At Quaid’s service

At Quaid’s Service is a biographical account written on the life of M. Rafi Butt. It deals primarily with the life and times of the young entrepreneur. The 1930’s and 1940’s were dominated by the conflict and aftermath of World War II. Thus, most of the focus of that era had been war-centric, and very few texts provided a prospective view on the culture of the Pakistanis, who gave birth to this country and their struggle against insurmountable odds to survive. Even fewer texts provide an insight into the dealings and preparations for the nation of Pakistan to become a state, along with all stately machinations and responsibilities, and virtually no text exists of the Quaid’s laborious ‘behind the scene’ plans to physically realise that successful, progressive Muslim homeland he saw in his visions.

The book tells Pakistan’s tale from a very different perspective. It is the story of a young Punjabi entrepreneur, who demonstrated economic genius on numerous occasions and had garnered great success in a culture where the odds were stacked almost relentlessly against the Muslims.

Born in 1909, in Lahore, Rafi’s father died while he was still at the young tender age of 16. He had to take over his father’s surgical instruments and supplies business, and soon developed it into an empire within a decade. Rafi went on to establish the Central Exchange Bank in Lahore, in 1936, and expanded it into other cities of the undivided India as well. He travelled extensively to the US and Europe in order to discover the latest innovations in the industry, and kept Jinnah informed on any economic and industrial revelations that could aid the future of Pakistan after its establishment.

It also provides a vivid and unique account of Lahore in the 1930’s and 1940’s, along with the names, places and independent accounts of the happening of the Muslim elites at the time of the Pakistan Movement. The Quaid was a messiah to the masses, but to the elites he was still a politician. Since Rafi was a high flyer in the Indian society, he had an insider view of the way the elites saw the Quaid and Pakistan.

At the same time, it narrates a story of how Jinnah inspired the youth of all segments of the Muslim society, and promised them that if they would follow him they will inherit a homeland with freedom, security and opportunity.

Interview with Saleena Karim, author of “Secular Jinnah and Pakistan, What the Nation Doesn’t Know”

Secular Jinnah and Pakistan, What the Nation Doesn’t Know

Interview by Talha Mujaddidi (Bridgehead Institute)

TM: What inspired you to write a book setting the record straight with respect to Justice Munir?

SK: My original research began with an accidental discovery that a certain speech of Jinnah (the Munir quote – http://www.secularjinnah.co.uk ) could not be traced to any of Mr. Jinnah’s speeches but could only be found in Munir’s From Jinnah to Zia (1979) – or so I thought at the time. I had simply intended to write an article explaining the issue with the quote. In fact I almost didn’t even write the article as I had not grasped the significance of what I had found. My research took me in unexpected directions and I began to see there was much more to the story of the quote than I had first realised, but I kept the book relatively short. Sometime after SJ1’s (Secular Jinnah, 2005) release I discovered that the Munir quote actually had its origins in the ‘Munir Report’ of 1954 – i.e. same author, but different publication. Interestingly, the Munir quote was first used to deadly effect in the Pakistan Constituent Assembly debates of 1954, shortly before Ghulam Muhammad dissolved the Assembly. I have reviewed this in detail in SJ2, but otherwise my book is not centred on Justice Munir’s quote.

TM: What are the differences between the two editions – the original SJ1 and the new SJ2?

SK: SJ1 was a shorter book and it emphasised the Munir quote. SJ2 has a similar title, but as such it is completely different in terms of both style and content, even though it contains everything from SJ1 with updates. In addition, SJ2 covers pre-partition history in detail, including the Round Table Conferences of the 1930s, Mr. Jinnah’s differences with Mr. Gandhi, the provincial elections of 1936-7, and the Pakistan movement. I have also looked in detail at the constitutional background to the Lahore Resolution; I have reviewed the Cabinet Mission Plan in more depth than in SJ1; I have reviewed the debate over the Objectives Resolution; and I have looked at Jinnah’s attempts to retain national unity in Pakistan in the eighteen months before his death.