M.A. Jinnah Correspondence: The Bihar Relief Fund Receipt Crisis and Diaspora Support

Sub title : Widespread Complaints Over Missing Acknowledgments and Administrative Overload

Subject: Administrative Challenges of the Bihar Relief Fund | Donor Relations and Accountability

Date of publication: 1941

Language: English

Page: 96 p.

Source: National Archives of Pakistan

Serial no: 27995

Keyword: M.A. Jinnah -- Bihar Relief Fund -- Donation Receipts -- Administrative Failure -- Habib Bank -- Donor Complaints | Muslim League Accountability -- Indian Diaspora -- South Africa -- Ceylon | Humanitarian Fundraising -- Public Trust -- Financial Transparency.

Abstract: This collection centers on the operational difficulties faced by the Muslim League in managing the massive influx of donations for the Bihar Relief Fund after the 1946 riots. The majority of documents are urgent letters from donors across India and from diaspora communities in South Africa and Ceylon, complaining that they have not received formal receipts for their contributions despite repeated reminders. These complaints, often directed to M.A. Jinnah for personal intervention, highlight a critical breakdown in the acknowledgment system, primarily handled by the Habib Bank in Delhi. The correspondence reveals the immense scale of the fundraising effort, the resulting administrative overload, and the vital importance of transparent financial practices to maintain public confidence. A notable letter from the "Indian Views" journal in Durban also underscores the League's active international support network.

Description: This set of documents provides a stark, ground-level view of the logistical crisis that accompanied the otherwise successful Bihar Relief Fund campaign. It consists almost entirely of distress letters from individual donors, local Muslim Leagues, and relief committees (e.g., Jamshedpur, Sind Women's Section) who had sent money—sometimes substantial sums—to the designated Habib Bank account but received no acknowledgment. The repeated follow-ups and the forwarding of these complaints to Jinnah himself illustrate the severity of the issue and the risk it posed to the League's credibility. The geographic spread of the correspondence, from Ajmer to Durban, emphasizes the national and transnational reach of the fundraising network. One letter from "Indian Views" in Durban further shows how international supporters leveraged their influence. Collectively, these papers move beyond high-level politics to expose the critical, often messy, administrative work required to sustain a mass humanitarian movement, revealing both the depth of popular support and the fragility of the systems meant to channel it. SCANNED BY: NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF PAKISTAN.

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