Charismatic personality of the Quaid

“Failure is a word unknown to me”, said Mohammad Ali Jinnah, a man who altered history. Many books and articles are written on the charismatic personality of the Quaid-i-Azam by renowned historians, including Stanley Wolpert, Aysha Jalal, and Dr Sakindar Hayat. However, our young generation still needs to be enlightened about the man who is the founder of Pakistan-Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Personality is a mix of qualities and characteristics of a person, the way he undertakes things by using his body and mind. And a little touch of charisma further enriches personality traits. Dr Sikandar Hayat, a historian, who has based the definition on Max Weber, wrote: “Charismatic leadership was a function both of personality and circumstances”. Therefore, the personality combined with the circumstances and the situation in which that personality demonstrates itself, make him a charismatic leader.

It is nothing short of a miracle that how in a short period of time, just about seven years (1940 to 1947), Asia had a different look, restoring the dignity of the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent as narrated by Stanley Wolpert in his book “Jinnah of Pakistan,”: “Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three”. This is no doubt an extraordinary development by an extraordinary personality that makes him a charismatic personality.

His A.D.C Mian Atta Rabbani in his book “Jinnah a Political Saint”, has stated that “He was no Wali or Saint in terms of religious terminology, but he was certainly a political saint for the Muslims of the subcontinent. Whereas the Walis and saints did a great service to Islam by converting countless infidels to the true faith and spiritually guiding faithful’s to follow the right path, Mr Jinnah as a political saint turned the Muslim minority of the Indian subcontinent into a nation and emancipated them from the evil axis of Ango-Hindu tyranny and domination by guiding and leading them to the eventual goal of Pakistan, a safe haven for them and established the largest Muslim state. The services of Mr Jinnah as political saint are no less momentous to the Muslims of South Asia as those of the spiritual walis and saints to Islam”.

The attributes of Jinnah like, honesty, steadfastness, integrity, and standing behind his actions and statements, are part of his characteristics, described by almost all the historians. All these traits made Jinnah a remarkable man, which was recognised by all his contemporaries. British diplomat Lord Listowel rated Mr Jinnah as a bigger political giant of the twentieth century than even General de Gaulle. American President Harry S. Truman considered him as the recipient of the devotion of loyalty seldom accorded to any man. Sir Agha Khan III said: “Of all the statesmen that I have known in my life - Clemenceau, Lloyd George, Churchill, Curzon, Mussolini, Mahatma Gandhi - Jinnah is the most remarkable. None of these men in my view outshone him in strength of character, and in that almost uncanny combination of prescience and resolution which is statecraft.”

Quaid-i-Azam’s bitter critics considered him as outweighing Truman, Stalin, and Attlee”. (Quaid-i-Azam a Political Saint). He set a high standard of values and ethics in politics by not compromising on his principles. His statesmanship was recognised by his political adversaries like Nehro and Gandhi. Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, has expressed him as, “One of the most extraordinary men in history”. Gandhi was also sure about the honesty of Jinnah when he said: “I believe no power can buy Mr Jinnah”. Mrs Vijay Lakshmi Pundit, Nehru’s sister and a prominent figure, stated: “If the Muslim League had 100 Gandhis and 200 Azads and Congress had only one Jinnah, then India would not have been divided!”

His patriotism not only made him favourite for Muslims but for the leaders of the Congress. Gokhale called him “the best ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity”. Sarojini Naidu, who was a poetess paid tribute to Jinnah “a na’ive and eager humanity, an intuition quick and - tender as a woman’s, a humour gay and winning as a child’s - pre-eminency rational and practical, discreet and dispassionate in his estimate and acceptance of life. The obvious sanity and serenity of his worldly wisdom effectually disguise a shy and splendid idealism which is of the very essence of the man.” (Rafiq Zakaria, The Man Who Divided India).

Another greater strength of Quaid’s personality was the unfailing trust and confidence of people on him. Begum Liaquat Ali Khan in her memoirs wrote: “My chief memories of Mr Jinnah are of his immaculate, aloof physical existence, and his incredible honesty. It was not merely honesty as a virtue: it was an obsession. His physical aloofness was shown in the way he would sometimes avoid shaking hands with people. .... I remember the time when the Muslim League wished to dispense with annual elections for the Presidency and make Jinnah’s appointment permanent. He answered, ‘ No. Annual elections are important. I must come before you each year, to seek your vote of confidence. People sometimes complained of his brusque manner. This too arose from his honesty and lack of pretense... I seem to remember someone writing about ‘twin lamps of truth.’ Jinnah’s eyes were ‘twin lamps of truth.’ Only the honest could look him straight in the eye.”

Though generally considered a formal, reserve, and cold person, but he had a powerful personality. Begum Rana Liaqat further shared her memories by saying”: ‘’You must remember that Jinnah, apart from his integrity, which was frightening, was a powerful man when he decided to dominate anyone-- an individual or a multitude. I have seen him shake his finger at someone and say, ‘ you are talking nonsense: you do not know what you are talking about.’ They always subsided into silence. But his real power was over a great audience. Even with them, he would use his monocle; put it to his eye, remove it, and then speak. All this power over a vast crowd was asserted in spite of the barrier of language. He spoke to them in English, but they listened, bewitched.”

A magnificent element of his personality was the level of commitment that made him to get an independent state Pakistan for the Muslims of the subcontinent. Hector Bolitho in his Book “Jinnah Creator of Pakistan,” narrated that Jinnah-one of the few men in India who knew that to die for a cause was easy, but that to live for it called for massive and constant courage-did not answer. He drove home and worked late into the night, on the next move in his campaign. It was about the time (1945-46) that Hector quoted, Mr R. G. Casey, Governor of Bengal, met Quaid-i-Azam and appreciated his character and valour. He wrote: “It is not too much to say that Mr Jinnah is the only outstanding Muslim of all-India stature in Indian politics today... He is tall and very thin. He... carries his years well, though he has a look of frailty. . . He appears to have a legal mind: he holds his cards very close to his chest. He is not a ‘ warm ‘ man. . . However, there is something in his eye that hints at a sense of humour and, deeper down, at the memory of human enjoyment. But he is a man of iron discipline, and he has denied himself the luxury of any qualities which might loosen his concentration upon his purpose. He is dogmatic and sure of himself; I would believe that it does not ever occur to him that he might be wrong... Mr Jinnah’s ability and personality are such that it is not much of an exaggeration to say that he is the Muslim League... If he says the watchword is to be ‘ Pakistan’, the watchword is Pakistan. He is a man whose judgment and authority are not questioned lightly by his colleagues... Mr Jinnah is credited with ruling the working committee of the Muslim League with a rod of iron. He is said to tell them what’s what, and that they invariably fall into line. (p.166).

Quaid-i-Azam’s political life reflects another distinct feature of his decision-making ability, his words describe him very well “I do not believe in taking the right decision; I take the decision and make it right”. He believed that he possessed a strong decision power and he didn’t take a U-turn and changed decision time and again, that’s why he said he takes a decision and make it right. That’s so true in the ways he shaped Muslim history in the subcontinent.

In a recent piece published in The Tribune India, R K Kaushik while highlighting Quaid’s charismatic leadership wrote: “Jinnah’s case, indeed, proved that charismatic leadership is a relationship, not an isolated phenomenon. Unless the conditions necessary for the emergence of a charismatic leader are ripe, the potential leader, no matter how ‘gifted’, and how potent his cause, remains without a following. There is no doubt that Jinnah was able to inspire as well as to win the response of the Muslims as no one else had done before.”

These traits of Quaid-i-Azam made him a one-man think-tank who aspired not only the Muslims but people of other regions. A vacuum of power and leadership is left after his death in Pakistan where dedication, commitment, integrity, and faithfulness is missed. This brief reflection of Quaid-i-Azam’s personality might aspire to find future leadership for the nation.

—The writer is the Chairperson, International Relations and Political Science, International Islamic University and winner of Prestigious Award of Martin Luther King, United States