Rattanbai Jinnah
wife of Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1900–1929)

Rattanbai Jinnah (née Petit, also known as Mariam Jinnah; 20 February 1900 – 20 February 1929), informally known as Ruttie, was the wife of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, an important figure in the creation of Pakistan and the country's founding father.
Petit belonged to two of the most influential families of the Indian Subcontinent, the Petit family through her father and the Jinnah family through her marriage to Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Her daughter Dina Wadia was married to Bombay Dyeing chairman Neville Wadia.
Early life and background
Rattanbai Petit (often informally called "Ruttie") was born on 20 February 1900 in Bombay, into the extremely affluent and well-connected Petit family that belonged to the Parsi community. She was the only daughter of the businessman Sir Dinshaw Petit, the second baronet Petit, and his wife Lady Dinabai Petit. Her paternal grandfather, Dinshaw Maneckji Petit, the first baronet, had built some of the earliest cotton mills in India. He was also a philanthropist who aided the Zoroastrians of Iran who were persecuted by the Qajars. Her brother, Fali, who later became Sir Dinshaw Maneckji Petit, the 3rd Baronet, was married to Sylla Tata, a member of the Tata family. Her other brother was Jamshed Petit. Rattanbai's uncle, Bomanjee Dinshaw Petit and cousin, Jehangir Bomanji Petit, were noted industrialists, and her cousin was the activist Mithuben Petit.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2556435. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1900 and 1929.
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This entry incorporates text from “Rattanbai Jinnah” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.