This is a photograph of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, leader of the All-India Muslim League, and Mahatma Gandhi, political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement. In May 1944 Gandhi was released from prison after having been arrested in 1942 for establishing the Quit India movement.

What was the Quit India movement?
On 8 August 1942 Gandhi gave a speech demanding an end to British rule in India. The Indian National Congress encouraged people to challenge and disregard British rule through boycotts, non-violent protests and destruction of government property. In response, the British Indian government arrested and imprisoned most Congress leaders; many remained in prison until the very end of World War Two in August 1945.

British officials released Gandhi from jail on 6 May 1944 because of his failing health. Over two weeks in September 1944, Jinnah and Gandhi met several times to discuss Indian independence. While Gandhi insisted that the country must remain united, Jinnah argued for the creation of Pakistan. The two were never able to reach an agreement and their negotiations broke down. 

Prints from the India Office Library & Record’s 1976 Jinnah Exhibition

These photographic prints come from a collection that the India Office Library & Records displayed at the 1976 Jinnah Exhibition in London. The photographs were obtained from a variety of sources, including the Pakistan High Commission, with the images recording the political career of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The collection also includes images of other notable figures, including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lord Louis Mountbatten and Lord Frederick Pethick-Lawrence.