M.A. Jinnah and the Foundation of Pakistan

Sub title : Confronting the 1947 Partition Refugee Crisis

Subject: Partition of India 1947 | Refugee Crisis | Demographics | Population Transfer | Economic Rehabilitation

Date of publication: 1947

Language: English

Page: 50 p.

Source: National Archives of Pakistan

Serial no: 28119

Keyword: Partition 1947 -- Refugee Statistics -- West Punjab -- Rehabilitation -- M.A. Jinnah -- Muhammad Iftikhar-ud-Din | Population Transfer -- Land Distribution -- Refugee Camps -- Humanitarian Logistics -- Economic Planning.

Abstract: This collection centers on a pivotal statistical note, "A Note on Statistics of the Refugees and Evacuees’ Problem" (Oct 31, 1947), which provided the empirical foundation for Pakistan's response to the Partition crisis. It projects a net influx of 2.12 million people into West Punjab, detailing the breakdown between agricultural and non-agricultural, urban and rural refugees, and the resulting pressure on land. Accompanying policy notes from November 1947 outline the dire practical challenges: a severe shortage of building materials for camps, dwindling food reserves, and insufficient transport. A confidential note from the Rehabilitation Minister stresses the need for "fundamental changes in our economy" and details action points for the Joint Council, which included Governor-General M.A. Jinnah as Chairman.

Description: This file contains the critical initial assessment that shaped Pakistan's policy during one of history's largest mass migrations. The statistical note is a foundational administrative document, using census data to model the catastrophic demographic shift. The subsequent secret notes and memos move from theory to crisis management, revealing a government scrambling to house and feed millions with inadequate resources as winter approached. The documents, marked for the highest levels of government including Jinnah, illustrate the transition of the Muslim League's leadership into a wartime-style administration facing a humanitarian disaster. They are essential for understanding the immense logistical, economic, and human challenges that defined the first months of Pakistan's existence and the heavy burdens placed on its founding government. SCANNED BY: NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF PAKISTAN.

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