Daily Times: Yasser Latif Hamdani: Jinnah believed in equal rights for all people, regardless of religion or gender, because he believed in freedom of speech and freedom of expression. He was — as Agatha Harrison eulogised — a believer in unpopular causes

Last week Taimoor Ashraf in his article, “How liberal are they” (Daily Times, April 23, 2012) stated that since Jinnah defended Bal Gangadhar Tilak in a sedition case and Ilam Din in appeal, his worldview was somehow broad enough to include both.

This is an absurd argument. Consider the facts: Jinnah’s political career began firmly in the moderate camp when the Indian National Congress was divided into moderates and extremists. His mentor was Gopal Krishan Gokhale and Tilak was his political rival. On the limited question of sedition, Jinnah represented Tilak and represented him well. Similarly to the disappointment of those who try to use Jinnah’s role as the lawyer in the appeal for Ilam Din to somehow score a point about the Blasphemy law, Jinnah’s arguments as reported in the said judgment show that at no point did Jinnah condone Ilam Din’s act. Given the communal colour that this issue had taken, the Muslims of Punjab invented many myths about Ilam Din but the fact is that he repeatedly claimed that he did not kill Raj Pal, the publisher of the offensive pamphlet. Jinnah also represented Sardar Phanse in the famous Bawla murder trial and had his punishment mitigated to life. Would one conclude then that Jinnah’s political vision was broad enough to include even murderers?

Ashraf — who happens to be a lawyer — should know a bit about defence law. As a lawyer, one represents the most reprehensible amongst criminals but it does not amount to an acceptance or tolerance of their crime. Jinnah’s liberalism emanates not from his defence of Tilak or Ilam Din — whatever that means — but because Jinnah believed in equal rights for all people, regardless of religion or gender, because he believed in freedom of speech and freedom of expression. He was — as Agatha Harrison eulogised — a believer in unpopular causes such as the Suffrage Movement at a time when even men like Gandhi denounced suffrage for women as a ‘satanic’ idea.

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