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gave nothing to them. They had already been deprived of many of the due rights
under the feudal masters. They, despite having political influence, demonstrated
nothing to root out the miseries of their co-religionists. Time had exposed the
Unionist leadership to the Punjabi Muslims and now they wanted to experience the
League. The only two forces, which sustained the Unionist status as non-communal
were the administrative machinery and the press. The political activism in the Indian
affairs increased the importance of the commoners whether they were a voter or not
they played a crucial role during the period of 1940s.
British Policy in Punjab
The communal identity was already there before the advent of the British who
needed a peaceful Punjab to achieve their objectives. Observing the societal norms of
the Punjab they conferred some of the judicial and administrative powers upon the
prominent families appointing them numbardars and zaildars. All of such families
played very loyal role throughout the British period. The local ‘bureaucracy’
consisted of numberdars and zaildars numbered only 80,000. 79 It is very strange that
the British who wanted to educate the other nations by introducing democratic,
educational and administrative institutions themselves undertook to violate the spirit
of such reforms. They established bad precedents in the Punjab as they deployed the
military officers for the civilian jobs. The ICS officers were appointed as judges in the
Chief Court (High Court) while the judicial, financial and administrative powers were
merged with the single office of Deputy Commissioner under the Divisional
Commissioner who was unable to do his duties properly due to the poor
communication and transportation. 80
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