Jinnah: His Successes, Failures and Role in History

Mohammad Ali Jinnah has been both celebrated and reviled for his role in the Partition of India, and the controversies surrounding his actions have only increased since his death. Ishtiaq Ahmed places Jinnah’s actions under intense scrutiny to ascertain the Quaid-i-Azam’s successes and failures, and the meaning and significance of his legacy. Using a wealth of contemporary records and archival material, he traces Jinnah’s journey from an Indian nationalist to a Muslim communitarian, and then from a Muslim nationalist to, finally, Pakistan’s all-powerful head of state. How did the ambassador of Hindu Muslim unity become the inflexible votary of the two-nation theory? Did Jinnah envision Pakistan as a theocratic state? What was federalism? Asking these crucial questions his position on Mahatma Gandhi and against the backdrop of the turbulent struggle against British colonialism, Jinnah is a path-breaking examination of one of the most controversial figures of the twentieth century.

The discussion on “Jinnah: His Successes, Failures and Role in History” authored by Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed will be moderated by Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy.

About the Author

Ishtiaq Ahmed was born in Lahore on 24 February 1947. He received a PhD in Political Science from Stockholm University in 1986. He taught at Stockholm University from 1987 to 2007, and was then invited as Senior Research Fellow and Visiting Research Professor by the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, during 2007–2010. He is now Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Stockholm University and Honorary Senior Fellow, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. He has published extensively on Pakistani and South Asian politics. His research interests cover fields as diverse as political Islam, ethnicity and nationalism, human and minority rights, and indeed, partition studies.