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Jinnah: The Chess Player

4 Extra Debut. Sunil Khilnani explores the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, leader of India's Muslims and founder of Pakistan.

Professor Sunil Khilnani, from the King's India Institute in London, looks at the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. Descriptions of his early life do not sound like someone who would go on to lead India's Muslims: he spoke English, dressed impeccably in Western clothes from Savile Row, smoked cigarettes and, according to some accounts, consumed alcohol and ate pork. Yet it was Jinnah who, along with others, publicly assented to the partition of India which, carried out in haste, would give roughly half of India's Muslims political autonomy, cause around a million deaths, displace some 14 million people and transform the geopolitics of the world.
Producer: Mark Savage
Music: Talvin Singh.

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15 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Thu 10 Mar 2016 13:45
  • Sat 15 Sep 2018 07:15
  • Sat 15 Sep 2018 17:15
  • Sun 16 Sep 2018 05:15
  • Thu 12 Aug 2021 19:45

Remarkable individuals who shaped India, and sometimes the world.

Remarkable individuals who shaped India, and sometimes the world.

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