In a development that could snowball into a political issue, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, senior BJP legislator from Mumbai, on Tuesday met Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar requesting him to convert Jinnah House at Malabar Hill into a war memorial-cum-museum.
“It is the property of the government of India, it is not a property of Pakistan or its founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah...what I am seeking is that the property be converted into a war memorial-cum-museum” Lodha told Deccan Herald.
When asked about Parrikar’s response, he said: “I was not expecting an immediate response...I have handed over a memorandum, I am sure he will examine it.”
The Jinnah House is believed to have been built under the supervision of Jinnah, who was then a practising advocate at the Bombay Presidency High Court. The mansion covers an area of 1,694 sq metres and has a garden spread over 4,358 sq metres. The mansion was designed by the famous British architect Claude Barley. The mansion came into existence in 1938 and was then built at a cost of nearly Rs two lakh. The momentous Gandhi-Jinnah talks were held here and it hosted many nationalist leaders, including Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
Historical records reveal that Jinnah wanted this house to be occupied by a “small European family or a refined Indian Prince” and expected a rent of Rs 3,000 per month. He made his wishes known to then Bombay Province Governor Sri Prakasa who had been deputed to find out what he (Jinnah) wanted to be done with the property after partition.
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