Dina Wadia (Jinnah’s Daughter)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Dina Wadia

• Dina Wadia was born to the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and his second wife Rattanbai Petit (known as ‘Maryam Jinnah’ being converted from Parsi to Islam).

• Her paternal grandparents were Hindu who hailed from Gujarat, India and migrated to Karachi for business in the mid-1870s.

• She was the only child of Jinnah who was raised alone by her father after his separation from Rattanbai and her subsequent demise. 

• She used to call her father by the name “Grey Wolf.”

• She was an avid dog lover and had many of them. 

• Being the only child of Jinnah, she was a pampered kid and had a great relationship with her father, which went sour after Dina had a love marriage with an Indian Parsi named Neville Wadia at the age of 17.

• Post marriage, she lived in Mumbai, but their marriage lasted only for 5 years as the couple divorced in 1943.

• Birth time and Birth date of Dina and Pakistan’s formation is same i.e. 14-15 August (midnight).

• On 11 September 1948, she first visited Karachi, Pakistan after the demise of her father. 

• In 2004, she last visited Pakistan along with her son, Nusli Wadia, and grandchildren, Jehangir and Ness. 

• In 2007, she filed a writ petition before the Bombay High Court to get the legal possession of South Court on Malabar Hill, worth $400 million.