Mohammad Ali Jinnah - the man, who almost single-handedly created a nation and partitioned India - refuses to fade from Indians' memory. On March 25, BJP MLA Prabhat Mangal Lodha resurrected the Jinnah debate.

Speaking in the Maharashtra Assembly, Lodha called for demolition of Jinnah House saying it "was the place from where the conspiracy of Partition was hatched."

Since then reactions have been pouring in from various quarters. Pakistan expressed concern over the safety of Jinnah House. It demanded that building be handed over to Pakistan.  

The Lokmanya Tilak Swarajya Bhoomi Trust (LTSWT) demanded that the Jinnah House be handed over to it for creating a mural depicting the legacy of Tilak. LTSWT Prakash Silam said that Jinnah had great respect for Lokmanya Tilak.

Silam contended Lodha's demand saying the Jinnah House is now an heritage structure and that pulling it down will not erase the bitter history of Partition.

WHAT IS JINNAH HOUSE?

Jinnah House was the residence of Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Malabar Hill of south Mumbai. It was originally named as South Court.

The Jinnah House was built by Jinnah in 1936 after he returned from England and as he took complete control over the Muslim League, which later demanded a separate country for Muslims in the form of Pakistan.

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LITIGATION OVER JINNAH HOUSE

Three years after building the Jinnah House, Mohammad Ali Jinnah wrote his will making his unmarried sister Fatima Jinnah the lone inheritor of his properties including this sprawling bungalow.

At the time of Partition, Fatima Jinnah moved to Pakistan. Later in 1962, Fatima obtained a certificate of succession from the Bombay High Court. But, this was before the Enemy Property Act, 1968 was legislated.

Currently, Jinnah's only daughter Dina Wadia - who married an Indian and settled in India - is engaged in a legal battle with the government of India.

Dina Wadia claimed that Hindu inheritance law applied in Jinnah's property case as mere two generations ago Jinnahs were Hindus. Jinnah's mother was Mithubai and his wife's name was Ratanbai. Jinnah was Khoja Shia Muslim.

WHO OWNS JINNAH HOUSE?

The Ministry of External Affairs rejected Dina Wadia's claim as the legal heir of Jinnah's properties including the Jinnah House.

The Ministry of External Affairs told the Bombay High Court that Mohammad Ali Jinnah's will of 1939 settles the issue of inheritance in the family. Jinnah House belonged to Fatima Jinnah, the MEA said.

But as Fatima Jinnah moved to Pakistan, the Jinnah House came under the control of the Custodian of Enemy Property which comes under the government of India.