Resettlement of Refugees in Pakistan: 1947–1951.

The 1951 Census of Pakistan recorded that;

The largest number of Muslim refugees came from the East Punjab and nearby Rajputana states (Alwar and Bharatpur).

They were a number of 5,783,100 and constituted 80.1% of Pakistan's total refugee population.

This was due to the division of Punjab. Muslim population of East Punjab was displaced, like the Hindu/Sikh population in West Punjab.

Migration from regions of India was as follows:

East Punjab and nearby Rajputana states 5,783,100 or 80.1%.

Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa, 700,300 or 9.8%.

UP and Delhi 464,200 or 2.4%.

Gujarat and Bombay, 160,400 or 2.2%.

Bhopal and Hyderabad 95,200 or 1.2%.

Madras and Mysore 18,000 or 0.2%.

So far as their settlement in Pakistan is concerned;

97.4% from East Punjab and nearby Rajputana states (Alwar and Bharatpur) to West Punjab.

95.9% from Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa to East Pakistan.

95.5% from UP and Delhi to West Pakistan, mainly Karachi and Sind.

97.2% from Bhopal and Hyderabad to West Pakistan, mainly Karachi.

98.9% from Bombay and Gujarat to West Pakistan, largely to Karachi.

98.9% from Madras and Mysore went to West Pakistan, mainly Karachi.

The Government undertook a census of refugees in West Punjab in 1948, which displayed their place of origin in India.

Data on the Number of Muslim refugees in West Punjab from the Districts of East Punjab and Neighboring Regions.

Places                                                    Number

Amritsar (East Punjab)                       741,444

Jullender (East Punjab)                      520,189

Gurdaspur (East Punjab)                   499,793

Hoshiarpur (East Punjab)                  384,448

Karnal (East Punjab)                           306,509

Hissar (East Punjab)                           287,479

Ludhiana (East Punjab)                     255,864

Ambala (East Punjab)                       222,939

Gurgaon (East Punjab)                       80,537

Rontak (East Punjab)                       172,640

Delhi                                                     91,185

Kangra (East Punjab)                         33,826

United Provinces                               28,363

Simla (East Punjab)                           11,300

Data on the Number of Muslim refugees in West Punjab from the Princely states in East Punjab and Rajputana.

Name                                                 Number

Patiala (East Punjab)                       308,948

Alwar (Rajputana)                           191,567

Kapurthala (East Punjab)               172,079

Faridkot (East Punjab)                      66,596

Bharatpur (Rajputana)                     43,614

Naba (East Punjab)                           43,538

Jina (East Punjab)                             41,696

Together other small states            39,322

West Punjab received the largest number of refugees, 5,783,100.

It constituted 73.1% of the total Muslim refugee population in Pakistan.

East Bengal received the second largest number of refugees, 699,100.

It constituted 9.7% of the total Muslim refugee population in Pakistan.

66.69% of the refugees in East Bengal originated from West Bengal.

14.50% from Bihar.

11.84% from Assam.

Karachi received 8.5% of the total migrant population.

Sind received 7.6%.

NWFP and Baluchistan received the lowest number of migrants.

NWFP received 51,100 migrants (0.7% of the migrant population).

Baluchistan received 28,000 (0.4% of the migrant population).

A study of the total population inflows and outflows in the districts of the Punjab, using the data provided by the 1931 and 1951 Census has led to an estimate of 1.26 million missing Muslims who left western India but did not reach Pakistan. The corresponding number of missing Hindus/Sikhs along the western border is estimated to be approximately 0.84 million. This puts the total missing people due to Partition-related migration along the Punjab border to around 2.23 million.

The Indian government claimed that 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women were abducted, and the Pakistani government claimed that 50,000 Muslim women were abducted during riots. By 1949, there were governmental claims that 12,000 women had been recovered in India and 6,000 in Pakistan. By 1954, there were 20,728 recovered Muslim women and 9,032 Hindu and Sikh women recovered from Pakistan. Most of the Hindu and Sikh women refused to go back to India, fearing that they would never be accepted by their family, a fear mirrored by Muslim women.