M.A. Jinnah and the Muslim League's Famine Relief Effort: Correspondence and Financial Records

Sub title : Grassroots Mobilization for Bengal Famine Victims

Subject: M.A. Jinnah | Bengal Famine Relief | Muslim Chamber of Commerce Calcutta | Humanitarian Aid

Date of publication: 1943

Language: English

Page: 213 p.

Source: National Archives of Pakistan

Serial no: 27900

Keyword: M.A. Jinnah -- Bengal Famine Relief -- Muslim Chamber of Commerce Calcutta | Humanitarian Crisis -- Grassroots Fundraising | District Muslim Leagues -- Financial Management -- Tanjore -- Ambala -- Gorakhpur -- Gurdaspur -- 1943 Famine

Abstract: This collection documents the extensive relief efforts mobilized by the All-India Muslim League in response to the devastating Bengal Famine of 1943. Centered around M.A. Jinnah's leadership, the files show a nationwide fundraising campaign where donations from individuals, businesses, and District Muslim Leagues across India (from Tanjore in the south to Gurdaspur in the north) were channeled through Jinnah's office and forwarded to the Muslim Chamber of Commerce in Calcutta for distribution. The correspondence includes cover letters accompanying cheques and drafts, acknowledgments, and detailed lists of contributions, showcasing a highly organized, transparent, and pan-Indian humanitarian response managed directly by the League's central leadership.

Description: This compilation provides a poignant and practical view of the All-India Muslim League's role as a humanitarian organization during one of British India's worst tragedies. The documents reveal a swift and systematic national response coordinated by Jinnah, transforming the League's political network into a relief apparatus. The widespread contributions, from a Rs. 5,000 donation from an Anjuman in Punjab to smaller sums collected by primary leagues, demonstrate deep public trust in the League's ability to deliver aid. This archive is crucial for understanding the League's societal role beyond politics, its administrative efficiency, and its capacity to rally a unified response from the Muslim community across the subcontinent to a national calamity, thereby strengthening its claim as a representative national body. SCANNED BY: NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF PAKISTAN.

Total Views: 56        Favorites : 0