Dina Wadia
Encyclopedia
Dina Wadia is the daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah
, the founding father of Pakistan
, and Rattanbai Petit
.
shortly after midnight on the morning of August 15, 1919. As Stanley Wolpert
's Jinnah of Pakistan records: "Oddly enough, precisely twenty-eight years to the day and hour before the birth of Jinnah's other offspring, Pakistan". Her premature arrival was unexpected—her parents were at the theatre, but "were obliged to leave their box hurriedly."
According to Wolpert, referring to Jinnah's time in London in 1930-33, "Dina was [Jinnah's] sole comfort, but Dina was away at school most of the time and home only for brief holidays. She was a dark-eyed beauty, lithe and winsome. She had her mother's smile and was pert or petulant as only an adored, pampered daughter could be to her doting father. He had two dogs, one formidable black Doberman, the other a white West Highland Terrier".
In November 1932, Jinnah read H. C. Armstrong's biography of Kemal Atatürk, Grey Wolf, and seemed to have found his own reflection in the story of Turkey's great modernist leader. It was all he talked about for a while at home, even to Dina, who consequently nicknamed him 'Grey Wolf'. Being only thirteen, her way of cajolingly pestering him to take her to High Road to see Punch and Judy
was, "Come on, Grey Wolf, take me to a pantomime; after all, I am on my holidays." [Wolpert]
Jinnah raised his daughter as a Muslim. According to Jinnah's chauffeur Bradbury, Jinnah asked his sister, Fatima, "to teach her niece, Dina (Jinnah’s only daughter) about Islam and The Holy Qur'an
".
. Jinnah, a Muslim
, tried to dissuade her, but failed. Mahommedali Currim Chagla, who was Jinnah's assistant at the time, recalls: "Jinnah, in his usual imperious manner, told her that there were millions of Muslim boys in India, and she could have anyone she chose. Reminding her father that his wife (Dina's mother Rattanbai
), had also been a non-Muslim, the young lady replied: 'Father, there were millions of Muslim girls in India. Why did you not marry one of them? And he replied that, 'she became a Muslim'".
It is said (by Jinnah's associate M C Chagla in " Roses in December") that when Dina married Neville, Jinnah said to her that she was not his daughter any more.It has not been corroborated by any other source. Jinnah allegedly disowned her and the father-daughter relationship became extremely formal after she married.But the legal notice of disowning never came which is essential for legal purposes. They did correspond, but he addressed her formally as 'Mrs. Wadia'. Dina and Neville lived in Mumbai and had two children, a boy and a girl. Dina's son Nusli Wadia
became a Christian, but converted back to Zoroastrianism
and settled in the industrially wealthy Parsi community of Mumbai
. Dina did not travel to Pakistan until her father's funeral in Karachi
in September 1948. Their relationship is a matter of legal conjecture and hair splitting as Pakistani laws allow for a person to be disinherited for leaving Islam (hence no claim on pakistani properites of Jinnah) and Indian laws recognizing religion's traditional succession rules to operate.
from England
to take charge of the Muslim League, he built himself a palatial mansion in Mumbai, which became his residence during the politically momentous decade preceding the creation of Pakistan. The house was designed by Claude Batley
, a British architect, and was built in 1936 at a total cost of Rs. 200,000/-. The 2.5 acre (10,000 m²) property, "South Court", overlooking the sea and located at 2, Bhausaheb Hirey Marg (then Mount Pleasant Road), Malabar Hill, is in Mumbai's most expensive real estate. In 1948, it was leased to the British Deputy High Commission which occupied it till 1982.
Successive Pakistani governments have often expressed deep interest in acquiring the property for sentimental reasons. During his visit to India, President Pervez Musharraf
had renewed Pakistan's claim to the house which the president had suggested to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee should be given to Pakistan so that it could be turned into a consulate.
However, this came to naught: Dina Wadia (who lives in New York City
), the allegedly disowned daughter of Jinnah, wrote to the Indian prime minister demanding that the house on the Malabar Hill
, now worth $60 million, be handed over to her.
, Pakistan to watch a cricket match between Pakistan and India. She considered "cricket diplomacy" to be an enthralling dimension that illustrated an entirely new phase in relations between India and Pakistan. But she and her son Nusli Wadia
chose not to share their thoughts with the public on what was certainly a highly emotional encounter. Dina had not travelled to Pakistan since her father's funeral in September 1948. A great sense of drama was embedded in an old woman's visit, as a foreigner, to a country that was founded by her father.
Dina along with her son, Nusli Wadia and grandsons Ness Wadia and Jehangir Wadia visited the mausoleum of her father to pay homage. She also visited museum located within premises of the mausoleum and saw the articles used by her illustrious father. In the visitors' book, Dina wrote: "This has been very sad and wonderful for me. May his dream for Pakistan come true." This would appear to be a very appropriate summation of a life-experience that is essentially inexplicable. Reports said that she asked for copies of three pictures she saw in the mausoleum
's antiquities room. In one picture, she is standing with her father and aunt, Fatima Jinnah
. The other is a painting of her mother, Rattanbai Petit
. In the third, her father is dictating a letter, showing, in a sense, Mohammad Ali Jinnah's political persona. Recently she has been involved in litigation regarding Jinnah House
claiming that Hindu Law is applicable to Jinnah as he was a Khoja
Shia.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a Muslim lawyer, politician, statesman and the founder of Pakistan. He is popularly and officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-e-Azam and Baba-e-Qaum ....
, the founding father of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, and Rattanbai Petit
Rattanbai Petit
Maryam Jinnah , was the second wife of Muhammad Ali Jinnah - an important figure in the Indian Independence Movement and later founder of Pakistan....
.
Early life
Dina was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
shortly after midnight on the morning of August 15, 1919. As Stanley Wolpert
Stanley Wolpert
Stanley Wolpert is an American Indologist, author, and academic. He is considered one of the world's foremost authorities on the political and intellectual history of modern India and Pakistan and has written fiction and nonfiction books on the topics...
's Jinnah of Pakistan records: "Oddly enough, precisely twenty-eight years to the day and hour before the birth of Jinnah's other offspring, Pakistan". Her premature arrival was unexpected—her parents were at the theatre, but "were obliged to leave their box hurriedly."
According to Wolpert, referring to Jinnah's time in London in 1930-33, "Dina was [Jinnah's] sole comfort, but Dina was away at school most of the time and home only for brief holidays. She was a dark-eyed beauty, lithe and winsome. She had her mother's smile and was pert or petulant as only an adored, pampered daughter could be to her doting father. He had two dogs, one formidable black Doberman, the other a white West Highland Terrier".
In November 1932, Jinnah read H. C. Armstrong's biography of Kemal Atatürk, Grey Wolf, and seemed to have found his own reflection in the story of Turkey's great modernist leader. It was all he talked about for a while at home, even to Dina, who consequently nicknamed him 'Grey Wolf'. Being only thirteen, her way of cajolingly pestering him to take her to High Road to see Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy is a traditional, popular puppet show featuring the characters of Mr. Punch and his wife, Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Punch and one other character...
was, "Come on, Grey Wolf, take me to a pantomime; after all, I am on my holidays." [Wolpert]
Jinnah raised his daughter as a Muslim. According to Jinnah's chauffeur Bradbury, Jinnah asked his sister, Fatima, "to teach her niece, Dina (Jinnah’s only daughter) about Islam and The Holy Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
".
Rift with her father
Dina's relationship with her father became strained when Dina expressed her desire to marry a Parsi-born Indian Neville WadiaNeville Wadia
Neville Ness Wadia was an English businessman, philanthropist and a member of the Wadia family, an old Parsi family which, by the 1840s, was one of the leading forces in the Indian shipbuilding industry, having built over a hundred warships for the British and having established trading networks...
. Jinnah, a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
, tried to dissuade her, but failed. Mahommedali Currim Chagla, who was Jinnah's assistant at the time, recalls: "Jinnah, in his usual imperious manner, told her that there were millions of Muslim boys in India, and she could have anyone she chose. Reminding her father that his wife (Dina's mother Rattanbai
Rattanbai Petit
Maryam Jinnah , was the second wife of Muhammad Ali Jinnah - an important figure in the Indian Independence Movement and later founder of Pakistan....
), had also been a non-Muslim, the young lady replied: 'Father, there were millions of Muslim girls in India. Why did you not marry one of them? And he replied that, 'she became a Muslim'".
It is said (by Jinnah's associate M C Chagla in " Roses in December") that when Dina married Neville, Jinnah said to her that she was not his daughter any more.It has not been corroborated by any other source. Jinnah allegedly disowned her and the father-daughter relationship became extremely formal after she married.But the legal notice of disowning never came which is essential for legal purposes. They did correspond, but he addressed her formally as 'Mrs. Wadia'. Dina and Neville lived in Mumbai and had two children, a boy and a girl. Dina's son Nusli Wadia
Nusli Wadia
Nusli Wadia is an Indian Parsi entrepreneur, a textile magnate and an important person in the real-estate business. He is the son of Neville and Dina Wadia. His mother Dina Wadia is the daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah....
became a Christian, but converted back to Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
and settled in the industrially wealthy Parsi community of Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
. Dina did not travel to Pakistan until her father's funeral in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
in September 1948. Their relationship is a matter of legal conjecture and hair splitting as Pakistani laws allow for a person to be disinherited for leaving Islam (hence no claim on pakistani properites of Jinnah) and Indian laws recognizing religion's traditional succession rules to operate.
Jinnah mansion dispute
After Jinnah returned to MumbaiMumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to take charge of the Muslim League, he built himself a palatial mansion in Mumbai, which became his residence during the politically momentous decade preceding the creation of Pakistan. The house was designed by Claude Batley
Claude Batley
Claude Batley was an English architect who left for India in 1913 and started a successful practice there in 1917 with Gregson and King, a firm of architects which is still extant under the name of Gregson, Batley and King.Among his works are the Bombay Gymkhana , Wankaner Palace now Lincoln...
, a British architect, and was built in 1936 at a total cost of Rs. 200,000/-. The 2.5 acre (10,000 m²) property, "South Court", overlooking the sea and located at 2, Bhausaheb Hirey Marg (then Mount Pleasant Road), Malabar Hill, is in Mumbai's most expensive real estate. In 1948, it was leased to the British Deputy High Commission which occupied it till 1982.
Successive Pakistani governments have often expressed deep interest in acquiring the property for sentimental reasons. During his visit to India, President Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
had renewed Pakistan's claim to the house which the president had suggested to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee should be given to Pakistan so that it could be turned into a consulate.
However, this came to naught: Dina Wadia (who lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
), the allegedly disowned daughter of Jinnah, wrote to the Indian prime minister demanding that the house on the Malabar Hill
Malabar Hill
Malabar Hill, a hillock in southern Mumbai , India is an extremely upmarket residential area, most known for the Walkeshwar Temple which houses the Banganga Tank. Situated at a height of 50 metres Malabar Hill, a hillock in southern Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India is an extremely upmarket...
, now worth $60 million, be handed over to her.
Present times
In March 2004, Dina came to LahoreLahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Pakistan to watch a cricket match between Pakistan and India. She considered "cricket diplomacy" to be an enthralling dimension that illustrated an entirely new phase in relations between India and Pakistan. But she and her son Nusli Wadia
Nusli Wadia
Nusli Wadia is an Indian Parsi entrepreneur, a textile magnate and an important person in the real-estate business. He is the son of Neville and Dina Wadia. His mother Dina Wadia is the daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah....
chose not to share their thoughts with the public on what was certainly a highly emotional encounter. Dina had not travelled to Pakistan since her father's funeral in September 1948. A great sense of drama was embedded in an old woman's visit, as a foreigner, to a country that was founded by her father.
Dina along with her son, Nusli Wadia and grandsons Ness Wadia and Jehangir Wadia visited the mausoleum of her father to pay homage. She also visited museum located within premises of the mausoleum and saw the articles used by her illustrious father. In the visitors' book, Dina wrote: "This has been very sad and wonderful for me. May his dream for Pakistan come true." This would appear to be a very appropriate summation of a life-experience that is essentially inexplicable. Reports said that she asked for copies of three pictures she saw in the mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
's antiquities room. In one picture, she is standing with her father and aunt, Fatima Jinnah
Fatima Jinnah
Fatima Jinnah , was one of the figurative and pioneering woman figure in Pakistan Movement and was the younger sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. An active political figure in the movement for independence from the British Raj, she is commonly known in Pakistan as Khātūn-e...
. The other is a painting of her mother, Rattanbai Petit
Rattanbai Petit
Maryam Jinnah , was the second wife of Muhammad Ali Jinnah - an important figure in the Indian Independence Movement and later founder of Pakistan....
. In the third, her father is dictating a letter, showing, in a sense, Mohammad Ali Jinnah's political persona. Recently she has been involved in litigation regarding Jinnah House
Jinnah House
Jinnah House was the residence of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan; in Mumbai, India. Now known informally as Jinnah House, it was named South Court and was built in 1936 at a then exorbitant price of 2 lakh rupees when Jinnah returned to Mumbai from England to take charge of the...
claiming that Hindu Law is applicable to Jinnah as he was a Khoja
Khoja
The Khojas are ethnic group of Shia Muslims. The word Khoja derives from Khwaja, a Persian title .In Pakistan, many Khojas migrated to and settled in the province of Sindh and especially in the city of Karachi. While in India, most Khojas live in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and...
Shia.
Bibliographic references
- Chagla, M. C. Individual and the State, Asia Publishing House, 1961
- Wolpert, StanleyStanley WolpertStanley Wolpert is an American Indologist, author, and academic. He is considered one of the world's foremost authorities on the political and intellectual history of modern India and Pakistan and has written fiction and nonfiction books on the topics...
Jinnah of Pakistan, Oxford University Press, 1984, ISBN 0-614-21694-X - Ahmed, Akbar S.Akbar S. AhmedAkbar Salahuddin Ahmed, Sitara-i-Imtiaz, or Akbar Ahmed, is currently the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University in Washington, D.C., the First Distinguished Chair of Middle East and Islamic Studies at the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the...
Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin, Routledge, 1997, ISBN 0-415-14966-5