West_Punjab

West Punjab

West Punjab

Former province of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955

This article is about the former province of Pakistan in the Punjab region. For the modern province, see Punjab, Pakistan. For other uses, see Punjab (disambiguation).

West Punjab (Punjabi: ‎لہندا پنجاب‎; Urdu: مغربی پنجاب) was a province in the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955. It was established from the western-half of British Punjab, following the independence of Pakistan. The province covered an area of 159,344 km sq (61523 sq mi), including much of the current Punjab province and the Islamabad Capital Territory, but excluding the former Princely state of Bahawalpur. Lahore, being the largest city and the cultural centre, served as the capital of the province. The province was composed of four divisions (Lahore, Sargodha, Multan and Rawalpindi) and was bordered by the state of Bahawalpur to the south-east, the province of Baluchistan to the south-west and Sind to the south, North-West Frontier Province to the north-west, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to the north. It shared International border with Indian state of East Punjab to the east and Indian-administered Jammu & Kashmir to the north-east. It was dissolved and merged into West Pakistan upon creation of One Unit Scheme, in 1955.

Quick Facts ‎لہندا پنجابمغربی پنجاب, Capital ...

History

The creation of Pakistan in 1947 led to the division of the Punjab Province of British India into two new provinces. The largely Sikh and Hindu East Punjab became part of the new nation of India while the largely Muslim West Punjab became part of the new nation of the Dominion of Pakistan. The name of the province was shortened to Punjab in 1950. West Punjab was merged into the province of West Pakistan in 1955 under the One Unit policy announced by Prime Minister Chaudhary Muhammad Ali. When that province was dissolved, the area of the former province of West Punjab was combined with the former state of Bahawalpur to form a new Punjab Province.

Government

The offices of Governor of West Punjab and Chief Minister of West Punjab lasted from 15 August 1947, until 14 October 1955. The first Governor was Sir Francis Mudie with Iftikhar Hussain Khan as the first Chief Minister. Both offices were abolished in 1955, when the province of West Pakistan was created. The last Governor of West Punjab, Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani, became the first Governor of West Pakistan.

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Demographics

Religion

1901 census

Religions in West Punjab, Pakistan region (1901)[2]: 34 [3]: 62 [lower-alpha 1]

  Islam (76.25%)
  Hinduism (18.65%)
  Sikhism (4.64%)
  Christianity (0.41%)
  Jainism (0.05%)
  Others[lower-alpha 2] (0.003%)
More information District/ Princely State, Islam ...

1911 census

Religions in West Punjab, Pakistan region (1911)[4]: 27 [5]: 27 [lower-alpha 4]

  Islam (76.49%)
  Hinduism (14.82%)
  Sikhism (7.33%)
  Christianity (1.30%)
  Jainism (0.05%)
  Others[lower-alpha 2] (0.005%)
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1921 census

Religions in West Punjab, Pakistan region (1921)[6]: 29 [lower-alpha 5]

  Islam (75.49%)
  Hinduism (15.12%)
  Sikhism (7.26%)
  Christianity (2.08%)
  Jainism (0.05%)
  Others[lower-alpha 2] (0.004%)
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1931 census

Religions in West Punjab, Pakistan region (1931)[7]: 227 [lower-alpha 6]

  Islam (75.28%)
  Hinduism[lower-alpha 7] (13.94%)
  Sikhism (8.41%)
  Christianity (2.31%)
  Jainism (0.05%)
  Others[lower-alpha 2] (0.003%)
More information District/ Princely State, Islam ...

1941 census

Religions in West Punjab, Pakistan region (1941)[8]: 42 [lower-alpha 8]

  Islam (75.06%)
  Hinduism[lower-alpha 7] (13.68%)
  Sikhism (8.82%)
  Christianity (2.28%)
  Jainism (0.05%)
  Others[lower-alpha 2] (0.11%)

At Independence there was a Muslim majority in West Punjab with a significant Hindu and Sikh minority. Nearly all of these minorities left West Punjab for India, to be replaced by large numbers of Muslims fleeing from the opposite direction.

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Language

The official language of West Punjab was Urdu but most of the population spoke Punjabi. The linguist George Abraham Grierson in his multi volume Linguistic Survey of India (1904–1928) considered the various dialects up to then called "Western Punjabi", spoken in North, West, and South of Lahore in what is now Pakistani Punjab, as constituting instead a distinct language from Punjabi. (The local dialect of Lahore is the Majhi dialect of Punjabi, which has long been the basis of standard literary Punjabi.) Grierson proposed to name this putative language "Lahnda", and he dubbed as "Southern Lahnda" the coherent dialect cluster now known as Saraiki spoken in Multan Dera Ghazi Khan and Bahawalpur division and "North Lahnda" now known as Potwari spoken in Rawalpindi division and "Western Lahnda" now known as Hindko spoken in the regions bordering Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Contemporary usage

The term is often used to refer to the Pakistani Punjab.[9]

See also

Notes

  1. 1901 figure taken from census data by combining the total population of all districts (Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Shahpur, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Mianwali, Montgomery, Lyallpur (inscribed as the Chenab Colony on the 1901 census), Jhang, Multan, Muzaffargargh, Dera Ghazi Khan), one tehsil (Shakargarh – then part of Gurdaspur District), one princely state (Bahawalpur), and one tract (Biloch Trans–Frontier) in Punjab Province, British India that ultimately fell on the western side of the Radcliffe Line. See 1901 census data here: [2]: 34 
    Immediately following the partition of India in 1947, these districts and tract would ultimately make up the subdivision of West Punjab, which also later included Bahawalpur. The state that makes up this region in the contemporary era is Punjab, Pakistan.
  2. Including Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Tribals, others, or not stated
  3. Part of Gurdaspur District which was awarded to Pakistan as part of the Radcliffe Line.
  4. 1911 figure taken from census data by combining the total population of all districts (Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Shahpur, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Attock, Mianwali, Montgomery, Lyallpur, Jhang, Multan, Muzaffargargh, Dera Ghazi Khan), one tehsil (Shakargarh – then part of Gurdaspur District), one princely state (Bahawalpur), and one tract (Biloch Trans–Frontier) in Punjab Province, British India that ultimately fell on the western side of the Radcliffe Line. See 1911 census data here: [4]: 27 [5]: 27 
    Immediately following the partition of India in 1947, these districts and tract would ultimately make up the subdivision of West Punjab, which also later included Bahawalpur. The state that makes up this region in the contemporary era is Punjab, Pakistan.
  5. 1921 figure taken from census data by combining the total population of all districts (Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Gujrat, Shahpur, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Attock, Mianwali, Montgomery, Lyallpur, Jhang, Multan, Muzaffargargh, Dera Ghazi Khan), one tehsil (Shakargarh – then part of Gurdaspur District), one princely state (Bahawalpur), and one tract (Biloch Trans–Frontier) in Punjab Province, British India that ultimately fell on the western side of the Radcliffe Line. See 1921 census data here: [6]: 29 
    Immediately following the partition of India in 1947, these districts and tract would ultimately make up the subdivision of West Punjab, which also later included Bahawalpur. The state that makes up this region in the contemporary era is Punjab, Pakistan.
  6. 1931 figure taken from census data by combining the total population of all districts (Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Gujrat, Shahpur, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Attock, Mianwali, Montgomery, Lyallpur, Jhang, Multan, Muzaffargargh, Dera Ghazi Khan), one tehsil (Shakargarh – then part of Gurdaspur District), one princely state (Bahawalpur), and one tract (Biloch Trans–Frontier) in Punjab Province, British India that ultimately fell on the western side of the Radcliffe Line. See 1931 census data here: [7]: 277 
    Immediately following the partition of India in 1947, these districts and tract would ultimately make up the subdivision of West Punjab, which also later included Bahawalpur. The state that makes up this region in the contemporary era is Punjab, Pakistan.
  7. Including Ad-Dharmis
  8. 1941 figure taken from census data by combining the total population of all districts (Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Gujrat, Shahpur, Jhelum, Rawalpindi, Attock, Mianwali, Montgomery, Lyallpur, Jhang, Multan, Muzaffargargh, Dera Ghazi Khan), one tehsil (Shakargarh – then part of Gurdaspur District), one princely state (Bahawalpur), and one tract (Biloch Trans–Frontier) in Punjab Province, British India that ultimately fell on the western side of the Radcliffe Line. See 1941 census data here: [8]: 42 
    Immediately following the partition of India in 1947, these districts and tract would ultimately make up the subdivision of West Punjab, which also later included Bahawalpur. The state that makes up this region in the contemporary era is Punjab, Pakistan.

References

  1. [1]
    Ben Cahoon, WorldStatesmen.org. "Pakistan Provinces". Retrieved 3 October 2007.
  2. [2]
    "Census of India 1901. [Vol. 17A]. Imperial tables, I-VIII, X-XV, XVII and XVIII for the Punjab, with the native states under the political control of the Punjab Government, and for the North-west Frontier Province". 1901. JSTOR saoa.crl.25363739. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  3. [3]
    "Punjab District Gazetteers Gurdaspur District Vol.21 Statistical Tables". 1913. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  4. [4]
    "Census of India 1911. Vol. 14, Punjab. Pt. 2, Tables". 1911. JSTOR saoa.crl.25393788. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  5. [5]
    Kaul, Harikishan (1911). "Census Of India 1911 Punjab Vol XIV Part II". Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  6. [6]
    "Census of India 1921. Vol. 15, Punjab and Delhi. Pt. 2, Tables". 1921. JSTOR saoa.crl.25430165. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  7. [7]
    "Census of India 1931. Vol. 17, Punjab. Pt. 2, Tables". 1931. JSTOR saoa.crl.25793242. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  8. [8]
    India Census Commissioner (1941). "Census of India, 1941. Vol. 6, Punjab". JSTOR saoa.crl.28215541. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  9. [9]
    ". Global Affairs and Strategic Studies. Facultad de Derecho". Global Affairs and Strategic Studies (in European Spanish). Retrieved 29 June 2022.
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