Correspondence of Habib Ibrahim Rahimtoola with Quaid-e-Azam M.A. Jinnah

Sub title : From League Politics to Pakistan's First High Commissioner

Subject: All-India Muslim League | Pakistan Movement | Diplomatic Precedence | Economic Planning

Date of publication: 1936

Language: English

Page: 18 p.

Source: National Archives of Pakistan

Serial no: 27735

Keyword: M.A. Jinnah -- Habib Ibrahim Rahimtoola -- Pakistan High Commissioner | Diplomatic Precedence -- Cabinet Mission 1946 -- Muslim Chamber of Commerce | Russian Bogey -- Ernest Bevin -- Pakistan Economic Development

Abstract: This extensive collection comprises the correspondence of Habib Ibrahim Rahimtoola with M.A. Jinnah over a critical decade. It begins with early League organizational matters and social invitations in Bombay, evolves through discussions on establishing a Federation of Muslim Chambers of Commerce, and includes strategic reports from Rahimtoola's interactions with the British Cabinet Mission in 1946, where he countered the "Russian bogey" and affirmed sole allegiance to Jinnah. The final, significant letters detail his experiences as Pakistan's first High Commissioner to the UK, arguing forcefully for the diplomatic precedence of High Commissioners to be on par with Ambassadors, a matter he took directly to British Foreign Minister Ernest Bevin and Jinnah.

Description: This file charts the trajectory of Habib Ibrahim Rahimtoola from a prominent Muslim League figure and businessman in Bombay to becoming the first High Commissioner for Pakistan in London. The correspondence provides a unique, behind-the-scenes view of the political, economic, and diplomatic concerns of the era. It includes routine meeting arrangements, strategic political counsel during the Cabinet Mission talks, and visionary memos on establishing national industries like Pakistan Airways. The most notable documents are his detailed dispatches from London in 1947, which highlight the early challenges of establishing Pakistan's international status and his proactive diplomacy to secure equal standing for Commonwealth representatives in the global diplomatic corps. SCANNED BY: NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF PAKISTAN.

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