Mohammad Ali Jinnah, (Urdu: محمد علی جناح; Gujarati: મહંમદ અલી ઝીણા; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948 in Karachi) was a Pakistani politician. He is the founder of Pakistan. After the partition of India, he became the Governor-General of Pakistan. As a mark of respect, Pakistanis call him Quaid-e-Azam. Quaid-e-Azam is a phrase which, in the Urdu language, means “the great leader”. People also called him Baba-I-Quam, another phrase in the Urdu language which means “the father of the nation”. The day of his birth is a national holiday in whole Pakistan.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was born on 25 December 1876 in Karachi into the Isma’ilism family of Poonja Jinnah. Jinnah. He was born in Jhirk, City of Sindh. His father’s name was Jinnah Poonja (1857- 1901)
and his mother’s name was Mithibai. Jinnah was the eldest of the seven children of Jinnah Poonja and Mithibai. His family had migrated to Sindh from the Kathiawar area of Gujarat, India.
Jinnah’s birth name was Mahomedali Jinnahbhai. He later changed it to the much simpler ‘Muhammad Ali Jinnah’ or M.A. At home, his family talked in Gujarati language, and the children also came to speak Kutchi and English. Except for Fatima, little is known of his siblings.
In 1891 (when he was fifteen), Jinnah went to London and worked for few years for a company. At around that time, his mother died.In 1894, Jinnah quit his job to study law.
He joined the course at Lincoln’s Inn and graduated in 1896. While still in London, he also started to participate in politics. He greatly admired Indian political leaders Dadabhai Naoroji and Sir Pherozeshah Mehta. Gradually Jinnah was developing his own political outlook. He was thinking on the line that India should have a constitutional self-government.
