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Parsi Doctors Who Kept Jinnah's Illness Secret Honored by Pakistan
A very long time ago, a leader named Muhammad Ali Jinnah helped create a new country called Pakistan.
But Jinnah was very sick with a lung disease called tuberculosis, and in those days there was no medicine to cure it.
In 1946, two doctors from Mumbai, Dr Jal Ratanji Patel and Dr Jal Dhaybho-Koo, looked at his X-rays and saw that he might only live one or two more years.
This was a very important time, because India was being divided to create the new country of Pakistan.
The doctors kept Jinnah's illness a secret from the public so that the big decisions about the future would not change.
A British leader named Lord Mountbatten later said that if he had known how sick Jinnah was, he might have delayed everything and Pakistan might never have been created.
The secret stayed hidden, and Pakistan was born.
Jinnah died on September 11, 1948, just over a year after Pakistan became a country.
Now, many years later, Pakistan is giving the two doctors its highest award to say thank you for keeping the secret.
The award will be given at a ceremony in March 2027.
Pakistan is awarding its highest civilian honour, the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, to two Mumbai Parsi doctors — physician Dr Jal Ratanji Patel and radiologist Dr Jal Dhaybho-Koo — to be conferred posthumously in March 2027.
In 1946, the doctors examined Muhammad Ali Jinnah's X-ray and concluded that his tuberculosis had reached an advanced stage, with only one or two years to live.
Their professional confidentiality kept Jinnah's terminal illness known only to his inner circle at the critical moment before Partition in 1947.
Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of British India, later said that had he known of the illness, he might have delayed Partition and there would have been no Pakistan.
Historian Akbar Ahmed noted that Jinnah had suffered from tuberculosis since the 1930s; Jinnah died of pulmonary tuberculosis on September 11, 1948.
- Who
- Dr Jal Ratanji Patel and Dr Jal Dhaybho-Koo, two Parsi doctors from Bombay (now Mumbai), and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founding father; the award was announced by Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan's Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives.
- What
- The doctors are being posthumously awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan's highest civilian honour, for keeping Jinnah's advanced tuberculosis secret.
- Where
- Pakistan; the doctors were based in Bombay (now Mumbai), India.
- When
- The nomination was announced in August 2026; the doctors made their diagnosis in 1946; the award ceremony is set for March 2027.
- Why
- Disclosure of Jinnah's illness could have changed the timing of Partition and even prevented the creation of Pakistan, so the doctors' secrecy was seen as pivotal.
Key facts
- Award
- Nishan-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan's highest civilian honour
- Recipients
- Dr Jal Ratanji Patel (physician) and Dr Jal Dhaybho-Koo (radiologist)
- Announced By
- Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives
- Diagnosis
- Advanced tuberculosis confirmed from Jinnah's X-ray in 1946
- Prognosis
- One or two years to live
- Reason For Award
- Keeping Jinnah's terminal illness secret before the 1947 Partition
- Date of Death
- September 11, 1948 (pulmonary tuberculosis)
- Award Ceremony
- March 2027
Quotes
Ahsan Iqbal
Pakistani Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and head of the Awards Committee
“"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."”
NDTV
firstpost.com
freepressjournal.in
“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.”
NDTV
Dr Jal Ratanji Patel
Mumbai physician and Jinnah’s friend
“"When he was released from hospital, [Dr Jal Ratanji] Patel brought him to his office. Sadly, he revealed to his friend and patient the fatal illness which was stalking him. He was, he told Jinnah, reaching the end of his physical resources. Unless he severely reduced his workload … and eased the pressures on his system, he did not have more than one or two years to live."”
firstpost.com
Sources
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