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There is another side to M.A. Jinnah,the founder of Pakistan. He was a careful and persistent investor in shares and landed estates. By March 1947, both the Congress and the Muslim League were agreed that India would be partitioned. Even then Jinnah was looking for investment options. Given these circumstances, how then is one to explain Jinnah writing to share brokers and estate agents that very month and buying 500 shares in Air India Ltd. He also showed keen interest in the purchase of Sandow Castle, described as “a large property near Bombay with 18 acres of land and with an unrestricted view of the sea”. Its price was advertised at Rs 5 lakh.
It seems that both Jinnah and his number two in Muslim League, Sahebzada Liaquat Ali Khan had no idea that their dream to have a homeland for the Muslims of India will become a reality so soon. The All-India Muslim League passed the resolution for a homeland for the Muslims of India on March 23, 1940, at Lahore’s Minto Park (now Iqbal Park),they got what they wanted within seven years. It was a very short time to achieve such a huge goal. It goes without saying that if they knew that their demand would be accepted so soon, both of them would not have purchased palatial properties in the capital. In fact, both Jinnah and Liaquat, who later became the first prime minister of Pakistan, left behind grand properties in the capital and other parts of the country, either unsold or selling them for a pittance. The present valuations of these properties would not be less than between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 crore. Jinnah had one house each in the most exclusive areas of both Mumbai (then Bombay) and in New Delhi. While he managed to sell his 10, Aurangzeb Road mansion here for a pittance before going to Pakistan, the house in Malabar Hill in Mumbai remained unsold. This house was designed according to European architecture. Even though his estranged daughter Dina claimed that house many times, the Indian government never accepted her claim. It is a well-known fact that Dina is the mother of the Bombay Dyeing Chairman, Nusli Wadia. Since long Pakistan too has been demanding that the house of their founding father be handed over to them to start their Mumbai consulate. The Indian government has ways rejected this request. It is said that considering the prime location where Jinnah house of Mumbai is situated, it is a gold mine. It would be not less than Rs 600 crore in today’s context. It is a dream house. Delhi’s Jinnah house is a little unfortunate in the sense that unlike the Jinnah house of Mumbai, this has never remained in news. It is said that Jinnah started visiting this part of the country after 1940 when the Muslim League demanded a separate state for the Indian Muslims. He bought Delhi’s grand mansion in the later part of 1939, he used to stay either at Hotel Maidens or Imperial Hotel, instead of staying with some of his party leaders. Jinnah was not very keen to have a house in Delhi to begin with. But after some of his close Muslim league colleagues, including Liquat Ali Khan, persuaded him to have one here, he purchased the 10 Aurangzeb Road house. In fact, Muslim League leaders also convinced him that as he would have to visit Delhi to meet and organise the Muslims for the cause of Pakistan, hence he must have his own house here. Altaf Hussain, the editor of The Dawn, the organ of Muslim League, was also the caretaker of the house. Those were the days when The Dawn, was published from Darya Ganj. Altaf was a Bengali Muslim from Khulna who also used to write speeches of Jinnah laced with venomous communal overtones. Jinnah, who belonged to Islamia Khoja community of Gujarat, had sold this house to Ram Krishna Dalmia for less than Rs 2.25 lakh. From the exclusive Aurangzeb Road, Tilak Lane (Hardinge Lane) is also not very far away. In a huge mansion on this lane, Liquat Ali Khan used to live with his pretty wife, Gul-e-Rana, a teacher of English in IP college of Delhi University. Liquat Ali Khan had huge properties in both Delhi and Karnal. In fact, he belonged to the feudal family of Karnal. He also purchased his house sometime in 1941. Unfortunately, he could not dispose off his house while going to the country which he created. Later, the Indian government took over the control of his house. The Indian government has given that house to the Pakistan government to make it the official residence of their Delhi-based High Commissioner. It may be recalled that Liaquat Ali Khan was killed at the same place in 1951 where Benazir Bhutto was killed. His assassins could never be nabbed. His wife, Gul, was very active in the social life of Delhi. It is said that before going to Pakistan, she took two months leave from her college. She told her colleagues that she would rejoin college. Even the wife of first PM of newly created nation was not sure that Pakistan is now a reality. Once Sheela Uttam Singh, Gul’s colleague and later the principal of the IP college, told this writer that she was an extremely affable person and took her job extremely seriously. Liquat was very close to Jinnah and he used to organise Jinnah football tournament in the capital till 1945. He also remained the head of the managing committee of the Anglo-Arabic School at Ajmeri Gate that also ran Delhi College (now Zakir Hussain College) for many years. Dr Riaz Umer, ex-principal of Zakir Hussain college, says that Liaquat Ali Khan was a man of letters and he actively took an interest in the affairs of school. Before leaving for Pakistan, he donated some money to the school.
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This startling fact about Jinnah's keen desire to buy Air India's shares is revealed in Jinnah Papers: Pakistan - Struggling for Survival, 1 January - 30 September 1948, Editor-in-Chief Z.H. Zaidi; Qauid-i-Azam Papers Project, Government of Pakistan; distributed by Oxford University Press, Pakistan. That Jinnah was a very money-minded person was also once confirmed by late Dinesh Nandni Dalmia, noted novelist and wife of Seth Ramkrishan Dalmia. She once told this writer that Jinnah used to discuss only money matters during his meetings with her husband at their Sikandara Road residence in the capital. Both were great pals. Mrs Dalmia met Jinnah many times especially during those days when Jinnah and her husband were sealing the deal for the sale of Aurangzeb Road mansion. Jinnah sold that mansion to Dalmia before leaving for the country he created for Muslims. 