision: “Do not be a traitor to the family.” I went to my employers and conveyed to them that I no longer looked forward to a stage career. They were surprised, and they tried to persuade me, but my mind was made up. According to the terms of the contract I had signed with them, I was to have given them three months’ notice before quitting. But you know, they were Englishmen and so they said: “Well, when you have no interest in the stage, why should we keep you against your wishes for three months with us?” My stage career, therefore, was very short.’

  On Jinnah’s straightforwardness and refusal to pull strings, Bolitho writes in Jinnah: Creator of Pakistan: ‘Early in 1900, there was a vacancy for a Presidency Magistrate in Bombay—an office that required generous recommendation. Jinnah was hopeful; and he was also enterprising. He sat, ‘gazing through a window . . . smoking a cigarette, wondering what he could do; a cab passed by and an idea struck him: he jumped into the cab and drove straight to the office of Sir Charles Ollivant, the then Member in charge of the Judicial Department.’ Jinnah went in and asked for an appointment. He obtained the necessary recommendation from Sir MacPherson, and within a few weeks, he became a temporary presidency magistrate.

  Bolitho in Jinnah: Creator of Pakistan quotes the Muslim barrister who spoke to him on Jinnah’s unpopularity at court, as also saying: ‘I think his apparent rudeness was linked with his deep honesty.’

  The Story of My Heart: My Autobiography by Richard Jefferies (among Jinnah’s collection of books, Karachi University Library). Inscribed as M.J.A from H.G.A, 1916.

  Chapter Six

  Sir Dinshaw’s official engagements, from the Times of India, April 1918

  Advertisements from agencies supplying servants appeared regularly in English-language newspapers, like this one from the Times of India: ‘Domestic Servants Agency (Estd. 1890). The only original firm that supplies highly efficient and absolutely reliable High Class servants, such as cooks, Kit Bearers, Ayahs and travelling Servants etc. A Good Servant is a source of pleasure to everyone and the nature of our offers is such as to make it Easy for you to have a REAL GOOD SERVANT in place of one that is only a source of annoyance. Hundreds of Testimonials. Osborne & Co, 101 Esplanade Road, Bombay.’

  Even a generation later, the style and scale of Petit Hall’s meals were legendary: ‘. . . Petit Hall food, than which there was no better in the world: Mughlai, Parsi or Continental dishes concocted by a succession of gifted cooks . . . there were seldom less than a dozen people for meals.’ Cited in Dropping Names by Manohar Malgonkar.

  Ibid. ‘The marble staircase from the old Petit Hall today adorns the foyer of the Tata Centre for Performing Arts (Bombay), and the Grecian pillars that give the large dining room at the Taj Mahal hotel in Bombay its Edwardian elegance, have been lifted from his house (Petit Hall), which sadly had to be demolished in the sixties . . . (and) the vast park surrounding it . . . are now half a dozen developers’ dreams: Malabar Apartments . . . To be sure, there is a new Petit Hall too; not quite a palace but not a bungalow either, a mansion, perhaps, much closer to the sea and surrounded by its own trees and a garden . . . still one of the most luxurious, most spacious, private houses in Bombay.’

  In the Bombay Chronicle’s issue dated 19 April 1918, page 13: ‘Ganesh & Co’s New Publications. Speeches of Mohamad Ali Jinnah. The latest addition to the Indian Political literature is the publication of a handsome volume containing the speeches of the Hon. Mr Mohamad Ali Jinnah, which cover all topics of the day and the volume opens with a foreword by the Raja of Mahmudabad together with a biographical appreciation by Mrs Sarojini Naidu. The Hon. Raja of Mahmudabad writes: “The speeches reveal a study, in a spirit of abiding and indistinguishable faith of the problems affecting the political destiny of India, of which no other worker among the Indian Mussalmans has so far given proof in an equal degree.” Mrs Sarojini Naidu writes: “These valuable speeches which now collected for the first time cannot fail to arouse profound and vivid interest in the minds of all who are concerned with the vital issues of contemporary political events and activities in India.” Over 320 pages printed on Antiue paper and attractively bound with a Portrait and Index. Price: Two rupees.’

  Sarojini’s close friendship with Jinnah, especially her warm defence and admiration of her friend expressed on all occasions in public and private, gave rise to some speculation even in her own lifetime, with the gossips insisting that she had either nursed an unrequited passion for Jinnah or had been displaced in his affection
s by Ruttie. She first met him in 1910 at the Calcutta legislative session and was instantly enamoured of him, recommending him warmly to B.R. Gokhale. But Chagla, who had known and worked closely with both, comes nearest to the truth of their relationship: ‘He (Jinnah) treated her in a rather cavalier fashion as a poet but with no political sense. But on her side, she had great admiration for Jinnah, and she was anxious that the quality of leadership and the undoubted talent that he possessed should be harnessed to the service of the country.’

  According to Khwaja Razi Haider in Ruttie Jinnah: ‘Having sought counsel from his friends, in particular Mohammad Umer Sobhani, Jinnah took Ruttie to the Jamia Mosque where she converted to Islam . . . in front of a great religious scholar, Maulana Nazir Ahmad Khujandi . . . (who) was a renowned alim and performed Imamat at the Jamia Masjid in Bombay. He also took an active part in Indian politics. He was, from the very beginning, a member of the All India Muslim League, a good orator and journalist. In 1946, he composed a poem about Jinnah and recited it at a birthday function held for him in Bombay.’

  All Ruttie’s quotes in this chapter are from her letters and poems written during 1916–17. They are now in the Padmaja Naidu Papers and the Leilamani Naidu Papers.

  Sarojini’s letter to Syed Mahmud from Hyderabad dated 28 April 1918, from Sarojini Naidu: Selected Letters by Makarand R. Paranjape.

  The Scope of Happiness: A Personal Memoir by Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit.

  Celibates by George Moore (London: Walter Scott, 1895).

  Novels by Eminent Hands by William Makepeace Thackeray (London: Collins Clear Type Press, 1859).

  ‘Powvala, Kavashaw Sorabjee’ is listed in the Times of India Directory of 1918 with two addresses, one presumably his office: ‘Landed Proprietor, 237, Hornby Road, Rydal Mount, Mount Pleasant Road, Malabar Hill’.