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Letter from K.B. Fazle Haque Piracha to M.A. Jinnah

Sub title : Detailing Official Interference and Electoral Malpractice in the 1946 Punjab Elections

Subject: Punjab Legislative Elections (1946) | Muslim League | Unionist Party | Electoral Malpractice

Language: English

Serial no: 27720

Keyword: M.A. Jinnah -- K.B. Fazle Haque Piracha -- 1946 Punjab Elections -- Unionist Party -- Electoral Rigging | Police Intimidation -- Revenue Department -- Shahpur District -- Tiwana

Abstract: A detailed complaint letter from K.B. Fazle Haque Piracha, a Muslim League candidate in the 1946 Punjab elections, to M.A. Jinnah. The letter provides specific, first-hand accounts of systematic interference by government officials in the Shahpur District, which was the home constituency of the Unionist Premier. The allegations include intimidation of voters by the Superintendent of Police and Revenue officials, threats to remove village notables (Zaildars, Lambardars) from their posts if they supported the Muslim League, and explicit statements from a Naib Tehsildar that the election marking would be manipulated to ensure the League's defeat. The writer appeals to Jinnah for intervention, stating that local and provincial League authorities have been unable to stop this "unlawful official interference."

Description: This document, which appears in several drafts, is a critical primary source for understanding the intense political struggle between the Muslim League and the incumbent Unionist Party in Punjab during the pivotal 1946 elections. It provides granular evidence of the state machinery being used to suppress the League's campaign. The letter underscores the challenges the League faced from a entrenched administration and highlights the role of M.A. Jinnah as the central figure to whom party workers at the grassroots level appealed for help against powerful opponents. The complaints align with broader historical accounts of the rough political terrain in Punjab leading up to Partition. SCANNED BY: NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF PAKISTAN.

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