Appeal and Correspondences Regarding Land Acquisition in Lahore and the Exploitation of Muslim Agriculturists

Sub title : Appeals to M.A. Jinnah and Punjab Leadership

Subject: Land Acquisition | Muslim Agriculturists’ Rights | Lahore Improvement Trust | Pre-Partition Politics

Date of publication: 1943

Language: English

Page: 6p.

Source: National Archives of Pakistan

Serial no: 27970

Keyword: Land Acquisition -- Lahore Improvement Trust -- Muslim Agriculturists -- M.A. Jinnah -- Punjab Muslim League -- Zamindars | Factory Area -- Pre-Partition Lahore -- Town Improvement Act 1922 | Displacement -- Protest -- Khizar Hayat Khan -- Shaukat Hayat Khan -- Student Exploitation -- Colonial Policy -- Economic Justice

Abstract: This collection of documents comprises appeals, memoranda, and letters from Muslim agriculturists in Lahore to M.A. Jinnah and other political leaders between 1943 and 1948. The petitioners protest the Lahore Improvement Trust’s scheme to acquire 1,100 acres of fertile agricultural land for a factory area, which they argue would displace thousands of Muslim families, undermine the Pakistan movement, and benefit non-Muslim capitalists. The documents highlight issues of land alienation, economic exploitation, political negligence by the Punjab Ministry, and the misuse of the Town Improvement Act (1922). Also included is a letter condemning the exploitation of students for political demonstrations. The materials reflect the socio-economic anxieties of Muslim zamindars during the transitional period before and after Partition.

Description: This file contains a series documenting the resistance of Muslim landowners in Lahore against the acquisition of their agricultural lands by the Lahore Improvement Trust in the early 1940s. The papers include a detailed memorial to Premier Khizar Hayat Khan, an urgent appeal to M.A. Jinnah, lists of affected residents with caste and familial details, and a letter criticizing the Punjab Muslim League for instigating student protests. The documents collectively illustrate the intersection of land rights, communal politics, and economic policy in the lead-up to the Partition of India. They underscore the petitioners’ reliance on Jinnah’s intervention to safeguard their livelihoods and the Muslim majority in Lahore. SCANNED BY: NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF PAKISTAN.

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