Gurjar Sabha, January 14, 1915 from CWMG

Stanley Wolpert & Jaswant Singh cite Volume XIII, page 9 of The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi; however in the electronic version, it is Volume 14, page 342.



276. SPEECH AT GURJAR SABHA RECEPTION, BOMBAY
{footnote: A brief report of this also appeared in Gujarati, 17-1-1915.}
January 14, 1915

A garden party in honour of Gandhiji and Shrimati Kasturba Gandhi was given by members of the Gurjar Sabha, Bombay, on the grounds of Mangaldas House, on January 14, 1915. Messrs M. A. Jinnah, Chairman of the Sabha, who presided on the occasion, and K. M. Munshi having spoken (in English) welcoming the guests, Gandhiji replied as follows:

Mr. Gandhi, who spoke in Gujarati, thanked Mr. Jinnah for presiding at this function and said that while he was in South Africa and anything was said about Gujaratis, it was understood to have a reference to the Hindu community only and Parsis and Mahomedans were not thought of. He was, therefore, glad to find a Mahomedan a member of the Gurjar Sabha and the chairman of that function.

With regard to their words of praise and welcome, he was at a loss to say anything. As he had said so often before, he and his wife had done nothing beyond their duty. He did not wish to repeat the same thing, but he desired to say that he considered all these good feelings and kind words as their blessings and he prayed to God. that those blessings might enable him and his wife faithfully to serve their country. They first intended to study all the Indian questions and then enter upon the service of the country. He had looked upon the Hon. Mr. Gokhale as his guide and leader and he had full confidence in him and he was sure that Mr. Gokhale would not put him on the wrong track. He had visited His Excellency the Governor {Lord Willingdon}   that morning and while thanking him for the honour, he also mentioned the same thing that he was absolutely confident that under the guiding spirit of the Hon. Mr. Gokhale he would be adopting the right course.

Continuing, Mr. Gandhi said that the chairman had referred to the South African question. He had a good deal to say on this subject and he would explain the whole situation in the very near future to the Bombay public and through them to the whole of India. The compromise was satisfactory and he trusted that what had remained to be gained would be gained. The South Africans had now learnt that they could not utterly disregard the Indians or disrespect their feelings.

With regard to the Hindu-Mahomedan question he had much to learn, but he would always keep before his eyes his twenty-one years’ experience in South Africa and he still remembered that one sentence uttered by Sir Syed Ahmed, namely, that the Hindus and Mahomedans were the two eyes of Mother India and if one looked at one end and the other at the other, neither would be able to see anything and that if one was gone, the other would see to that extent only. Both the communities had to bear this in mind in the future.

In conclusion, he thanked them for the great honour done to him and his wife.

The Bombay Chronicle,  15-1-1915

Gurjar Sabha, January 14, 1915 from Riaz Ahmed

 Note: Riaz Ahmed sets the date of the event as January 13.   Jaswant Singh also sets it to January 13.

The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi gives the date as January 14.  The chronology given there is as follows:

January 9: Gandhiji and Kasturba landed at Apollo Bunder, Bombay.
In interview to The Bombay Chronicle and The Times of India, Gandhiji said he would follow Gokhale’s advice and pass some time in India observing and studying.
January 11: Reception at Ghatkopar, Bombay.
January 12: Public reception at Mount Petit, Bombay, Sir
Pherozeshah Mehta presiding.
January 13: Welcome by Bombay National Union at Hirabag. B. G. Tilak and Joseph Baptista attended.
January 14: Gandhiji entertained by Bombay branch of Servants of India Society.
Met Governor of Bombay.
Garden party by Gurjar Sabha, Bombay, M. A. Jinnah presided.

The online Chronology of Gandhi in Bombay also gives the date as January 14. (reproduced at the end of this document).

From

The Works of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah

Volume II (1913-1916)

Editor: Dr. Riaz Ahmad

MR. AND MRS. GANDHI ENTERTAINED BY GURJAR SABHA – JINNAH ON SOUTH AFRICAN PROBLEMS

13 January 1915 (Bombay Chronicle, 15 January 1915)

Mr. M.K. Gandhi and Mrs. Gandhi were entertained at a garden party, yesterday evening (13-1-1915), in the specious [sic] gardens of Mangaldass House by the members of the Gujar Sabha.  There was a very large and representative gathering and those present included the Hon. Mr. P.D. Pattni.

Mr. K.M. Munshi, in opening the proceedings, said the movement was first started by a single body as a public expression of the feelings of reverence to the admiration for the greatest son of modern Gujarat, but it was gratifying to see that it was whole-heartedly supported by the whole of the Gujerati-speaking community.

Mr. M. A. Jinnah who presided, welcoming the guests of the evening on behalf of the Sabha, said that he considered a great privilege and certainly a very great honour that he should have the opportunity of welcoming Mr. and Mrs. Gandhi back to their motherland after the most strenuous and hard labour in South Africa in the cause of the Indians residing there as well as in the cause of India generally.  Mr. Gandhi came back to India after a quarter of a century.  From the very start he had devoted himself to the cause of the Indian community in South Africa and the question of immigration in South Africa.   This question was long one and had a long history but recently, as they were all aware, it had assumed a shape and issue which threatened to destroy the very existence of Indians in South Africa and it was then that Mr. Gandhi led the South African Indian community so to say in a constitutional war and they all knew what trials, what troubles, what sufferings and what sacrifices he had to go through and they all knew that eventually that immediate issue, which threatened the very existence of the Indian community in South Africa, was brought about in a compromise, which seemed to all parties satisfactory, but if he might say so as one who had taken some interest in the question – and he believed he was voicing the feelings of every Indian on that point – the question as settled did not end the other issues of a graver and more important character and those would have to be settled as soon as possible (hear, hear).

Continuing, Mr. Jinnah said that he was sure that they were all very glad to see Mr. Gandhi back among them, but while he (the speaker) was thinking about it and reading in the press as to the future programme of Mr. Gandhi, namely, to devote himself to the cause of the country, it struck him that what a pity it was that there was nobody in South Africa who could take his place, and fight their battle, a bigger battle than the one fought and successfully fought, and therefore it seemed to him that what was their gain was a terrible loss of South Africa so far as the Indians there were concerned.   Of course, Mr. Gandhi know of his movements best and he knew how he should work them.   Personally, he (the speaker) felt that it did not matter where Mr. Gandhi was.  Undoubtedly here he would not only become a worthy ornament, but also a very real worker whose equals there were very few (applause).

He felt sure that he was uttering the sentiments of everyone when he said that Mr. Gandhi deserved the welcome not only of the Gurjar Sabha, not only of Gujerat but of the whole of India.   But while he was praising Mr. Gandhi he did not forget Mrs. Gandhi, who had set an example not only to the womankind of India, but he might say to the womankind of the whole world.   For a woman to stand by her husband, share his trials and sufferings and sacrifices and even to go to jail was model of  womanhood of which any country could well be proud of (applause).

He did not think he was exaggerating when he said that such a son of India and such a daughter of India had not only raised the reputation of India but had vindicated the honour of the great and ancient land.  They had drawn the attention of the whole world and the whole world admired the trials and troubles and sacrifices Mr. and Mrs. Gandhi underwent for the cause of their country and their countrymen (applause).

HINDU –MAHOMEDAN PROBLEM

Continuing Mr. Jinnah said that he had only one word to add.  After the great war that is going on and which has to decide the issue between might and right – and he had no doubt that right will succeed (hear, hear) – questions affecting India will have to be considered and solved and the one word that he might say to Mr. Gandhi was that throughout the whole country, the two sister communities of India – Hindus and Mahomedans – showed themselves unanimous, absolutely one, on the South African question, and he thought that that was the first question and the first occasion on which the two sister communities stood together in absolute union and it had its moral and political effect of the settlement of the question.

That it had its gain was being displaying with by the attitude of India towards the war and the whole of India had stood by the Empire, as one of its members.  It was in that frame of mind, that state, that condition which they had to bring about between the two communities, when most of their problems, he had no doubt, would be easily be solved.

That, he said to Mr, Gandhi, was one problem of all the problems of India – namely, how to bring about unanimity and co-operation between the two communities so that the demands of India may be made absolutely unanimously.  He again welcomed them in the name of the Gurjar Sabha, who took the greatest pride in receiving them that evening. (Applause)

Both the guests were then garlanded.

Mr. Gandhi, who spoke in Gujerati, thanked Mr. Jinnah for presiding at this function and said that while he was in South Africa and anything was said about Gujeratis, it was understood to have a reference to the Hindu community only and Parsis and Mahomedans were not thought of.   He was, therefore, glad to find a Mahomedan a member of the Gurjar Sabha and the chairman of that function.

With regard to their words of praise and welcome, he was at a loss to say anything. As he had said so often before, he and his wife had done nothing beyond their duty.  He did not wish to repeat the same thing but he desired to say that he considered all these good feelings and kind words as their blessings and he prayed to God that those blessings might enable him and his wife in faithfully serving their country.

They first intended to study all the Indian questions and then enter upon the service of the country.  He had looked upon the Hon. Mr. Gokhale as his guide and leader and he had full confidence in him and he was sure that Mr. Gokhale would not put him on the wrong track.   He had visited his Excellency the Governor that morning and while thanking him for the honour he also mentioned the same thing that he was absolutely confident that under the guiding spirit of the Hon. Mr. Gokhale he would be adopting the right course.

Continuing, Mr. Gandhi said that the chairman had referred to the South African question.   He had a good deal to say on the subject and he would explain the whole situation in the very near future to the Bombay public and through them the whole of India.  The compromise was satisfactory and he trusted that what had remained to be gained would be gained.   The South Africans had now learnt that they could not utterly disregard the Indians or disrespect their feelings.

With regard to the Hindu-Mahomedan question he had much to learn, but he would always keep before his eyes his twenty-one years of experience in South Africa and he still remembered that one sentence uttered by Sir Syed Ahmed, namely, that the Hindus and Mahomedans were the two eyes of mother India, and if one looked at one end and the other at the other, neither would be able to see anything, and that if one was gone, the other would see to that extent only.   Both the communities had to bear this in mind in the future.

In conclusion, he [Gandhi] thanked them for the great honour done to him and his wife.

Refreshments were then served and the gathering dispersed after about an hour.

___

From the online Chronology of Gandhi in Bombay

1915

January 9 - 15

           

9th Jan          

Gandhi arrived at 7.30 am by SS Arabia from South Africa via London.

Reception at several places.

Put up at Revashanker Jhaveri's (Santacruz).

Interviewed by Times of India.

Met G. K. Gokhale & V. S. Sastri at Narottam Morarji's house. details.....

           

10th Jan

           

Met relatives in Bazaar Gate street, it was here that Swami Anand first met Gandhi.

Reception by Mulji Ashram (theatre) 'Buddha Deva' was being staged by his troupe.

Addressed by National Union (Hira Baug) which was presided by B. G. Tilak.

11th Jan

           

Meeting at Ghatkopar. Received Golden manacles as a gift.

12th Jan

           

Met Dadabhai Navroji and Dr. Dadi Burjorji. (Dr. Burjorji had attended Gandhi in Durban, South Africa wshen he was attacked by whites.)

Attended party full of pomp and grandeur, hosted by the Petits. details.....

 13th Jan       

Reception given by National Union (Madhav Baug). Tilak was also present.

           

14th Jan

           

Saw Lord Willingdon, the Governor.

Reception given by Gurjar Sabha (Gujarat Association). M. A. Jinnah, in his welcome speech praised Gandhi & Ba of their services in South Africa. details.....

Jinnah's religion - 7

http://www.awamiweb.com/quaid-e-azam-was-ismaili-converted-to-bohrism-later-altaf-hussain-52432.html

Quaid e Azam Was Ismaili, Converted To Bohrism Later: Altaf Hussain

Posted by Hassam Ahmed on Aug 23rd, 2012

London: The Chief of Muttahida Qaumi Movement Altaf Hussain said that the founder of Pakistan Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah belonged to Ismaili faction initially which he left later and converted into Bohra Shia Ithna-Ashari group. During a meeting with scholars at MQM International Secretariat London, Altaf Hussain urged the historians to note that it is already been proved from the historical facts that the founder of the country first practiced Ismaili faith but in 1898 Quaid-e-Azam submitted an Affidavit in Mumbai’s magistrate court where he stated the Sect of his family was Ismaili from the beginning but now he and his sister Fatimah are converting into Ithna-Ashari sect of faith.

Altaf Hussain also referred a book ‘Quaid as I knew Him’ of QA’s close friend Abul Hasan Ispahani for further details and study of this case. MQM Chief said it is a historical fact that Quaid-e-Azam was the member of Khoja group and give dontations for it regularly. When Jinnah died in 1948 his body was bathed by Haji Kalu who himself was Khoja Shia Ithna-Ashari, he said.
Hussain further claimed that two funeral prayers were offered for Jinnah, first by Shia religious scholar Molana Anees ul Hasnain and other by Allama Shabbir Ahmed Usmani.

Note: The Works of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Vol I (1893-1912) compiled by Dr. Riaz Ahmed includes all kinds of material from Jinnah's court activities, but does not include the 1898 affidavit.

Jinnah's religion - 6

This May 9, 1998 report at rediff.com is at variance with the Khaled Ahmed piece quoted before.

Jinnah's religion - 5

The quoted piece by Khaled Ahmed, from The Friday Times, Dec. 24, 2010, says that Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada testified to court that Jinnah broke from the sect he was born into in 1901 and converted to Twelver Shiism.   I.H. Ispahani said that "Jinnah had himself told him in 1936 that he and his family had converted to Shiism after his return from England in 1894".

Jinnah's narration of the beliefs of his original sect (Jinnah's religion - 4) must be read in that context.

Jinnah's bitterness : Kanji Dwarkadas

In "Ten Years to Freedom" (p 34-35),  Kanji Dwarkadas narrates this story, from 1938 or 1939:

"In order to find out exactly what was passing in Jinnah's mind I went to meet him and asked him what he thought of the political situation.

His answer was amazing.   He said, "What do you mean?  How can you ask me such a question? Do you mean to say that when the British Prime Minister is sitting in his room a French man or a German or a Russian could just walk in and ask him, "What do you think of the political situation?", and do you mean to say the British Prime Minister would reply to that question?"

I told Jinnah that I had not come as a leader or representative of the Hindus or even as a Hindu.  I was just talking to him informally as an old friend and saw no harm in both of us thinking aloud.

To this Jinnah said that he refused to discuss the political situation with any Hindu.

I suggested his talking to Sir Purushottamdas.  He said he would not, because Sir Purushottamdas had no influence on the Hindu opinion.  He said that neither Jawaharlal nor Subhas Bose had any influence but that Gandhiji and Vallabhbhai had a negative influence in the sense that they could do harm and could not and would not do any good.

Evidently all was not well with Jinnah and I told him that bitterness would not help anybody or any cause.  The Congress had rubbed him the wrong way and he would never forgive them for this.   I felt very sorry for Jinnah.  He was a sick and unhappy man, completely isolated and friendless.

---

Jinnah's religion - 4

In "India's Freedom Movement: Some Notable Figures" (1972), B. Shiva Rao writes of a meeting with Jinnah, that is worth noting.

To set the context:

(p. 56, M.K. Gandhi):  "He was a critic of the home rule movement when it was first inaugurated.  Nevertheless in the following year (1917) when Mrs. Besant was interned for her home rule activities, he seriously suggested a mass march to her place of detention at to her place of detention at Ootacamund to enforce her liberation.   Dr. Subramania Aiyar, to whom the suggestion was first made, was, with his long training as a judge, startled by the novel suggestion; and Lokamanya Tilak and Mr Jinnah, whose advice was sought, regarded it with such sharp disapproval that it was quietly abandoned.

(p. 81, Dr. S. Subramania Aiyar): "Gandhiji called on Subramania Aiyar shortly after Mrs. Besant's internment and made a proposal which struck him as startlingly novel.  He would walk to Ootacamund, he told the retired judge, with a crowd of volunteers which would swell en route to enormous proportions and quietly ask her to break the internment order.  Subramania Aiyar suggested to some of us who met him almost daily that consultations with Lokamanya Tilak and Jinnah, the latter at that time the president of the Home Rule League in Bombay, would be desirable, since his own reactions were not in favour of Gandhiji's proposal.  

Two of us went to Bombay to discuss the proposal with Jinnah and for the first time I had a glimpse of Lokamanya Tilak at close quarters.   There were present in Jinnah's house (apart from Tilak) Horniman, Syud Hosain, Jamnadas Dwarkadas, Kanji Dwarkadas, Omer Sobhani and Shankarlal Banker.  Tilak considered Gandhiji's suggestion impracticable, and Jinnah agreed with the general view of the others present that a mass movement of the kind Gandhiji had in mind could not possibly succeed.

 Note: Mrs. Annie Besant was interned June 15 - September 16, 1917. This sets the bounds on the time period.

Now the substance:

(p. 125, M. A. Jinnah) With Jinnah in his first phase I had intimate contacts going back to 1917, when I went to see him for the first time in his Bombay home to seek his advice: he was then the President of the Home Rule League in Bombay.  Mrs. Besant was in internment at Ootacamund for her home rule activities and Gandhiji was contemplating a march of volunteers from Madras—a distance of 350 miles—to enforce her release.

Jinnah called a few friend to his house for a discussion: Tilak, Horniman, Syed Hussain, Jamnadas Dwarkadas, Omar Sobhani and Shankerlal Banker (apart from myself).  Tilak was a little late in coming, and Jinnah utilised the time to explain to Horniman that the sect among the Muslims to which he belonged believed in the ten Avataaras and had much in common with Hindus in their inheritance laws and social customs.   The main point of discussion—Gandhiji's proposal—took little time.  Tilak promptly rejected it as impracticable and Jinnah and Horniman agreed with that view.

Jinnah, originally a Khoja, is supposed to have converted to Twelver Shi'ism at some point in his life.

As far as I know, there is no study of Jinnah's changing religious beliefs and its possible influence on his political views.   It is buried both by lack of documents and also the dogma that Jinnah was a secularist.  It is hard to reconcile a belief in the ten Avataaras and his utterances on the two nation theory.