Jinnahbhai Poonja

Jinnahbhai Poonja (c. 1850 – 15 April 1902) was a British Indian merchant. He was the founder and chairman of Jinnahbhai & Co. and Graham's Shipping and Trading Company. He is best known for being the father of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and political activist Fatima Jinnah.

Early and personal life Jinnahbhai Poonja was born in Paneli Moti, a small village in Gondal State (present-day Gujarat), to a Khoja family. Jinnahbhai had two brothers, Valji and Nathoo, and one sister, Manbai. He was born around the time of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, which marked a pivotal moment in subcontinental history by solidifying Crown rule in India.

In 1874, Poonja married Mithibhai, a fellow Khoja from Dhaffa, a nearby village in Kathiawar.

Poonja taught himself English, later teaching his children how to read and write English. However, Jinnahbhai Poonja was a devout Muslim and abandoned these Hindu traditions, raising his children in a more conservative Islamic manner, teaching his children the Quran and giving them all Muslim names.

Death Poonja died on 15 April 1902. Jinnah, now legally renamed to Muhammad Ali, would move to Bombay as a barrister and to support his family. Jinnah would go on to be one of the most notable subcontinental political leaders of the 20th century through his creation of an independent state of Pakistan.