On this day, we remember Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah – not just as the founder of Pakistan, but as a man whose vision, sacrifice, and discipline gave us a homeland.
Born in Karachi in 1876, Jinnah was a lawyer, politician, and the driving force behind the creation of Pakistan in 1947. His sharp intellect, unyielding determination, and unshakable belief in the rights of Muslims in the subcontinent carved out history itself. Yet beyond the eloquent speeches and political struggles, there was a man of personal habits, tastes, and tender moments.
This year, as we reflect on his death anniversary, we thought to focus not on the statesman alone, but on the person behind the title – to uncover the little things about Quaid-e-Azam that many of us may not know even after all these years.
1. His Taste In Food
Jinnah was not a man of elaborate meals. His breakfasts were usually modest – often consisting of a boiled egg with a slice of toast, sometimes accompanied by butter, honey, or marmalade. He disliked watery curries, preferring drier and more refined preparations. Among fruits, mangoes held a special place, and they were said to be one of his favourites. Even in his final years, when his health was failing, his meals were chosen carefully and sparingly, reflecting his lifelong moderation and discipline. Some later accounts (including social media tributes) claim that his morning plate might occasionally feature apple tarts or that he enjoyed coffee with breakfast.
2. His Hobbies, Habits & Spare Time
Though politics consumed much of his life, Jinnah did make space for small pleasures. He loved billiards and would often spend evenings at the table, playing alone, marking each shot with care and precision. Flowers, particularly roses and carnations, gave him joy; even when he was unwell in Ziarat, he asked for a chair and table to be placed in the lawn so that he could work among the blooms. Jinnah was also known for his refined sense of style – he owned dozens of pairs of shoes and was meticulous about his appearance, right down to the last detail of his tie. These hobbies and habits reflected the order and elegance he valued in life.
3. Books & Reading Habits
Jinnah was an avid and disciplined reader, but his choices were rarely for leisure. From his student days in London, he immersed himself in works on law, constitutional history, and politics, spending long hours in libraries to strengthen his grasp of argument and governance. He studied legal commentaries and parliamentary debates with great seriousness, training himself to think and speak with precision.
Every morning, Jinnah made it a point to begin his day with newspapers. He would carefully read through the major English-language dailies before breakfast, a routine that stayed with him all his life and kept him alert to both local and global developments. This habit gave him not only an awareness of current affairs but also a sharp insight into how public opinion and politics shifted day to day.
In fact, his seriousness about reading showed even in small personal details. In one of the law books he used to read – the title of which is unfortunately not recorded in the archives – Jinnah inscribed in his own hand: “This book is mine till I am dead. Steal not this for fear of shame. So, here’s the owner’s name. M.A. Jinnah, 10 September 1895.” It was a youthful note that reflected his pride in learning and his determination to protect what shaped his mind.
Historians such as Stanley Wolpert (Jinnah of Pakistan) and Yasser Latif Hamdani (Jinnah: A Life) observe that his reading was always directed toward sharpening his political vision. Constitutional law, political philosophy, and contemporary debates formed the core of his interests. For Jinnah, reading was never escapism; it was preparation – preparation for the courtroom, the legislature, and eventually, the leadership of a nation.
4. His Family, Love, & Loss
Behind his austere exterior, Jinnah carried deep love and grief. His first marriage took place when he was just sixteen, to Emibai Jinnah in 1892. It was an arranged match, and tragically, Emibai passed away only a few years later while Jinnah was studying in England.
In 1918, he married Rattanbai “Ruttie” Petit, a spirited and cultured young woman who opened a new world of art and literature to him. Their union, though passionate, faced immense pressures from society and faith differences. They had one daughter, Dina, born in 1919.
Ruttie’s untimely death in 1929 left Jinnah heartbroken, and many contemporaries observed that he never fully recovered from the loss. His letters and Ruttie’s farewell note reveal tenderness rarely seen in his public life. Later, his bond with his daughter was filled with affection. In one letter he wrote: “Dear Dina, I could recognise you from a thousand miles, meri beti (my daughter).”
His sister, Fatima Jinnah, was also central to his personal life. She stood by him through his illness and final years, serving as companion, caretaker, and confidante. After his death, she memorialised him in her book My Brother, offering rare insight into his private world.
5. The Little Things He Carried
Jinnah’s elegance was reflected not just in his politics but in the objects he chose to surround himself with. He owned pocket watches, cigarette cases, silk handkerchiefs, and canes, often engraved with his initials “M.A.J.” – small tokens that spoke of order and dignity. His footwear collection included boots, slip-ons, slippers, and traditional khussa, but his favourite was a black pump called the “Grugabi,” which he wore on ceremonial occasions. Many of his suits were tailored in London and Bombay, and he was meticulous about never repeating a silk tie.
He smoked A. Craven cigarettes and collected Havana cigars, and was rarely seen without his silver cigarette case and lighter. His accessories included a monocle, breeches, top-quality golf clubs, ivory napkin holders, and handmade buckskin shoes – many of which can still be viewed in the display cases at his mausoleum in Karachi. He also carried fine canes, each chosen with care. Even in his national dress, he shaped style chronicles of the times and beyond rather than follow them; sherwani paired with churidar or shalwar, topped with the karakul cap that later became known as the “Jinnah cap” – reflected the same mix of tradition and refinement.
His houses too mirrored his taste: the Malabar Hill residence in Bombay with Italian marble and walnut wood, his Hampstead home in London where he spent evenings with Dina, Fatima, and his beloved dogs, and the elegant bungalow at 10 Aurangzeb Road in Delhi where some of the most significant political meetings of the 1930s and 40s were held. His final home, now Quaid-e-Azam House Museum in Karachi, was the last stage of this personal journey – a place where private life and public destiny came together.
Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah remains, above all, the Father of the Nation – the man who turned the dream of Pakistan into reality. But behind the iconic speeches and iron will was a man who cherished flowers, enjoyed a simple meal, read deeply into the law, loved his daughter, mourned his wife, and surrounded himself with small symbols of refinement. On his death anniversary, remembering these details reminds us that history’s giants are human too. Jinnah’s greatness was not only in what he achieved for his people, but in how he lived – with discipline, grace, and humanity.
Sources: Geo News, The Nation, Youlin Magazine, and DAWN News.
