A Life Remembered

Jinnah wanted to be an actor,” said sociologist TN Madan at the launch of historian BR Nanda’s latest biography on Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah on Thursday at the India International Centre annexe. “In some ways I think his life is almost Shakespearean,he had the ambition of Macbeth and the tragic end of Hamlet,” added Madan.

Road to Pakistan: The Life and Times of Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Routledge India,Rs 745) is possibly Nanda’s last biography; at 96 years,the historian was unable to attend the launch and his son,Naren Nanda,spoke about the how the book had been an exercise in determination for his father. “The first time he spoke of writing a book on Jinnah was in the 1960s,and he did take his time coming around to doing it,” Naren smiled. “He was refused a visa to Pakistan as he informed the Pakistani embassy that he wanted to travel there to research for a book on Jinnah. Finally he managed to procure a tourist visa and visited Karachi.”

The book chronicles Jinnah’s life,from his studies in London to his entry into the pre-Independence Indian political scene,his work in the Indian Muslim League and finally,the creation of Pakistan.