Personal Appeals and Political Counsel to M.A. Jinnah (1937-1946)

Sub title : Job Seeking to Premiership Politics

Subject: Punjab Politics | Political Patronage | Employment | Feroz Khan Noon

Date of publication: 1937

Language: English

Page: 8 p.

Source: National Archives of Pakistan

Serial no: 27615

Keyword: M.A. Jinnah — Personal Appeal — Political Patronage — Job Seeking | Muslim League — Punjab Politics — Feroz Khan Noon — Malik Barkat Ali | Premiership — 1946 —Lahore | Intellectuals vs. Landlords

Abstract: This collection of letters to M.A. Jinnah spans a crucial decade, revealing the dual role he played as a national leader. Early letters (1937-1933) are desperate personal appeals from highly qualified Muslims seeking his intervention to secure academic posts, highlighting the community's economic marginalization and view of Jinnah as a protector. The later letter (1946) shifts to high-stakes politics, offering candid counsel on the Punjab premiership, vehemently opposing Feroz Khan Noon and advocating for Malik Barkat Ali, thus exposing the internal debates and factionalism within the Punjab Muslim League on the eve of Partition.

Description: This dossier comprises personal and political correspondence addressed to M.A. Jinnah between 1937 and 1946. The early letters provide a poignant glimpse into the socio-economic struggles of educated Indian Muslims, who saw Jinnah not only as a political leader but as a last resort for securing employment, with one writer even threatening to join the Congress if not helped. The final, lengthy communication from 1946 is a significant political memorandum. Written by "Mtab Iqbal," it delivers a stark assessment of the Muslim League's leadership crisis in the Punjab, strongly cautioning Jinnah against trusting the Unionist-turned-Leaguer Feroz Khan Noon for the Premiership and championing the veteran Leaguer Malik Barkat Ali as the only credible candidate. SCANNED BY: NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF PAKISTAN.

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