7 The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time 7exclusive all-Congress government. Relations between
Hindus and Muslims started to deteriorate, and soon
Muslim discontent became boundless.
Creator of Pakistan
Jinnah had originally been dubious about the practicality
of Pakistan, an idea that Sir Muh·ammad Iqbāl had pro-
pounded to the Muslim League conference of 1930. But
before long he became convinced that a Muslim homeland
on the Indian subcontinent was the only way of safeguard-
ing Muslim interests and the Muslim way of life. He
converted the Muslim League into a powerful instrument
for unifying the Muslims into a nation.
At this point, Jinnah emerged as the leader of a rising
Muslim nation. Events began to move fast. On March
22–23, 1940, in Lahore, the league adopted a resolution to
form a separate Muslim state, Pakistan. The Pakistan idea
was at first ridiculed and then tenaciously opposed by the
Congress. But it captured the imagination of the Muslims.
Many influential Hindus were pitted against Jinnah,
including Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. And the British
government seemed to be intent on maintaining the polit-
ical unity of the Indian subcontinent. But Jinnah led his
movement with such skill and tenacity that ultimately
both the Congress and the British government had no
option but to agree to the partitioning of India. Pakistan
emerged as an independent state in 1947.
Jinnah became the first head of the new state. Faced
with the serious problems of a young nation, he tackled
Pakistan’s problems with authority. He was not regarded
as merely the governor-general but as the father of the
nation. He worked hard until he was overpowered by age
and disease in Karachi, the place of his birth, in 1948.