Dinshaw petit biography examples

THE PUNCH: How did the marriage affect Jinnah’s equations, for example, with his sister, Fatima, who lived with him before the marriage? 

SHEELA REDDY: There is so little to go on except what is there in Ruttie’s letters. What they indicate is that after his marriage, Jinnah made sure that Fatima did not live with them. Fatima was 16 years younger to him and he was her guardian. When she was eight and their father died, he put her into a convent boarding school, a very bold step at that time. The community was dead against her. I’m sure his married sisters would also have spoken up against it because it in a way ensured that she would never get married because nobody would marry a convent “over-educated” girl. It was unlikely to find the right match for her. But it was a risk Jinnah was prepared to take because he felt strongly about the fact that she deserved modern education. Also, he wanted to give her what he didn’t have; she often used to boast that she was a matriculate whereas he was not. When Jinnah came back to India and his first wife was long dead, he didn’t see himself getting married again. It was understood that she could be his companion or helpmate. There is a letter soon after Jinnah’s marriage with Ruttie where she makes fun of Fatima and pretends to look for a husband for her. But Fatima takes it seriously, which is rather sad as it means that she would have started thinking about it.

THE PUNCH: Sarojini Naidu was a great admirer of Jinnah who, in turn, held her in high esteem. Tell us something about their mutual admiration.

SHEELA REDDY: Sarojini got to know Jinnah in when he was already a member of the Legislative Council. She was very enamoured of him in a way a lot of people were because he was an extraordinary person. Not only was he good-looking and flawlessly turned out, there was something about his personality too which was very striking. Jinnah was a

On April 29, , Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who would later become the founding father of Pakistan, became the youngest British Indian to be called to the Bar in England. At the tender age of 19, he was utterly enchanted by the manner, delivery, and attire that barristers displayed in court. His evenings would explore London's coveted West End theatres, a hobby that his father feared was in grave danger of becoming a vocation. Jinnah did in fact embark on a stage career with a Shakespearean company, only to heed his father's disapproval in the form of a letter, and he returned home to Bombay where, now only aged 20, he was the only Muslim barrister in the city.

In , Jinnah handled the infamous “Caucus Case” at the Bombay High Court, and his victory saw him emerge as an outstanding lawyer in India. However, unlike his brief foray into acting in London, Jinnah was unable to contain his political ambitions, although this did not hamper his legal career for many years. In the summer of , Sir Dinshaw Petit, who had founded the first textile mills in India and received his knighthood from the British Crown in , invited the rising politician to his house in Darjeeling to escape the scorching heat of Bombay. It was there that Jinnah got to know his daughter Rattanbai ‘Ruttie’ Petit, who was also known as the ‘Flower of Bombay’, a little more personally. Despite Jinnah being 24 years her senior, they married two years later in Bombay's upscale Malabar Hill. In , Ruttie conceived Dina, which further exacerbated the temper of the 1st Baronet Petit. 

In his biography, “Jinnah of Pakistan”, Stanley Wolpert  described Jinnah in the s as ‘Raven-haired with a moustache almost as full as Kitchener's and lean as a rapier, he sounded like Ronald Coleman, dressed like Anthony Eden, and was adored by most women at first sight, and admired or envied by most men'. Despite Jinnah being a fifty Craven A cigarettes a day man, it wa

Indian baronet, entrepreneur, businessman and philanthropist ()

Sir Dinshaw Maneckji Petit, 1st Baronet (30 June &#;&#; 5 May ) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist who founded the first textile mills in India. He was part of the Petit family and became the first Petit baronet. He founded the "Persian Zoroastrian Amelioration Fund" in and was a member of the Governor-General's Legislative Council.

Life and background

Dinshaw Maneckji Petit was born in Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India to Maneckji Nusserwanjee Petit and Humabai Petit. He had one brother, Nusserwanjee Maneckji Petit.

In , he married Sakarbai Panday, with whom he had 14 children, six sons and eight daughters. Among his children were, Ruttonbai Petit Panday, Jeejeebhoy Framji Petit, Bomanjee Dinshaw Petit, Heerabai Petit and Cowasji Dinshaw Petit. He was survived by, among others, his son Jeejeebhoy Framji Petit, the 2nd Baronet, and Bomanjee Dinshaw Petit, who inherited most of his business. His granddaughter Mithuben Hormusji Petit was a female activist in the Indian independence movement. His grandson Fali, went on to become Sir Dinshaw Maneckji Petit, the 3rd Baronet, and was married to Sylla Tata, a member of the Tata family. Fali’s sister, Ratanbai Petit was the wife of the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. His other grandson was industrialist Jehangir Bomanji Petit. His great-granddaughter, Dina Wadia, was married to Bombay Dyeing chairman Neville Wadia, and his great-grandson was the nuclear scientist Homi J. Bhabha.

His son Dinshaw Maneckjee Petit achieved notoriety for his tax evasion and his penchant