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India-Pakistan
Muslim law doesn't apply to Pakistan's founder Jinnah, says daughter
2008-10-14
In the dispute over the palatial Jinnah House in south Mumbai, Dina Wadia, the only daughter of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, has stated before the Bombay High Court that her father is not governed by Islamic succession laws, but by Hindu customary law instead.
Wonder how that will go down in Pakistan
The building in question, blessed not only with history but also location -- facing the sea from the posh Malabar Hill -- is currently valued at Rs 300 crore.

In 1947, when Jinnah left India for Pakistan, the Government had taken it over as "evacuee property". However, Dina had remained behind in Mumbai, having been disowned by Jinnah. Now 88 years old, she lives in the United States. After a series of legal moves, Dina Wadia filed a writ petition before the Mumbai High Court in 2007, claiming that Jinnah House could not be classified as "evacuee property", as her father had died without leaving behind a will. So, she went on to claim, all his properties, including Jinnah House, devolved to his successors.

The trouble was that under Muslim succession law, Jinnahs property would devolve to a long list of family claimants, only one of which was his daughter. This meant that even if Jinnah House was not "evacuee property", Dina Wadia would have to share Jinnah House with other relatives of her father.
"Wadia" means shipbuilder. The Wadias built almost 400 ships for the East India Company and the Royal Navy in Bombay such as the HMS Minden, aboard which the Star Spangled Banner was composed, HMS Cornwallis, aboard which the treaty of Nanking ceding Hong Kong to Britain was signed and HMS Tricomalee, the oldest British warship still afloat
To overcome this, her lawyer Fali Nariman has stated in court that Jinnah, as a Khoja-Shia, was not governed by Muslim succession law, but by Hindu customary law -- in which intestate succession is to the daughter alone. To establish this, Nariman has relied on a long line of cases where the Indian Supreme Court has held that Khoja-Shias are governed by Hindu customary law. Khoja-Shias, like many Muslim communities in India, have traditions that are a mix of Islamic and Hindu rituals.

However, given the complicated legal issues involved in the case, what has taken a backseat is this most interesting aspect of the case: the claim by Jinnahs only daughter that the man who forged Pakistan claiming to be the representative of Indias Muslims be governed by Hindu, not Islamic, laws.

The Government, led by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Gopal Subramaniam, has countered Dina Wadias argument by alleging that Jinnah did not die intestate, but had willed Jinnah House to his sister Fatima. Since Fatima also left India for Pakistan in 1947, ASG Subramanian contends that Jinnah House is rightly classified as "evacuee property", and now belongs to the Government.

Nariman has countered this by arguing that since the will -- even if genuine -- is not probated, it is not admissible in court. Some other relatives of Fatima have joined the melee, claiming that as per the will, Jinnah House devolves to the heirs of Fatima Jinnah -- them.

To further add to the confusion, some within the previous NDA cabinet sided with Dina Wadia, and had informally agreed to give Jinnah House to her on a life-long lease. Former external affairs minister Jaswant Singh says this in a personal affidavit to the court.

While he admitted on August 29 that many within the NDA Government favoured giving Jinnah House to Dina, ASG Subramaniam claims that then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees final decision was that it remain with the Government.

Adding another twist to the tale, Nusli Wadia -- Dinas son and Jinnahs grandson
How ironic that the descendants of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan, are citizens of India
-- filed a petition with the Central Information Commission (CIC) in December 2007, demanding the release of former Attorney General Soli Sorabjees two legal opinions, in which he reportedly sided with the Wadias. In early October, the CIC ruled that the two opinions be made public. The Court has scheduled the next hearing for October 24.
Posted by:john frum

#6  Looking at that map John, reminds me of the old joke:
How do you make God burst out laughing?
A. Show Him your plan.
Posted by: tipper   2008-10-14 15:01  

#5  Map of Dinia

link
Posted by: john frum   2008-10-14 13:33  

#4  link

Rehmat Ali’s concept of Pakistan was nebulous, impractical and fantasy-ridden. It was to include the entire northwest of India, Kashmir, the Kathiawar peninsula, Kutch, and several enclaves deep within UP, including Delhi and Lucknow. There were to be two independent Muslim states besides Pakistan: Bangistan comprising Bengal and Assam in the east and Osmanistan in the south. These two were to form a federation with Pakistan. The 243 principalities or Rajwaras were to be divided among caste Hindus and “others” and then herded together in a ghetto called Hanoodia. As for the Sikhs, they were to be pushed into an enclave called Sikhia. Other races and religions were to inhabit an encampment by the name of Hanadika. Every non-Muslim was to remain subservient to the master race he called “The Paks”. And yes, the subcontinent was to be renamed Dinia. He did not say how he was going to bring all that about.
Posted by: john frum   2008-10-14 11:35  

#3  That would Rehmat Ali - the man who coined the word Pakistan
Posted by: john frum   2008-10-14 11:32  

#2  Humm, if my memory is any good his vision was an India as a confedratoiopn of Muslim states with the Hinus keeping only an area in the far South about twice the size of Ceylan. But perhaps I am confounding him with another guy.
Posted by: JFM   2008-10-14 04:53  

#1  Jinnah was a single-minded, tunnel-visioned cynic. If he had died, or Gandhi had died, or Britain could have held on 18 months longer (by which time both were dead), India might very well never have been partitioned. That would have been a tremendous blessing not only for everyone in the subcontinent but for the world as well.
Posted by: Jolutch Mussolini7800   2008-10-14 00:39  

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