West Punjab
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West Punjab was a former province of Pakistan which existed from 1947 to 1955. The province covered an area of 160,622 km², including much of the current Punjab province and the Islamabad Capital Territory, but excluding the former princely state of Bahawalpur. The capital was the city of Lahore and the province was composed of four divisions (Lahore, Sargodha, Multan and Rawalpindi). The province was bordered by the Indian states of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir to the east, the princely state of Bahawalpur to the south, the provinces of Balochistan and Sindh to the southwest, the Northwest Frontier Province to the northwest, and Azad Kashmir to the northeast.
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[edit] History
The independence of Pakistan in 1947 led to the divisions of the Punjab province 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 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 Chaudhry Mohammad 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.
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[edit] Demographics
At independence there was a Muslim majority in West Punjab with significant minorities of Hindus and Sikhs. Nearly all of these minorities left West Punjab for India, to be replaced by large numbers of Muslims fleeing in the opposite direction. The official language of West Punjab was Urdu but most of the population spoke Punjabi using the Shahmukhi script. Various dialects of Punjabi such as Lahnda and Multani were spoken in West Punjab. Hindko was spoken in the regions bordering NWFP.
[edit] Government
The offices of Governor of West Punjab and Chief Minister of West Punjab lasted from August 15, 1947, until 14th 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.
| Tenure | Governor of West Punjab[1] |
|---|---|
| 15 August 1947 - 2 August 1949 | Sir Francis Mudie |
| 2 August 1949 - 24 November 1951 | Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar |
| 24 November 1951 - 2 May 1953 | Ismail Ibrahim Chundrigar |
| 2 May 1953 - 24 June 1954 | Mian Aminuddin |
| 26 September 1954 - 26 November 1954 | Habib Ibrahim Rahmatullah |
| 27 November 1954 - 14 October 1955 | Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani |
| 14 October 1955 | Province of West Punjab dissolved |
| Tenure | Chief Minister of West Punjab[1] | Political Party |
|---|---|---|
| 15 August 1947 - 25 January 1949 | Iftikhar Hussain Khan | |
| 25 January 1949 - 5 April 1952 | Governor's Rule | |
| 5 April 1951 - 3 April 1953 | Mian Mumtaz Daultana | Pakistan Muslim League |
| 3 April 1953 - 21 May 1955 | Malik Firoz Khan Nun | Pakistan Muslim League |
| 21 May 1955 - 14 October 1955 | Abdul Hamid Khan Dasti | |
| 14 October 1955 | Province of West Punjab dissolved |
[edit] Contemporary usage
Today the term West Punjab is used in Pakistan to describe the western part of Pakistan's Punjab province,[2] while in India it is often used to refer to Pakistani Punjab.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Ben Cahoon, WorldStatesmen.org. "Pakistan Provinces". http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Pakistan_states.html#Punjab. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ The political divides within - Dawn
- ^ Excavated Sites - Government of Punjab (India)
