Mumbai, Nov 3: Dina Wadia, the daughter of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah and mother of industrialist Nusli Wadia, died at her New York home on Thursday. She was 98. A statement issued by the Wadia family said that she died peacefully. It read, “She is survived by her daughter Diana, son Nusli, her grandsons, Ness and Jeh, Jeh’s wife Celina and two great grandchildren, Jah and Ella Wadia.”
Wadia wished to spend her last years in the Jinnah House in Mumbai that belonged to her father. In 2010, Wadia approached the High Court demanding that the house be handed over to her as she was the sole heir. Sheela Reddy, the author of Mr. and Mrs. Jinnah, said: “Her father indulged her. But they were estranged after she decided to marry Neville Wadia.” Ms. Reddy said Wadia had a neglected childhood despite being born to a rich father and a celebrity mother. “She was brought up by servants,” said Ms. Reddy.
She added that after estrangement with her father following her marriage with the Parsi industrialist, they got back on speaking terms, but did not become close again. “When Jinnah was unwell, Wadia tried to visit Pakistan, but he refused her a visa. She could eventually go only after his funeral.”
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