A university and a divided province

Before 1947 the University of the Punjab was based in Lahore and served colleges across a much wider region. Historians Yaqoob Khan Bangash and Pippa Virdee describe disagreement over its future as the province was partitioned. Their study explains that some participants sought a physical division of the institution, while others wanted the university to remain intact in Lahore. These positions emerged in the political circumstances of 1947 and did not encompass every student’s or teacher’s experience. The university remained in Lahore, while a separate institution was established in East Punjab after Partition.[1]

Establishing an East Punjab university

A conservation plan prepared for Panjab University records the establishment of East Panjab University on 1 October 1947 following an ordinance issued in September. A university report describes administrative offices in Solan and teaching departments spread across several cities before the university’s later development in Chandigarh. Institutional histories trace formal organisation, but personal accounts can reveal what the transition meant for individual students, teachers and families. The history of one institution should be read alongside that of the university that continued in Lahore.[2][4]

Libraries and collections

A study of library resources in Pakistan lists Punjab University Library among Lahore’s principal libraries at Partition, alongside other major collections. It identifies books and manuscripts as part of an educational landscape larger than a single campus. Numbers and institutional descriptions in a historical survey reflect its evidence and date, and should not be confused with a current catalogue. Questions about the movement, ownership and survival of specific books or manuscripts require collection-level records. The division of educational institutions involved people, examinations, libraries and administrative arrangements, not only a change in university names. The survey also lists the Punjab Public Library and the Dayal Singh Trust Library in Lahore.[3]

Sources & notes

Source records include access dates and, where known, limits on what was examined. Checks used AI assistance; independent human or specialist review has not been completed.

  1. Yaqoob Khan Bangash and Pippa Virdee. Partitioning the University of the Panjab, 1947 ↗Written source · Source date: publication date not established · Locator: University debates and establishment of East Panjab University. Accessed 2026-11-03.Selected written source inspected; catalogue descriptions and scholarly interpretations attributed.Return to A university and a divided province, paragraph 1 ↑
  2. DRONAH for Panjab University, with Getty Foundation support. Conservation Management Plan for Gandhi Bhawan, Panjab University ↗Written source · Source date: 2017-07 · Locator: Printed p. 28, university partition and 1947 ordinance. Accessed 2026-11-04.Indexed text of the plan’s historical summary was inspected; the former PDF URL redirects to Getty’s catalogue, which requires JavaScript. The original ordinance was not independently examined.Return to Establishing an East Punjab university, paragraph 1 ↑
  3. World Libraries. Library resources in Pakistan: Progress, problems, and achievements ↗Written source · Source date: publication date not established · Locator: Libraries at Partition. Accessed 2026-11-03.Selected written source inspected; catalogue descriptions and scholarly interpretations attributed.Return to Libraries and collections, paragraph 1 ↑
  4. Panjab University quality assurance office. Executive Summary: Panjab University ↗University institutional report · Source date: 2014 · Locator: Opening institutional history, Solan office and dispersed departments. Accessed 2026-11-04.The university’s indexed report text was checked; it summarizes administrative locations rather than individual experiences.Return to Establishing an East Punjab university, paragraph 1 ↑
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Record PH-HIS-0136 · English edition · human review not performed