Jinnah did not matter much in the twenties and early thirties of the century and he had no political base. He couldn't get on with any one either in the Congress or the Muslim League. He knew little of provincial politics and his main interest lay in Central politics. He was at best a 'consultative politician' anxious to offer ready-made formulas on constitutional questions. A man of few words, proud and formal, he could seldom inspire confidence. The Muslim League was then a moribund organisation ....

After the Pakistan resolution was passed in March 1940 at Lahore the rift between the Congress and the Muslim League widened. Jinnah was determined to fight for an independent sovereign state while the Congress insisted on setting up a Constituent Assembly to frame a Constitution based on adult franchise. The Cripps proposals (1942) failed to reconcile the contending parties. The 'Individual satyagraha' (1940-41) and 'Quit India' (1942) left the field open for Jinnah to emerge as the most influential Muslim leader. By 1945 the British took him as the sole spokesman of the Muslims in India. The Pakistan issue had caught the imagination of the Muslims and the British realised that it could no longer be ignored.                                                                                                    (Source: The Hindustan Times, 10 August, 1997)