Ishtiaq Ahmed is professor emeritus of political science at Stockholm University and visiting professor, Government College University, Lahore. He is the author of several books including Pakistan: The Garrison State-Origins, Evolution, Consequences (1947-2011).Mohammad Ali Jinnah has been both celebrated and reviled for his role in the Partition of India, and the controversies surrounding his actions have only increased in the seven decades and more since his death. Ishtiaq Ahmed places Jinnah's actions under intense scrutiny to ascertain the Quaid-i-Azam's successes and failures and the meaning and significance of his legacy. Using a wealth of contemporary records and archival material, Dr Ahmed traces Jinnah's journey from Indian nationalist to Muslim communitarian, and from a Muslim nationalist to, finally, Pakistan's all-powerful head of state. How did the ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity become the inflexible votary of the two-nation theory? Did Jinnah envision Pakistan as a theocratic state? What was his position on Gandhi and federalism? Asking these crucial questions against the backdrop of the turbulent struggle against colonialism, this book is a path-breaking examination of one of the most controversial figures of the twentieth century.Ahmed examines all the successes and failures of Jinnah to critically assess his role in shaping Pakistan that is now almost universally regarded as a nation hovering on the brink of failure.This is a book that will be indispensable for a long time to come
