Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Urdu: محمد علی جناح Audio (help·info); Gujarati: મુહમ્મદ અલી જીનાહ); December 25, 1876 – September 11, 1948), a 20th century politician and statesman, is regarded as the founder of Pakistan. He served as leader of The Muslim League and Pakistan's first Governor-General. He is officially known in Pakistan as Quaid-i-Azam (Urdu: قائد اعظم — "Great Leader") and Baba-e-Qaum (بابائے قوم) ("Father of the Nation"). His birthday is a national holiday in Pakistan. Jinnah rose to prominence in the Indian National Congress initially expounding ideas of Hindu-Muslim unity and helping shape the 1916 Lucknow Pact between the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress; he also became a key leader in the All India Home Rule League. He proposed a fourteen-point constitutional reform plan to safeguard the political rights of Muslims in a self-governing India. Jinnah, advocating the Two-Nation Theory, embraced the goal of creating a separate state for Mus...