Constitutional Crisis in the Punjab: The Muslim League's Struggle to Form a Ministry and the Political Leadership of M.A. Jinnah

Sub title : Correspondence between Khan Iftikhar Hussain Khan of Mamdot and Sir Evan Jenkins, Governor of the Punjab (March-April 1947)

Subject: Punjab – Politics and Government – 1947 | Government of India Act 1935

Date of publication: 1947

Language: English

Page: 13p.

Source: National Archives of Pakistan

Serial no: 27445

Keyword: Punjab Ministry Crisis 1947 — Section 93 —| Governor's Rule | Muslim League — Khan of Mamdot — Sir Evan Jenkins | M.A. Jinnah — Legislative Assembly — Democratic Mandate — Communal Riots

Abstract: This file contains the crucial exchange of letters between Khan Iftikhar Hussain Khan of Mamdot, the Muslim League leader in the Punjab, and Governor Sir Evan Jenkins in the months leading up to Partition. The correspondence details Mamdot's persistent claim to form a ministry based on his party's majority in the Legislative Assembly and his constitutional right to face the house. Governor Jenkins, citing the severe communal riots and a lack of definitive proof of a stable, cross-community majority, repeatedly demurs, leading to the imposition of Governor's Rule under Section 93.

Description: A vital primary source documenting the high-stakes political maneuvering in the Punjab immediately before Partition. This collection reveals the procedural and ideological clash between the incumbent Muslim League, emboldened by its popular mandate and the leadership of M.A. Jinnah, and a cautious British Governor grappling with unprecedented civil unrest. SCANNED BY: NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF PAKISTAN.

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