Quaid-e-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah was born in Karachi on Dec. 25, 1876. After receiving secondary school education in Karachi, he went to England for higher studies. He joined Lincoln’s Inn to study law. Upon returning home after completing his studies, he started his career as a young barrister in Bombay. He soon joined politics and started political struggle for independence.
Mohammed Ali Jinnah helped the 1916 Lucknow Pact between the Indian National Congress and the All-India Muslim League, the two political parties of the time. He became a key leader in the All India Home Rule League and proposed a 14-point constitutional reform plan to safeguard the political rights of Muslims. He left Congress and joined the All-India Muslim League in 1920.
By 1940, Jinnah had come to believe that Indian Muslims should have their own state. In that year, he was president of the All-India Muslim League. On March 23, 1940, All-India Muslim League passed the famous Lahore Resolution to demand a separate homeland for the Muslims of India. In a short span of just seven years, the dream of Muslims became a reality and Pakistan came into being on Aug. 14, 1947.
The Muslims of Lucknow at a session of the Muslim League in October 1937 welcomed Jinnah and shouted “the Quaid-e-Azam” when they saw their leader appearing at the venue dressed in a Sherwani and a cap. That cap, later on, become known as the Jinnah Cap. The people of Pakistan in recognition of their leader’s services to the cause of Pakistan gave him the title “father of the nation.”
He was the first governor-general of Pakistan. He worked to establish the newly independent country’s government and formulate its policies, and to aid millions of Muslim migrants who had emigrated from India to Pakistan after the partition. The Quaid-e-Azam died at the age of 71 on Sept. 11, 1948. It was a great loss to the nation.
Numerous articles and books have been written on the Quaid-e-Azam. The famous historian Stanley Wolpert writes in the biography of the Quaid titled “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. Mohammed Ali Jinnah did all three.”
Remembering the Quaid
Remembering the Quaid
Jeddah students get closer look at electric motorsport
- A PIF-linked initiative highlights technical and engineering careers behind electric racing events
JEDDAH: Students from local and international schools in Jeddah were introduced to STEM-related career pathways in electric motorsport this week, as part of an education program linked to the UIM E1 World Championship held on the Red Sea.
The sessions formed part of Driving Force Presented by the Public Investment Fund, an initiative run by Formula E and its electric racing series partners, to familiarize students aged eight to 18 with science, technology, engineering and mathematics through electric racing and sustainability-focused industries.
The programme took place alongside the 2026 E1 Jeddah GP and included workshops, school visits and trackside access designed to show how engineering, data, broadcast technology and event operations function within professional motorsport.
According to organisers, the initiative reached more than 60,000 students globally in 2025, with further expansion planned this year.
HIGHLIGHTS
• The program took place alongside the 2026 E1 Jeddah GP and included workshops, school visits and trackside access.
• Students learned about E1 races and their technical and environmental dimensions and discussed the engineering and marine aspects of electric boats.
• According to organisers, the initiative reached more than 60,000 students globally in 2025, with further expansion planned this year.
John Williams, managing director at E1, told Arab News: “The PIF is absolutely vital to everything we do here at the E1. They were crucial initial investment partner since the start of the championship and they continue to support us in a number of ways and more specifically around the Driving Force program.”
Elaborating more on the program, he said: “What we are doing is presenting and showing these students the available careers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as careers in sports, not only pilots but also engineers and mechanics.”
Williams added that the main key to the program was bringing a new generation to the mechanism of sport.
“We are introducing to these exciting new technologies around the race but it could be our technology on the boat or our broadcast products, as well as how to manage the event its self. There are a range of opportunities to show it to the children in addition to enjoying the excitement of the race and meeting the pilots.”
The program’s Jeddah activities began at King Abdulaziz University’s faculty of maritime studies, where students took part in a hands-on workshop focused on STEM careers in the motorsport and sustainability areas conducted by technology experts and famous water pilots such as Dani Clos, Emma Kimilainen and Patricia Pita.
Students learned about E1 races and their technical and environmental dimensions and discussed the engineering and marine aspects of electric boats.
They also enjoyed exclusive behind-the-scenes access at the E1 Jeddah GP, pilot meet-and-greets, and front-row seats to watch the RaceBird boats in action.
