Dina Wadia
This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (February 2021) |
Dina Wadia | |
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دینا واڈیا | |
Manhattan, New York, U.S. | |
Nationality | American[1] |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 (including Nusli Wadia) |
Parents | |
Family |
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Dina Wadia (née Jinnah; 15 August 1919 – 2 November 2017) was the daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan, and Rattanbai Petit.[2][3][4] She belonged to some of the most prominent families of the Indian subcontinent, notably, the Jinnah family through her father, the Petit family through her mother, and the Wadia family through her marriage to Neville Wadia.[5][6][7]
Early life and background
Dina was born in
Dina's paternal family were upstart merchants of high social status. Dina's paternal grandfather,
Dina's maternal family, the
Dina's parents were mismatched in age, religion, habits, temperament and views. These differences led them to separate shortly after Dina's birth, and Ruttie began living in the
Marriage and rift with her father
Dina's relationship with her father became strained when she expressed her desire to marry the Parsi-born Neville Wadia, who was the son of Sir Ness Wadia and Evelyne Clara Powell. Jinnah tried to dissuade her but failed. M. C. Chagla, who was Jinnah's assistant at the time, recalls: "Jinnah, in his usual imperious manner, told her that there were millions of Muslim boys in India, and she could have chosen anyone. Reminding her father that his wife had also been a non-Muslim and a Parsi as well, the young lady replied: 'Father, there were millions of Muslim girls in India. Why did you not marry one of them?' And he replied that, 'She became a Muslim'."[citation needed]
Chagla recounted in his autobiography Roses in December that when Dina married Neville, her father said to her that she was not his daughter anymore. This story, however, is contentious as some say that Jinnah had sent a bouquet through his driver, Abdul Hai, to the newly married couple.[9] Their relationship was a matter of legal conjecture as Pakistani laws allow for a person to be disinherited for violating Islamic rules (in this case by a Muslim woman marrying a non-Muslim), and hence no claim of hers was entertained on the Pakistani properties of Jinnah.[7] The Wadias lived in Bombay and had two children, a boy named Nusli and a girl named Diana.[20] The marriage did not last long, however, and she separated from Wadia in 1943; the couple never formally divorced because divorce was illegal in India at the time.[6]
Following the marriage, the father-daughter relationship became extremely formal, and he addressed her formally as 'Mrs. Wadia'. This, too, is contentious as Dina rebuffed this information calling it a rumour.
After Dina's death, her personal diary revealed that her relationship with her father was no more formal, and they had reunited as a family. The diary also revealed that Dina had visited Pakistan twice, once on her father's death, and then again for the 2004 India-Pakistan cricket match. She had been in regular touch with her aunt, Fatima.[6] On 28 April 1947, In one of her letters to her father, Dina had said:
"My darling Papa, First of all I must congratulate you — you
got Pakistan…. how hard you have worked for it…I do hope you are keeping well — I get lots of news of you from the local newspapers in Bombay. The children are just recovering from their whooping cough, it will take another month yet. I am taking them to Juhu on Thursday for a month or so. Are you coming back here? If so, I hope you will drive out to Juhu and spend the day if you like. Anyway, I have a phone so I will ring you up and drive in to see you if you don’t feel like coming out. Take care of yourself Papa darling. Lots of love & kisses, Dina."[9][24]
South Court mansion in Bombay
Dina Wadia was involved in litigation regarding her father's house in Bombay, informally called
Visit to Pakistan in 2004
In March 2004, Wadia visited
Wadia, Nusli and her grandsons
Death
Dina died from
References
- ^ "Dina Wadia was highly respected in dad Jinnah's Pakistan". The Indian Express. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ^ "Quaid-i-Azam's daughter Dina Wadia passes away at 98 in New York". The Express Tribune. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^ ISBN 9781438108254– via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah – Founder of Pakistan & Former 1st Governor-General of Pakistan". 25 October 2013.
- ^ a b "Gujarat's gifts to India and Pakistan". The Express Tribune. 23 February 2012.
- ^ a b c "Fact file: Jinnah's family". Dawn. 26 December 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
Dina and Neville lived in Mumbai and had two children, a boy and a girl, before the couple divorced.
- ^ a b "Two nations and a daughter at war over house". South China Morning Post. 21 October 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
Ms Wadia, who moved to New York after divorcing her husband, divides her time between New York, London and Mumbai, where her son Nusli runs one of India's largest textile companies.
- ^ InpaperMagazine, From (3 March 2012). "First lady: The Flower of Bombay". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "Dina Wadia and her darling papa". Geo News. PTI. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
- ^ "Dina Wadia & Muhammad Ali Jinnah: A daughter's journey". WION News. Zee Media Corporation Ltd., Essel Group. 1998. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
- ^ a b "Muslim law doesn't apply to Jinnah, says daughter". The Indian Express. 14 October 2008.
- ^ "Mohammed Ali Jinnah". britannica.com. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ Guriro, Amar (30 June 2009). "Aslam Jinnah's claim of being Quaid's family disputed". Daily Times. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
- ^ Vijayraghavan, Kala (24 June 2015). "Business baron Nusli Wadia attends to his ailing mother". The Economic Times.
- ^ "The truth about Aslam Jinnah". 10 July 2009.
- ^ "A closed fist worth millions". Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^ Ambedkar, Bhimrao Ramji; Moon, Vasant (10 July 2017). "Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Writings and Speeches". Education Department, Government of Maharashtra – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Girl who made Jinnah walk many miles". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
- ^ "Jinnah & Islam" – Mr. Qutbuddin Aziz quoting Bradbury, who had been chauffeur during his London years (1930–35)
- ^ "Jinnah's Daughter Dina Wadia Dies, Leaves Behind Disputed Property". 2 November 2017.
- ^ "Dina Wadia, Mohammad Ali Jinnah's only child, passes away". The Times of India. PTI. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
- ^ "Girl who made Jinnah walk many miles". Telegraph India. 3 November 2017. Archived from the original on 9 November 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ^ "Dina Wadia's last meeting with Quaid-e-Azam–in her own words | SAMAA". Samaa TV. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- ^ a b "Remembering Dina". Tribune.pk. 17 November 2017.
- ^ "Dina Wadia visits mausoleum of Quaid". DAWN.COM. 27 March 2004.
- ^ "President, PM convey nation's grief at Dina Wadia's funeral". Dawn.com. 5 November 2017.
- ^ "Pakistan mourns the death of Jinnah's only child Dina Wadia". Hindustan Times. 5 November 2017.
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
- ^ Richa Taneja (3 November 2017). "All About Dina Wadia, The Only Daughter Of Pakistan Founder Jinnah". NDTV. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ "Dina Wadia's death: Sindh Assembly observes a minute of silence". Samaa TV. PTI. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
Further reading
- Chagla, M. C. Individual and the State, Asia Publishing House, 1961
- ISBN 0-614-21694-X
- ISBN 0-415-14966-5