Dina Wadia

Dina Wadia (née Jinnah; 15 August 1919 – 2 November 2017) was a British-born Indian-American who was the only daughter of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and his second wife, Rattanbai Petit. Born in London, she grew up in an influential and politically active family. Her paternal family was of Gujarati heritage, while her maternal family was Parsi.

Wadia's early years were shaped by personal loss, including the death of her mother when she was young, after which she was raised by her aunt, Fatima Jinnah. She received her education in both India and England. Despite her father's significant role in the creation of Pakistan, Wadia maintained a relatively private life and chose to live in Bombay following the partition of India after which she acquired Indian citizenship. She had also spent time in London before settling in New York City later in life. She married Neville Wadia, a Bombay-based businessman, in 1938 and had two children: Nusli Wadia and Diana Wadia.

On 2 November 2017, she died at the age of 98 from pneumonia in her New York City home.

Dina Jinnah was born shortly after midnight on 15 August 1919 in London. Historian Stanley Wolpert notes that her birth was "precisely twenty-eight years to the day and hour before the birth of Jinnah's other offspring, Pakistan." Her arrival was unexpected as her parents were at the cinema at the time. She was named after Lady Dinabai Petit, her maternal grandmother, who raised her. Her parents, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Rattanbai Jinnah, had separated but later reunited during her mother's illness.

Jinnah's paternal family were upstart merchants of high social status. Her paternal grandfather, Jinnahbhai Poonja, had moved from Gondal to Karachi in the mid-1870s. They were Gujarati Khojas, descendants of the Lohana caste, who had converted from Hinduism to the Ismaili sect of Islam and were followers the Aga Khan. Her father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was a lawyer and the leader of the All-India Muslim League, which called for a separate Muslim homeland following the end of British rule in India.

Jinnah's maternal family were rich, well-educated and westernized. They were Parsis who traditionally followed Zoroastrianism. Her great-grandfather, Dinshaw Maneckji Petit, founded the first cotton mill in India and earned a baronetcy for his contributions to industry, trade, and philanthropy. Her mother, Rattanbai Petit, was the only child of Sir Dinshaw Petit. Rattanbai converted to Islam to marry Muhammad Ali Jinnah on 19 April 1918, resulting in a permanent estrangement from her family and Parsi society.

In 1929, Jinnah's mother, Rattanbai, died when she was only 9 years old. That year, Jinnah moved to London with her father and aunt, Fatima Jinnah, who raised her as a Muslim, teaching her the Quran and salah. She was educated in a convent boarding school in Panchgani and a private school in Sussex. Jinnah affectionately nicknamed her father "Grey Wolf" after his admiration for the biography Grey Wolf: An Intimate Study of a Dictator on the life of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's life.

My darling Papa,
First of all, I must congratulate you – we have got Pakistan, that is to say the principal has been accepted. I am so proud and happy for you – how hard you have worked for it...
I do hope you are keeping well – I get lots of news of you from the newspapers. The children are just recovering from whooping cough, it will take another month yet.
I am taking them to Juhu on Thursday for a month or so. Are you coming back here? If so, I hope you will drive out to Juhu and spend the day, if you like. Anyway, I have a phone, so I will ring you up and drive in to see you if you don’t feel like coming out.
Take care of yourself Papa darling. Lots of love & kisses,
Dina