Pakistan has nominated two Indian Parsi doctors from Bombay, now Mumbai, for its highest civilian award for maintaining confidentiality over Pakistan founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah's terminal illness during the crucial period before Partition in 1947.
Physician Dr Jal Ratanji Patel and radiologist Dr Jal Dhaybho-Koo have been nominated posthumously for the Nishan-e-Imtiaz for their "quiet but extraordinary service" in ensuring that knowledge of Jinnah's illness remained confined to members of his inner circle.
Pakistan's Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, who heads the Awards Committee, announced the nominations.
Doctors Examined Jinnah's X-Ray In 1946
In a post on X, Iqbal said Patel and Dhaybho-Koo examined Jinnah's X-ray in 1946 and concluded that his tuberculosis had reached an advanced stage and that he had only a year or two to live.
The doctors maintained professional confidentiality about the seriousness of Jinnah's condition. According to the report, many historians believe disclosure of the illness could have affected the timing of Partition and the creation of Pakistan.
"I feel honoured to have had the privilege, as Chairman of the Awards Committee, of nominating for the Nishan-e-Imtiaz two remarkable doctors, a physician and a radiologist, both members of Bombay's Parsi community, who faithfully guarded the secret of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah's terminal illness," Iqbal wrote.
"By maintaining absolute professional confidentiality at such a critical moment, these doctors performed a quiet but extraordinary service. Their fidelity to their professional oath inadvertently became a significant contribution to the circumstances that made the creation of Pakistan possible," he added.
The honour will be formally conferred on Patel and Dhaybho-Koo posthumously at a ceremony in March 2027, 78 years after Jinnah's death.
Mountbatten Could Have Delayed Partition, Says Minister
According to Iqbal, Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of British India, later acknowledged that had he known the extent of Jinnah's illness, he might have delayed Partition, potentially changing the course of history.
Iqbal said the doctors rendered "quiet but extraordinary service" by not disclosing Jinnah's medical condition at a decisive moment.
Historian and academic Akbar Ahmed, in his book Jinnah, Pakistan and Islamic Identity: The Search for Saladin, notes that Jinnah had suffered from tuberculosis since the 1930s. His condition was known only to a few close confidants, including his sister Fatima Jinnah.
Jinnah Died A Year After Partition
Tuberculosis was highly lethal at the time, with no effective antibiotic treatment. Jinnah reportedly kept the severity of his illness from the public over concerns that disclosure could undermine his political image and leadership.
His health had deteriorated significantly by the time of India's Partition in 1947.
Jinnah died of pulmonary tuberculosis on Sept 11, 1948, just over a year after Partition.
