Cambridge IGCSE Pakistan Studies: The Emergence of Pakistan, 1906–47 (0448)

The Emergence of Pakistan, 1906–47 is Section 2 of Paper 1 in Cambridge IGCSE Pakistan Studies 0448. It runs from the founding of the All-India Muslim League in 1906 to independence in August 1947, and is examined through Key Questions 6 to 10. Examiners want accurate dates and names, then clear explanation of why each event mattered, and in the 14-mark parts a balanced judgement on how far or how successfully something moved the subcontinent towards a separate Muslim state.

Syllabus coverage

CAMBRIDGE IGCSE PAKISTAN STUDIES (0448), 2026 — PAPER 1, SECTION 2: THE EMERGENCE OF PAKISTAN 1906–47

• Key Question 6: How far did the Pakistan Movement develop during the early 20th century? Partition of Bengal 1905–11; Simla Deputation 1906; founding and aims of the Muslim League; co-operation with Congress and its breakdown; Morley–Minto Reforms 1909; the First World War; Lucknow Pact 1916; Rowlatt Act and Amritsar Massacre 1919; Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms 1919; Non-Cooperation; communalism; divisions in Congress; Delhi Proposals 1927
• Key Question 7: How successful was the Khilafat Movement? Its rise and objectives; conferences and delegations 1919–21; the Hijrat Movement; Gandhi and Non-Cooperation; reasons for failure; impact on Muslims
• Key Question 8: How successful was the Pakistan Movement 1927–39? Simon Commission; Nehru Report 1928; Jinnah’s 14 Points 1929; Iqbal’s Allahabad address 1930; Round Table Conferences 1930–32; Communal Award 1932; Rahmat Ali 1933; Government of India Act 1935; 1937 elections; Congress rule 1937–39 and the Day of Deliverance 1939
• Key Question 9: How successful were attempts to find solutions 1940–47? Second World War and Quit India; Pakistan Resolution 1940; Cripps Mission 1942; Gandhi–Jinnah talks 1944; Simla Conference 1945; 1945–46 elections; Cabinet Mission 1946; Direct Action Day 1946; June 3 Plan; Radcliffe Award; Indian Independence Act 1947
• Key Question 10: How important were Jinnah, Allama Iqbal and Rahmat Ali to the Pakistan Movement to 1947?

How are Section 2 questions examined?

Paper 1 Section B questions have three parts: a 4-mark knowledge part (one short paragraph), a 7-mark explanation part (at least two developed paragraphs) and a 14-mark evaluation essay of about two pages. Section A is a compulsory source-based question. Most marks in this section come from “explain why” and “how successful” or “how far” questions, so learn every event with its date, key people and consequence.

How did Muslim politics develop between 1905 and 1927? (Key Question 6)

The Partition of Bengal (1905) under Viceroy Curzon created a Muslim-majority province of East Bengal and Assam. Muslims welcomed it; Hindu-led agitation forced its reversal, announced in 1911. Many Muslims concluded that they needed their own political voice. In October 1906 the Simla Deputation, led by the Aga Khan, asked Viceroy Minto for separate electorates and weightage. In December 1906 the All-India Muslim League was founded at Dhaka, aiming to protect Muslim political rights, to promote loyalty to the British government, and to avoid hostility to other communities.

The Morley–Minto Reforms (1909) granted separate electorates, a major early success. During the First World War, Muslim sympathy for the Ottoman Empire and Jinnah’s efforts brought the League and Congress together in the Lucknow Pact (1916): Congress accepted separate electorates and one-third of seats for Muslims in the central legislature. This co-operation then broke down. The Rowlatt Act (1919) allowed detention without trial, and in April 1919 troops fired on a crowd at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. The Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms (1919) introduced dyarchy in the provinces but disappointed both parties. By the mid-1920s communal riots, Hindu revival movements such as shuddhi and sangathan, and splits in Congress had widened divisions. The Delhi Proposals (1927) offered Muslim acceptance of joint electorates in return for one-third of central seats, separation of Sindh from Bombay, reforms in the North-West Frontier Province and Balochistan, and representation by population in Punjab and Bengal.

Judgement: by 1927 the League had won separate electorates, but it was still small and divided, so the movement had developed only partly.

Why did the Khilafat Movement fail? (Key Question 7)

After the First World War, Muslims feared the Allies would break up the Ottoman Empire and remove the Sultan as caliph, guardian of the holy places. The Ali brothers, Muhammad Ali Jauhar and Shaukat Ali, led the movement. Delegations to Britain (1920) failed to change policy. Gandhi linked Congress’s Non-Cooperation Movement to the Khilafat cause, giving Hindu–Muslim unity a brief high point. The Hijrat Movement (1920) saw many Muslims sell their property and migrate to Afghanistan; Afghanistan closed the border, and many returned impoverished.

Reasons for failure: Gandhi called off Non-Cooperation after the violence at Chauri Chaura (1922); the Moplah uprising (1921) damaged Hindu–Muslim trust; the Turks themselves, under Mustafa Kemal, abolished the caliphate in 1924. Impact: Muslims lost faith in Congress leadership, but the movement had mobilised ordinary Muslims politically and trained a generation of leaders.

How successful was the Pakistan Movement between 1927 and 1939? (Key Question 8)

The all-British Simon Commission (appointed 1927) was boycotted by most Indian leaders. The Nehru Report (1928) rejected separate electorates and one-third Muslim representation, which many Muslims saw as evidence that Congress would not protect them. Jinnah replied with his 14 Points (1929), including a federal constitution, provincial autonomy, separate electorates and one-third Muslim representation at the centre. In December 1930 Allama Iqbal’s Allahabad address argued for a consolidated North-Western Indian Muslim state.

The Round Table Conferences (1930–32) in London failed to agree on minority rights. The British Communal Award (1932) kept separate electorates. In 1933 Choudhary Rahmat Ali, a student at Cambridge, issued the pamphlet Now or Never, proposing the name “Pakstan”. The Government of India Act (1935) gave provincial autonomy, but its federal part was never put into effect.

In the 1937 elections Congress won most provinces and the League did poorly, even in Muslim-majority areas. Congress rule (1937–39) alienated Muslims: the singing of Bande Mataram, the Wardha and Vidya Mandir education schemes, and the refusal to share power with the League in the United Provinces. When Congress ministries resigned in 1939, Jinnah called for a Day of Deliverance (22 December 1939). Judgement: electorally the period began badly for the League, but Congress rule convinced many Muslims that they needed a separate homeland.

How was independence achieved between 1940 and 1947? (Key Question 9)

The Lahore (Pakistan) Resolution of 23 March 1940 demanded independent states in the Muslim-majority north-west and east. The Cripps Mission (1942) offered dominion status after the war with a right for provinces to opt out; both parties rejected it, and Congress launched the Quit India Movement in August 1942, after which its leaders were imprisoned while the League strengthened. The Gandhi–Jinnah talks (1944) failed because Gandhi saw India as one nation. Lord Wavell’s Simla Conference (1945) collapsed when Congress rejected the League’s claim to nominate all Muslim members of the proposed council.

In the 1945–46 elections the League won every Muslim seat in the central assembly and the great majority of Muslim seats in the provinces, proving its claim to speak for Muslims. The Cabinet Mission Plan (1946) proposed a loose federation with groups of provinces; the League accepted it, but withdrew after Nehru’s statements suggested Congress would not be bound by the grouping scheme. The League’s Direct Action Day (16 August 1946) was followed by severe rioting in Calcutta. Viceroy Mountbatten’s 3 June Plan (1947) provided for partition, the Indian Independence Act (July 1947) created two dominions on 14–15 August, and the Radcliffe Award, announced after independence, drew the boundaries in Punjab and Bengal.

How important were Jinnah, Iqbal and Rahmat Ali? (Key Question 10)

• Jinnah began as an “ambassador of Hindu–Muslim unity” in Congress and in the Lucknow Pact, then led the League from the 1930s, negotiated with the British and Congress, and turned the 1940 Resolution into a state. Most historians see his leadership as decisive.
• Allama Iqbal gave the idea of Muslim nationhood its philosophical basis and encouraged Jinnah to lead the League; he died in 1938, before the 1940 Resolution.
• Rahmat Ali coined the name and campaigned from Britain, but he had little influence on League policy; his scheme differed from Iqbal’s in demanding complete separation rather than a Muslim state within a framework of the subcontinent.

Frequently asked questions

What were the aims of the Muslim League in 1906? To protect and advance the political rights of Muslims, to promote loyalty to the British government, and to prevent hostility between Muslims and other communities.

Why was the Nehru Report important? It rejected separate electorates and one-third Muslim representation, convincing many Muslims, including Jinnah, that Congress would not safeguard their interests, and it led directly to the 14 Points.

Why did the 1945–46 elections matter? The League’s sweeping success in Muslim seats showed it represented Muslim opinion, so neither the British nor Congress could ignore the demand for Pakistan.

Related pages

• Paper 1 overview study guide
• Nationhood, 1947–99 study guide

Source: Cambridge International, Cambridge IGCSE Pakistan Studies 0448 syllabus for examination in 2026, Paper 1 Section 2, Key Questions 6–10.