The founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah's daughter, Dina Wadia who died yesterday, was embroiled in a prolonged battle with the Indian Government over a seafront bungalow in Mumbai's Malabar Hill which was built by her father. The palatial Jinnah House, which boasts of European architecture, was witness to a crucial meeting between Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Jinnah before the partition.
Ms Wadia, the only child of Mr Jinnah and his Parsi wife, Rattanbai Petit, was born in London in August 15, 1919.
Dina Wadia, who was living in New York, in August 2007 petitioned in Bombay High Court to regain control of her childhood home, which she insisted be called 'South Court'. The plea is still pending for a final hearing before a division bench of the Bombay High Court.
Soon after her petition was filed, the high court directed the central government to file their affidavit in response. In October 2007, the government filed an affidavit stating that the Jinnah House belongs to the government and only Mr Jinnah's sister, Fatima, could claim her right over the property as the only legal heir. Ms Fatima Jinnah died in July 1967.
In August 2010, the high court had ordered for status quo to be maintained in the matter, but had permitted the centre to complete the renovation work of the bungalow without making any structural changes.
When asked about the Jinnah House, built at a cost of Rs two lakh in 1936, Ms Wadia in an interview had retorted, "Why do you keep calling it Jinnah House? That's the name the British gave it. Its real name is South Court. Why don't you refer to it by its original name?"
In 2004, she visited her father's tomb in Karachi, along with Nusli Wadia and his two sons. In the visitors' book, she famously wrote, "May his dream for Pakistan come true."
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