By Syed Ali Mujtaba
Chennai: Indian Parliament will soon have Mr Jinnah as one its members. The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu has cleared his name of A.A. Jinnah along with another nominee Vasanthi Stanley as its party’s nominee.
Six Rajya Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu are falling vacant this month. The DMK will send two members, its ally Congress two, the PMK and the CPI (M) one each. The opposition AIADMK will have only one member this time.
In the event of a contest the date of polls is March 26 but in all likelihood those who are nominated by their respective party are likely to be elected unopposed.
So it’s a foregone conclusion that Amir Ali Jinnah, the DMK party headquarters counsel, would be one of the two new DMK members who will sit in the upper
house of India’s parliament.
There is not much to tell about A.A. Jinnah. He has a very low profile in the corridors of the DMK power politics.
Mr.Jinnah who is 67 years old was born in Tiruvarur, the native place of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. He is an advocate and has been practicing law in the Madras High Court since 1970.
Mr.Jinnah was imprisoned for a year for his participation in the anti-Hindi agitation in Tamil Nadu in the late 1970s.
He was a Trustee at the Chennai Port Trust and member of the Regional Film Censor Board, Chennai.
The preference of Mr Jinnah, considered a dark horse in DMK party functionaries has surprised many, says Mr. Mhendran, a senior journalist who works for a Tamil News Channel.
‘The DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi has picked him up out of turn from among many big names from minority community within his party organization is something that needs to be pondered.’ ‘The only reason I can attribute to his nomination is Mr Karunanidhi’s affiliation with him as both belong to the same place. The other reason could be sympathies for Mr. Jinnah for his active role during the anti-Hindi agitation in Tamil Nadu’ says Mhendran.
‘The salient point that comes out of this is the DMK patriarch has not forgotten the sacrifices of a common party functionary some forty years ago and chose to reward him now,’ concludes Mhendran.
What ever may be the reason of Mr Jinnah’s nomination for the seat of Rajya Sabha but his name definitely would create ripples when he sit in the upper house of the Indian Parliament.
The very fact the Amir Ali Jinnah’s name has close resemblance with the Mohmmad Ali Jinnah, the president of the Muslim League who piloted the concept of Pakistan and both share the same profession is something that would be talked about in the days to come.
Mr AA Jinnah would also hog the limelight of the media in Pakistan for the coincidence of his name with the country’s founder is something that seems to be on cards.
Well call it a luck, fate or destiny, Mr AA Jinnah case is sometimes names do propel one to limelight if not to reckoning.
____________________________________________________________________________
Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba@ yahoo.com