M.A. Jinnah: Final Financial Transactions Before and After Pakistan's Creation

Sub title : Managing the Pakistan Fund, Bihar Relief, and Personal Affairs During the Transition to Governor-General

Subject: Financial Administration During the Transfer of Power | Pakistan Fund Management | Final Phase of Bihar Relief Fund

Date of publication: 1947

Language: English

Page: 16 p.

Source: National Archives of Pakistan

Serial no: 27998

Keyword: M.A. Jinnah -- August 1947 -- Pakistan Fund -- Bihar Relief Fund -- Habib Bank | Financial Administration -- Governor-General of Pakistan -- Independence Transition -- Income Tax -- Diaspora Donations (South Africa) | Muslim Employees Association -- Nation-Building Finances.

Abstract: This collection comprises financial correspondence from the pivotal month of August 1947, documenting M.A. Jinnah's administrative activities in the immediate days before and after Pakistan's independence on August 14th. The letters showcase the parallel management of two major funds: the ongoing Pakistan Fund for nation-building, receiving donations from individuals across India and abroad (including South Africa), and the concluding transactions for the Bihar Relief Fund. The documents reveal the meticulous, routine nature of this work—forwarding drafts, issuing receipts, and reconciling accounts with the Habib Bank—amidst epochal political change. Interspersed are glimpses of Jinnah's personal affairs, including correspondence with the Income Tax Office and payment of municipal bills, now handled by his office as Governor-General of Pakistan. This set provides a unique view of the unglamorous but critical financial stewardship that underpinned the birth of a new nation.

Description: This archival set captures the continuity of administrative duty during one of history's most dramatic political transitions. The documents, dated from August 2nd to August 21st, 1947, show M.A. Jinnah's office in New Delhi (and later Karachi) diligently processing batches of cheques and drafts for the Pakistan Fund and the winding-down Bihar Relief Fund. A letter dated August 17th, from the "Personal Assistant to H.E. the Governor General of Pakistan," paying a municipal bill, starkly marks the institutional shift. The inclusion of a donation from Essop A. Kajee in Pretoria, South Africa, to the Bihar fund in early August highlights the enduring global network of support. Another significant document is Jinnah's reply to the Income Tax Officer, agreeing to an assessment due to his papers being in Bombay—a small but telling detail of a life divided between two soon-to-be countries. This collection is essential for understanding how the monumental task of creating Pakistan was accompanied by the relentless, granular work of financial management and personal accountability. SCANNED BY: NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF PAKISTAN.

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