Correspondence and Papers Associated with M. A. Jinnah

Sub title : Personal Appeals, Petitions, and Miscellaneous Documents

Subject: M. A. Jinnah | Public Petitions | Government Employment Disputes | Indian Independence Movement

Date of publication: 1931

Language: English

Page: 227 p.

Source: National Archives of Pakistan

Serial no: 28189

Keyword: M. A. Jinnah -- Petition -- Government Servant -- Salary Dispute -- Madras Presidency | District Board -- Chittoor -- Laboratory Attender -- Religious Piety -- Personal Critique | Defence of India Rules -- Political Arrest -- Amritsar -- Pioneer Arms Co. -- Bureaucracy -- Colonial India -- Archival Papers.

Abstract: This diverse collection includes documents from the 1930s and 1940s, some directly addressed to M. A. Jinnah and others seemingly from personal or official files. A central component is a multi-year petitionary campaign by Muhammad Dastagir, a Laboratory Attender/Peon in Chittoor, Madras Presidency, concerning his salary, service conditions, and pleas for exemption from qualification exams (1931-1938). The collection also features a poignant letter from a follower ("Claude Azam") offering religious advice and personal critique to Jinnah (1943), and a plea from Kamal Kanta in Amritsar seeking Jinnah's help to locate her arrested husband (1945). Miscellaneous items include technical and motor training certificates for S.I.U. Ahmad (London, 1931-32), an invitation to a social event from The Pioneer Arms Co. in Delhi (1943), and a letter from Jinnah declining to give an interview (1945).

Description: This is an eclectic assortment of archival papers. While not all documents are directly from Jinnah, they appear to be associated with his milieu or addressed to him. The extensive file on Muhammad Dastagir provides a detailed, ground-level view of the struggles of a low-ranking government employee within the Madras bureaucratic system, showcasing the language of petition and administration in colonial India. The direct letter to Jinnah offers a rare, unfiltered glimpse into how some followers viewed his leadership beyond politics, emphasizing personal religious practice. The plea from Amritsar demonstrates Jinnah's perceived role as a protector and last resort for distressed families. Together with the other ephemera, this collection paints a broader picture of the social, administrative, and personal contexts surrounding a major political figure like Jinnah, extending beyond high politics into everyday appeals and bureaucratic tangles. SCANNED BY: NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF PAKISTAN.

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