ALL daughters love their fathers. No wonder, `A Daughter`s Tribute` should be the finest chapter in Haji Sir Abdullah Haroon`s biography written by his eldest daughter, Doulat Haroon Hidayatullah.

She writes: `An orphan at the tender age of four, and at the close of his life a wellknown businessman, philanthropist, the builder of Sind[h], a man ideally human and transparently sincere, a great politician and last but not least a wonderful father...

This partly describes the personality of Haji Sir Abdullah Haroon, who died on April 27, 1942. He was on the All-India Muslim League (AIML) committee that drafted what can be called the first resolution demanding a separate independent state for the Muslims of India.

Doulat`s account begins with Haroon`s 18-year-old widowed mother, whose only assets were some ornaments and the house where they lived. He was a brave boy and `only had a brave mother to look after him`. As she puts it: `Weathering odd storms of life, he stood as a rock strong, faithful and true.` Throughout his life he always spoke very highly of his mother and often attributed his fame and fortune to her. He was always `singing her praises and tried in many ways to keep her memory green`. He emphasised the truth of that great dictum `I am as my mother made me.

Even though he lost his father when he was a baby, one day he would become `the father and benefactor of thousands of fatherless children, widows and poor people. He started with only `a few coppers in his pocket` but left `millions behind, out of which, more than a few million had already been spent towards the welfare of thousands of orphans, widows and the destitute.

He had little schooling, but one day he would be in London along with leading Indian politicians, including Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, for the Round Table Conference which discussed the future of the subcontinent. Says Doulat: `He had a large heart, and in the manner of a prince he donated fortunes` to popular causes.

He was a `great thinker`, and from a very tender age `new schemes and ideas, kept pouring into and taking shape in his mind, and as he often told his children all these dreams eventually did turn into reality`. He liked to be alone for hours, because `this young orphan fancied himself in varying roles of a great businessman, a famous politician, a generous philanthropist and wealthy benefactor, and when the time came to play these roles in real life, he was found to perform them nobly.

While the daughter`s comments weredomestic and familial, we have to note what his contribution to the freedom movement was and to the creation of the world`s biggest Muslim state in 1947, even though he didn`t live to see that day.

He entered mainstream politics when he won a seat in the Central Legislative Assembly in 1926 with a big majority. This was no mean an achievement, but his work in the Khilafat movement had made him a national figure. More crucial was his role in Sindh`s separation from Bombay `presidency` and Sindh`s emergence later as a separate province. This was difficult, because Hindu parties opposed the move and alleged that Sindhi Muslims had joined hands `with outside Mohammedans in demanding [a] redistribution of provinces.

Much earlier, he had used the word `nations` for Muslims and Hindus when dealing with an acute crisis in the Sindh Provincial Assembly when some Muslim MPs supported the Congress. Haroon managed the crisis with restraint. No wonderJinnah considered him a , valuable member of the AIML.

In 1913, he became a member of the Karachi Municipality and retained that position till August 1934. However, he found his niche when he joined the Indian National Congress in 1917, was elected to theCentral Legislative Assembly in 1924, was disillusioned by its communal policies, and joined the AIML in 1938 whose member he remained till his death.

One of his most important and historically significant roles was at the AIML`s Karachi conference in October 1938 where Jinnah referred to the need for Muslim unity.

The conference adopted many resolutions, but Resolution 5 was the most important, for it was written by Haroon, with help from Abdul Majid `Sindhi` and Ali Mohammad Rashdi. It used the words `Hindu and Muslim nations`. In essence, Resolution 5 sought what the Lahore Resolution in 1940 demanded.

A month before his death in 1942, he uttered these prophetic words: `Pakistan is now inevitable. It is bound to come [into being] sooner or later. My purpose in life is at last achieved. Life has no more interest or excitement for me. I have had more than [what] I deserved. Now our children will be free citizens of a free country.`• The wnter is Dawn`s Extemal Ombudsman and an author.