Muhammad Ali Jinnah was born in Karachi on Dec. 25 1876.
After receiving secondary education in Karachi, he went to England for higher studies.
He joined Lincoln’s Inn to study Law.
Upon returning home, he started his career as a young Barrister in Bombay.
He soon joined politics and started political struggle for the independence of his nation.
During his political career, Jinnah advocated Hindu–Muslim unity, helping to shape the 1916 Lucknow Pact between the Indian National Congress and the All-India Muslim League.
Jinnah became a key leader in the All India Home Rule League, and proposed a fourteen-point constitutional reform plan to safeguard the political rights of Muslims.
In 1920, however, Jinnah resigned from the Congress and joined All-India Muslim League.
During early 1930s, Jinnah gave up politics and went to England.
However, upon the strong demands from the Muslim leaders, he returned to India and actively participated in politics.
By 1940, Jinnah had come to believe that Indian Muslims should have their own state. In that year, Jinnah was the president of All-India Muslim League. On March 23 1940, All-India Muslim League, led by Jinnah, passed the famous Lahore Resolution to demand a separate home land for the Muslims of India.
In a short span of just seven years, the dream of the Muslims became a reality and Pakistan came into being on Aug. 14, 1947.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah is thus regarded as the Founding Father of the Nation and is called Quai-i-Azam(great leader).
He was the first governor-general of Pakistan.
Jinnah worked to establish the newly independent country’s government and policies, and to aid the millions of Muslim migrants who had emigrated from India to Pakistan after the partition.
Jinnah died at the age of 71 on Sept. 11, 1948.
Numerous articles and books have been written on Quaid-e-Azam. He was a great leader.
Chiragh Ali Anjum has paid rich tribute to Quaid-e-Azam, in one of his articles in the following words: “Glowing tributes have been paid to the Quaid by the Muslims of the sub-continent, British rulers and moderate Hindu leaders, biographers, historians and scholars.”
The best tribute to the Quaid, in my opinion, has been paid by American scholar and historian Stanley Wolpert. He writes in his biography of the Quaid titled — Jinnah of Pakistan: “Few individuals significantly alter a course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation–state. Muhammad Ali Jinnah did all three. The people of Bombay built the People’s Jinnah Memorial Hall to commemorate their historical success under the brave and brilliant leadership of Jinnah. Lord Reading, Vice Roy of the British India in 1925, who highly valued the legislative work of Jinnah, wished to recommend his name for the coveted knighthood but Jinnah regretted to receive the honor saying that he preferred to be simply Mr. Jinnah. The Muslims of Lucknow on the occasion of 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 he borrowed from Nawab Muhammad Ismail Khan a prominent League Leader of the United Provinces. That Cap later on was to be known as Jinnah Cap. The people of Pakistan in recognition of their leader’s services to the cause of Pakistan gave him yet a unique title ‘Father of the Nation’.”
Muhammad Ali Jinnah: Father of the Nation
Muhammad Ali Jinnah: Father of the Nation
Nobel Prize winner discusses art of writing at Ithra
- Jon Fosse offers insights into storytelling at the 10th iRead celebration
DHAHRAN: Nobel Prize-winning Norwegian author and playwright Jon Fosse drew a full house to Ithra on Friday, as he discussed art, writing, and the human experience during a session entitled “Nobel Minds” at the 10th edition of the institution’s iRead program.
Fosse, who won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature, appeared on stage with moderator Tariq Khawaji, Ithra’s cultural consultant.
Outside, the landmark Ithra building, designed by Norwegian firm Snohetta, was lit in purple to mark the celebration.
Fosse, whose work includes more than 70 novels, plays, poems, essays, and children’s books, and has been translated into more than 50 languages, including Arabic, is known for his minimalist, introspective style. His unconventional syntax and pared-down prose have significantly influenced postdramatic theater and contemporary experimental fiction.
HIGHLIGHTS
• The landmark Ithra building, designed by Norwegian firm Snohetta, was lit in purple to mark the 10th anniversary of the institution’s iRead program.
• During the ‘Nobel Minds’ session, Jon Fosse discussed his writing process, sources of inspiration, and how writers might develop their own signature styles.
• Tariq Khawaji told Arab News that bringing Fosse to Saudi Arabia was especially meaningful as Arabic translations of his work remain relatively new to many readers.
Khawaji told Arab News that bringing Fosse to Saudi Arabia was especially meaningful as Arabic translations of his work remain relatively new to many readers.
At a book signing following the session, he noted that Fosse’s pared-back lyrical language is a boon to both translators and new audiences.
“I think one of Fosse’s strengths is his extremely simple language, he always uses the simplest phrasing and avoids inflated vocabulary or difficult expressions. This is why translators often find his writing both lyrical and clear,” Khawaji said.
If I’m writing well, I have to bring something new to the book for me, and hopefully also for other people; something that didn’t exist before.
Jon Fosse, Norwegian Nobel laureate
“I think he speaks to the world through the problem of the individual — this tendency toward the quiet, the stripped-down. And I believe the Norwegian landscape, especially the western region, plays a very strong role in shaping him. His characters often feel like they come from a place with vast silence and depth. Even outside the session, you could sense many layers in how he spoke — something almost carved by that landscape,” he continued.
After noting Fosse’s 18 major awards, Khawaji added: “I think his Arabic readership is still small — though his plays have been translated and performed. I believe introducing him to the Arab world will increase his readership significantly, and I think the reception will change. Readers will discover a unique, unfamiliar voice. It was important to have him here.”
During his hour-long English-language conversation with Khawaji before the book signing, Fosse discussed his writing process, sources of inspiration, and how writers might develop their own signature styles.
“I think you can say all literature, in a certain sense, comes from literature. So the more you read — and the better literature you read — the cleverer you most likely will be,” he said.
“If I’m writing well, I have to bring something new to the book for me, and hopefully also for other people; something that didn’t exist before. And to get to that, you have to leave yourself (somehow). If you don’t leave yourself, you know exactly what you knew before,” he added.
On the topic of artificial intelligence, Fosse said that while it can mimic a writer’s voice, it cannot replicate the essence behind it.
“I’ve done it myself. I asked the computer to write something (in my style) and it was like a kind of parody, but still there were some very interesting sides to it. And there were some great metaphors that happened that I couldn’t have figured out myself,” he said.
“Perhaps it is a childish idea but I think that art has so much to do with this universal individuality of the artist. It cannot possibly be replaced by a machine,” Fosse concluded.
