 Born in Karachi and trained as a barrister at Lincoln 's Inn in London , Jinnah rose to prominence in the Indian National Congress in the first two decades of the 20th century . In these early years of his political career , Jinnah advocated Hindu – Muslim unity , helping to shape the 1916 Lucknow Pact between the Congress and the All @-@ India Muslim League , in which Jinnah had also become prominent . Jinnah became a key leader in the All India Home Rule League , and proposed a fourteen @-@ point constitutional reform plan to safeguard the political rights of Muslims . In 1920 , however , Jinnah resigned from the Congress when it agreed to follow a campaign of satyagraha , or non @-@ violent resistance , advocated by Mohandas Gandhi . 
