Jinnah, Partition & a secret: 2 Mumbai doctors to receive Pakistan’s top honour
Pakistan will honor two Parsi doctors from Mumbai with its highest civilian award. These physicians kept Muhammad Ali Jinnah's terminal illness a closely guarded secret. Their professional confidentiality potentially safeguarded Pakistan's creation in 1947. This act of discretion is considered a significant historical secret. The doctors' names remain undisclosed by the Pakistani minister.
Mumbai: Two Mumbai doctors from the Parsi community, a physician and a radiologist, will receive Pakistan's highest civilian honor, the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, according to Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal. The decision follows Pakistan's announcement of nominations for civilian and military honors on August 14. Iqbal, chairman of the Awards Committee, expressed his honor in nominating the two distinguished doctors, both members of Bombay's Parsi community, for their secret-keeping role regarding Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah's terminal illness.
Iqbal highlighted that revealing Jinnah's health condition at the time of the creation of Pakistan in 1947 could have impacted the nation's formation. Lord Mountbatten suggested that if Jinnah's serious illness was known, Partition might have been postponed, influencing the course of history. The two doctors demonstrated exceptional professional confidentiality during a critical period, inadvertently contributing significantly to the creation of Pakistan.
While Iqbal did not reveal the doctors' names or the process of awarding the honor, Pakistan usually unveils its civil and military awards on Independence Day, August 14, with the formal presentation taking place on Pakistan Day, March 23. Jinnah, who suffered from tuberculosis, passed away a year after Partition occurred. Jinnah is revered as the father of the nation for his efforts in advocating for Pakistan's creation. In 1998, the Pakistani government honored actor Dilip Kumar with the 'Nishan-e-Imtiaz.'
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