Convert Jinnah House into cultural center, requests BJP chief
(Sourced from PTI)
BJP Mumbai President Mangal Prabhat Lodha has met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and reiterated his demand to convert Jinnah House, the city-based erstwhile residence of Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, into the South Asia Center for Arts and Culture (SACAC). The BJP MLA represents the Malabar Hill constituency in south Mumbai, where the Jinnah House is located.
According to media reports, terming the Jinnah House as a "symbol of partition," Lodha said that Indian Council for Cultural Research has accepted his proposal of converting Jinnah House into a cultural center. He called on Shah in New Delhi on Tuesday and handed over a letter to him containing his long-pending demand. He later tweeted the letter which he had submitted to Shah.
The letter by Lodha stated, "The Jinnah House was slated to be converted into South Asia Centre for Art and Cultural Center. A board regarding the same was also put there." "I request you to acquire the Jinnah House and convert the memories of the painful partition into the cultural center," he added.
"Jinnah had lived in the property for ten years and conspired for the partition of the country. Now, the property belongs to the Government of India and the house should be converted into a cultural center," the BJP leader said. The Jinnah House is spread over 2.5 acres and is located in one of the most upscale areas of Mumbai.
Jinnah House, also known as South Court and Malabar Hill mansion, was designed and constructed in 1936 by European architect Claude Batley. Jinnah lived in the mansion until the partition of India, and the birth of Pakistan in 1947.
