Punjab Provincial Assembly (British India)

The British Punjab Provincial Assembly, or simple the Punjab Provincial Assembly was the unicameral elected legislature of British Punjab, a province of the British Raj. Established by the British authorities under Government of India Act 1935, the assembly had executive powers and members directly elected from 175 constituencies by first past the post system.

British Punjab Provincial Assembly
Type
Type
Term limits
5 years
History
Founded5 April 1937 (1937-04-05)
Disbanded4 July 1947 (1947-07-04)
Preceded byBritish Punjab Legislative Council
Succeeded by
Leadership
Speaker
Sataya Prakash Singha (Last)
Deputy Speaker
Dasaundha Singh (First)
Kapur Singh (Last)
Prime Minister
Leader of Opposition
Seats175
  • Single member-159
  • Double member-8
Elections
First-past-the-post
First election
1937
Last election
1946
Meeting place
Lahore, British Punjab
Constitution
Government of India Act 1935
Punjab Assembly building in Lahore 1938.

Speakers

S. No. Name Tenure Party Assembly
1 Shahab-ud-Din Virk 6 April 1937 16 March 1945 Unionist Party 1st
2 Sataya Prakash Singha 21 March 1946 4 July 1947 2nd

Deputy Speakers

S. No. Name Tenure Party Assembly
1 Dasaundha Singh 6 April 1937 7 April 1941 Unionist Party 1st
2 Gurbachan Singh 22 April 1941 16 March 1945
3 Kapur Singh 26 March 1946 4 July 1947 2nd

Prime Ministers

S. No. Name Tenure Party Assembly
1 Sikandar Hayat Khan 5 April 1937 26 December 1942 Unionist Party 1st
2 Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana 30 December 1942 19 March 1945
21 March 1946 2 March 1947 2nd

Seats Distribution

All 175 constituencies were reserved on the basiss of religion. It was as follows:-

Constituency Type Urban Rural Total
General 8 34 42
Muslims 9 75 84
Sikhs 2 29 31
Special^ - - 18
Total 19 138 175

Special constituencies (non-territory constituency) were further divided into Categories and sub-categories as follow:-

  • Women - 4
    • General - 1
    • Muslims - 2
    • Sikhs - 1
  • European - 1
  • Anglo-Indian - 1
  • Indian Christian - 2
  • Punjab Commerce and Industry - 1
  • Landholders - 5
    • General - 1
    • Muslims - 3
    • Sikhs - 1
  • Trade and Labour Unions - 3
  • University - 1

First Assembly

Members of Punjab Provincial Assembly elected in 1937

After the passing of Government of India act 1935, Provincial assembly was set up in Punjab. It consisted 175 constituencies. Out of these 159 were single-member constituencies and 8 were double-members constituencies. In double-members constituencies one was reserved for the Schedule Caste according to Poona Pact.[1] In double constituencies each voter had two votes to cast his vote, one for SC candidate and one for general candidate but considered as one vote to calculate voter turnout.

Party Seats won
Unionist Party
(UoP)
98
Indian National Congress
(INC)
18
Khalsa National Party
(KNP)
13
Hindu Election Board
(HEB)
12
Shiromani Akali Dal
(SAD)
11
Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam
(MAI)
4
All-India Muslim League
(AIML)
2
Congress Nationalist Party
(CNP)
1
Independents
(IND)
16
Total 175
Source:[2]

Second Assembly

On the eve of the elections, the political landscape in the Punjab was finely poised, and the Muslim League offered a credible alternative to the Unionist Party. The transformation itself had been rapid, as most landlords and pirs had not switched allegiance until after 1944.[3] The breakdown of talks between the Punjab Premier, Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana and Muhammad Ali Jinnah in late 1944 had meant many Muslims were now forced to choose between the two parties at the forthcoming election.[3] A further blow for the Unionists came with death of its leading statesman Sir Chhotu Ram in early 1945.

The Result of election was as follows:-[4]

Party Seats won Change
All-India Muslim League 73 Increase 71
Indian National Congress 51 Increase 33
Shiromani Akali Dal 21 Increase 10
Unionist Party 19 Decrease 79
Independent 11 Decrease 05
Others 0 Decrease 30
Total 175

References

  1. Elections in Punjab 1920-1947 (Pdf),(p. 16), Book by Kirpal C. Yadav. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  2. Political Development and Political Parties in Punjan 1849-1948 (Pdf), (p. 74), Pakistan Journal of Social Science Vol. 29, No. 1 (June 2009) pp. 65-78. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  3. Talbot, I. A. (1980). "The 1946 Punjab Elections". Modern Asian Studies. 14 (1): 65–91. doi:10.1017/s0026749x00012178. JSTOR 312214. S2CID 145320008.
  4. Political Development and Political Parties in Punjan 1849-1948 (Pdf), (p. 74), Pakistan Journal of Social Science Vol. 29, No. 1 (June 2009) pp. 65-78. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
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