The History and Culture of Pakistan: Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and the sources are written for this paper — they are not quoted from real documents or from any board paper. The structure and part tariffs follow the syllabus’s own Paper 1 layout; examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers available free from your board.

Related: The History and Culture of Pakistan revision notes

This is a complete practice paper built to the structure the 0448 syllabus sets for Paper 1 (1 hour 30 minutes, 75 marks). Section A is one compulsory question worth 25 marks, in four parts linked by a common theme; parts (a) and (b) are based on sources. Section B has four questions, each worth 25 marks in three parts worth 4, 7 and 14 marks; answer any two. The syllabus fixes the Section B part tariffs; it does not fix the Section A part tariffs, so this paper uses the 3, 5, 7 and 10 split set on the live May/June 2024 paper.

Answer three questions in total: Question 1, and any two of Questions 2 to 5.

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Section A

Answer this question.

1. This question is about Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and the Aligarh Movement. Study the two sources carefully and then answer the questions which follow.

Source A — written for this Marlbridge practice paper. It is an imagined account in the style of a visitor to the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh in the 1880s, not a real historical document.

The college stands on the edge of the town, and its founder has tried to model it on the colleges he admired at Oxford and Cambridge. The young men live together in boarding houses under the eye of their tutors, and they rise early for prayers. In the lecture rooms they study English literature, mathematics and the natural sciences, and a teacher of theology instructs them in the principles of their faith. On the playing fields they are encouraged to take up cricket, which, the founder says, teaches discipline and loyalty to one’s fellows. Several of the teachers are Englishmen.

Source B — written for this Marlbridge practice paper. It is an imagined letter in the style of a traditional religious scholar opposed to Sir Syed in the 1870s, not a real historical document.

This man calls himself a reformer, yet he has become the friend of those who put down our people with the sword not twenty years ago. He tells our sons to learn the language and the sciences of the English, and he explains the Holy Qur’an by what he calls reason and nature. I say that a father who sends his son to this new college at Aligarh risks losing that son’s faith. Let the faithful keep to the madrassahs of their fathers.

(a) According to Source A, the college combined modern and traditional education. Identify three features of study or student life at the college described in the source. [3]

(b) What message is the writer of Source B trying to give about Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and his work? [5]

(c) Explain why Sir Syed Ahmad Khan believed that Muslims needed to acquire Western education. [7]

(d) ‘The Hindi–Urdu Controversy was the main reason why Sir Syed Ahmad Khan came to see Hindus and Muslims as separate nations.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [10]

Section B

Answer any two questions.

2. (a) Describe the Faraizi Movement. [4]

(b) Explain why the work of Shah Waliullah was important to the revival of Islam in the subcontinent. [7]

(c) ‘Syed Ahmad Barelvi’s Jihad Movement achieved nothing of lasting importance.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [14]

3. (a) Describe the Lucknow Pact of 1916. [4]

(b) Explain why the partition of Bengal was reversed in 1911. [7]

(c) ‘The Khilafat Movement achieved nothing for the Muslims of the subcontinent.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [14]

4. (a) Describe the Objectives Resolution of 1949. [4]

(b) Explain why the refugee crisis was so difficult for the new government of Pakistan to deal with in 1947–48. [7]

(c) ‘Ayub Khan’s “Decade of Progress” (1958–69) brought Pakistan more benefits than problems.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [14]

5. (a) Describe the Simla Agreement of 1972. [4]

(b) Explain why Zia-ul-Haq introduced his Islamisation programme. [7]

(c) ‘Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan were poor between 1947 and 1999.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [14]

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Answers

Part (a) of Question 1 is point-marked from the source. Part (a) of each Section B question is point-marked. Every other part is marked by levels of response; the level tables are set out after the answers, and the indicative content below is a guide to what can be credited, not a checklist — other relevant, accurate points should also be credited.

1. (a) One mark for each feature correctly identified from Source A, up to 3. Candidates may paraphrase, but the feature must come from the source:

• the students live together in boarding houses, supervised by tutors;
• they rise early for prayers;
• they study English literature, mathematics and the natural sciences;
• they are taught the principles of their faith by a teacher of theology;
• they are encouraged to play cricket;
• several of the teachers are Englishmen.

(b) Mark by the Source message (5) table. An answer that makes no use of Source B cannot be credited.

• Surface features (Level 1): the writer says Sir Syed is friendly with the British; he tells Muslim sons to learn English and English sciences; he explains the Qur’an by “reason and nature”; parents should keep their sons at the madrassahs.
• Valid inferences (Level 2 unsupported, Level 3 when supported from the source): the writer sees Sir Syed as a danger to Islam; Sir Syed is a traitor or collaborator with the British, who had crushed the 1857–58 uprising (“not twenty years ago”); Western education will destroy the faith of the young; Muslims should reject the Aligarh college and stay with traditional religious education.
• Contextual knowledge that can support an inference (top of Level 3): many ulama opposed Sir Syed’s rational interpretation of Islam, and some issued fatwas against him and mocked him as a “naturi” (naturalist); traditional institutions such as the Deoband seminary, founded in the 1860s, offered a religious alternative to Aligarh; Sir Syed’s pro-British stance followed the War of Independence, after which Muslims were widely blamed by the British.

(c) Mark by the Explanation (7) table. Indicative reasons:

• after 1857 the British held Muslims mainly responsible for the uprising, so Muslims had lost political power and were distrusted; Sir Syed thought accepting British learning would rebuild trust;
• Hindus had taken up English education and were filling posts in government service and the professions, while many Muslims had boycotted it and were falling behind economically;
• government jobs required English and modern knowledge, so without them Muslims could not compete;
• he believed science and Islam were not in conflict, so modern learning need not weaken faith — which is why the Aligarh college (founded 1875) taught both;
• he had seen the educational institutions of Britain on his visit in 1869–70 and believed Muslims needed a similar modern education to regain influence.

(d) Mark by the Extended judgement (10) table. Indicative content:

• Agree: the Hindi–Urdu Controversy began in 1867 when Hindus in Benares campaigned to replace Urdu in the Persian script with Hindi in the Devanagari script as the official language; Sir Syed saw Urdu as part of Muslim identity and heritage, and the campaign convinced him that Hindus and Muslims could not work together as one nation; he is reported to have told a British official at the time that the two communities would drift further apart.
• Disagree — other reasons: he believed Western-style democracy would mean permanent rule by the Hindu majority, which is why he urged Muslims not to join the Indian National Congress after 1885; the communities had different religions, customs, histories and social practices; British treatment of Muslims after 1857 left Muslims in a weaker position that needed separate protection; he set up organisations for Muslims only, such as the Muhammadan Educational Conference (1886).
• Judgement: for example, the controversy was the trigger that turned his thinking, but his fear of majority rule in representative institutions explains why the idea hardened into a political theory.

2. (a) One mark for each relevant point, with an additional mark for supporting detail, up to 4:

• founded in Bengal in the early nineteenth century by Haji Shariatullah (1) after he returned from many years in Arabia (1);
• its name comes from fara’id, the obligatory duties of Islam, which it insisted Muslims perform (1);
• it aimed to purify Islam by removing un-Islamic customs and practices that had entered Muslim life in Bengal (1);
• it supported Muslim peasants against the demands of Hindu landlords and European indigo planters (1);
• after Haji Shariatullah’s death it was led by his son Dudu Miyan (1), who organised the peasants more widely and resisted illegal taxes (1).

(b) Mark by the Explanation (7) table. Indicative reasons:

• he translated the Qur’an into Persian, the literary language of educated Muslims, so they could read and understand it for themselves;
• he wrote many works on Islam, including Hujjat Allah al-Baligha, setting out how Islamic teaching applied to society;
• he tried to reduce the sectarian and doctrinal divisions weakening Muslims, arguing for unity based on the Qur’an and Hadith;
• he wrote to Muslim rulers, including Ahmad Shah Abdali, urging them to defend Muslims against the rising Maratha power; Abdali defeated the Marathas at the third battle of Panipat in 1761;
• through his teaching and his sons, notably Shah Abdul Aziz, his ideas influenced later reformers such as Syed Ahmad Barelvi.

(c) Mark by the Extended judgement (14) table. Indicative content:

• Agree: the movement failed in its main aim of ending Sikh rule over the Muslims of the Punjab and the north-west; although Syed Ahmad took Peshawar in 1830, he could not hold it; local Pathan chiefs turned against him, some resenting his religious reforms and the taxes he raised; he and Shah Ismail were killed at the battle of Balakot in 1831, after which the movement lost its leadership and military force.
• Disagree: it showed that Muslims could organise to resist non-Muslim rule and restored a sense of Muslim identity and pride; his early victories, such as at Akora Khattak in 1826, won large numbers of followers; his followers continued the struggle against British rule in the frontier region for decades; his ideas of religious reform and an Islamic state influenced later movements, including the Deobandi and Ahl-i-Hadith movements, and later Muslim political thinking.
• Judgement: for example, it failed militarily in the short term but its religious and political legacy was lasting.

3. (a) One mark for each relevant point, with an additional mark for supporting detail, up to 4:

• an agreement made at Lucknow in December 1916 between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League (1);
• Congress accepted separate electorates for Muslims (1), which it had previously opposed (1);
• Muslims were to have one-third of the elected seats in the central legislature (1) and weightage in provinces where they were a minority (1);
• both parties jointly demanded greater self-government from Britain (1);
• a bill affecting one community would not proceed if three-quarters of that community’s members opposed it (1);
• Jinnah played a leading part in bringing the two parties together (1).

(b) Mark by the Explanation (7) table. Indicative reasons:

• Hindus, especially in Calcutta, protested strongly that the partition divided the Bengali nation and weakened their economic and political position;
• the Swadeshi movement boycotted British goods, hurting British trade;
• the protests included violence and attacks on British officials, which the British could not easily control;
• Congress campaigned against the partition across India, turning it into a national issue;
• the British wanted to end the unrest and restore order; the reversal was announced by King George V at the Delhi Durbar in December 1911, together with the move of the capital from Calcutta to Delhi.

(c) Mark by the Extended judgement (14) table. Indicative content:

• Agree: it failed in its main aim of preserving the Ottoman Caliphate and protecting Turkey — the delegation to London in 1920 was rejected, and Mustafa Kemal abolished the Caliphate in 1924; the Hijrat Movement of 1920 ended in disaster, as thousands of Muslims who migrated to Afghanistan were turned back and returned having lost their property; Gandhi called off the Non-Cooperation Movement after the violence at Chauri Chaura in 1922 without consulting Muslim leaders; Hindu–Muslim unity collapsed, and communal violence grew in the 1920s, for example after the Moplah uprising of 1921.
• Disagree: it was the first mass political movement of Indian Muslims and gave many ordinary Muslims experience of political organisation and protest; it produced leaders such as the Ali brothers, Muhammad Ali Jauhar and Shaukat Ali; it showed Muslims that they could not rely on Congress to support their interests, strengthening the case for separate Muslim politics; it raised Muslim awareness of their identity as part of the wider Islamic world.
• Judgement: for example, it failed in its stated aims but had important unintended effects on Muslim political awareness.

4. (a) One mark for each relevant point, with an additional mark for supporting detail, up to 4:

• passed by the Constituent Assembly in March 1949 (1) and moved by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan (1);
• it stated that sovereignty belongs to Allah alone (1), and that authority would be exercised by the people through their chosen representatives as a sacred trust (1);
• democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice were to be observed as taught by Islam (1);
• Muslims were to be enabled to order their lives in accordance with the teachings of Islam (1);
• minorities were to be free to profess and practise their religions (1);
• it set out the principles for a future constitution and was used as the preamble to later constitutions (1).

(b) Mark by the Explanation (7) table. Indicative reasons:

• the scale was enormous: several millions of Muslims crossed into Pakistan in a few months, mainly into the Punjab and Karachi;
• many arrived after violence and massacres, needing medical care as well as food and shelter;
• the new government had few funds, because Pakistan’s share of the assets of undivided India was delayed and only partly paid at first;
• there was little accommodation; camps such as Walton in Lahore were overcrowded and disease spread;
• the government had to be built at the same time, with few trained officials and offices in Karachi; Jinnah set up the Quaid-e-Azam Relief Fund to raise money for the refugees.

(c) Mark by the Extended judgement (14) table. Indicative content:

• Benefits: rapid economic growth, especially in industry, during the Second Five-Year Plan (1960–65); land reforms in 1959 set ceilings on landholdings; the Green Revolution increased agricultural output; the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 settled the canal water dispute with India and led to the building of the Mangla and Tarbela dams; the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance of 1961 protected women’s rights in marriage; the new capital, Islamabad, was built; the Basic Democracies system gave a local tier of government.
• Problems: wealth became concentrated among a small number of industrial families; East Pakistan felt left behind, which increased tension between the two wings; the Basic Democracies system and the 1962 Constitution gave power to the President and restricted democracy; the 1965 war with India and the Tashkent Declaration of 1966 made Ayub unpopular; rising prices led to mass protests in 1968–69 and he resigned in March 1969, handing power to Yahya Khan.
• Judgement: for example, there were real economic gains, but they were unevenly shared and the political system bred the discontent that ended his rule.

5. (a) One mark for each relevant point, with an additional mark for supporting detail, up to 4:

• signed in July 1972 at Simla (1) by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Indira Gandhi (1) after the 1971 war (1);
• both countries agreed to settle their differences peacefully through bilateral negotiations (1);
• India agreed to return the territory it had captured in West Pakistan (1);
• both sides agreed to respect the Line of Control in Kashmir resulting from the ceasefire of December 1971 (1);
• it prepared the way for the later return of the Pakistani prisoners of war (1).

(b) Mark by the Explanation (7) table. Indicative reasons:

• to give his military government legitimacy after he removed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in July 1977;
• the Pakistan National Alliance had campaigned against Bhutto for an Islamic system (Nizam-e-Mustafa), so Islamisation met a popular demand;
• to win the support of religious parties such as the Jamaat-e-Islami;
• he was personally religious and believed Pakistan, created for Muslims, should be governed by Islamic principles;
• to justify postponing elections and to strengthen his position; measures included the Hudood Ordinances (1979), the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance (1980) and the Federal Shariat Court (1980).

(c) Mark by the Extended judgement (14) table. Indicative content:

• Agree: Afghanistan was the only country to vote against Pakistan’s admission to the United Nations in 1947; it refused to accept the Durand Line and supported the idea of “Pakhtoonistan”; the Pakistan embassy in Kabul was attacked in 1955 after the One Unit Scheme; diplomatic relations were broken off between 1961 and 1963; the Pakhtoonistan issue was revived after Daud Khan took power in 1973; later Afghan governments backed by the Soviet Union were hostile to Pakistan.
• Disagree: both were Muslim countries with close cultural and tribal links; relations were restored in 1963 with the Shah of Iran’s help, and the Afghan Transit Trade Agreement of 1965 gave landlocked Afghanistan trade through Karachi; after the Soviet invasion of 1979 Pakistan hosted around three million Afghan refugees and supported the Afghan resistance; Pakistan helped negotiate the Geneva Accords of 1988 and was one of only three countries to recognise the Taliban government in 1997.
• Judgement: for example, relations with Afghan governments were often poor, but Pakistan’s relationship with the Afghan people was far closer, especially after 1979.

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Levels of response used in these answers

The bands below follow the structure of Cambridge’s published levels-of-response marking for this paper (checked against the May/June 2024 Paper 1 mark scheme of the O Level syllabus, which has the same paper structure). The wording is Marlbridge’s own summary. “Explains” means showing why or how, with accurate supporting knowledge — not just naming or describing a factor.

Source message (5) — Question 1(b)

Level	Marks	What the answer does
3	4–5	A valid inference about the message, supported by detail from the source [4]; a further supported inference, or one supported by both the source and contextual knowledge [5]
2	2–3	A valid inference about the message, not supported [2]; more than one unsupported inference [3]
1	1	Picks out a surface detail from the source without interpreting it
0	0	Nothing creditable

Explanation (7) — Question 1(c) and every Section B part (b)

Level	Marks	What the answer does
3	5–7	One explained reason [5]; two explained reasons or one developed explanation [6]; further explanation or development [7], with accurate supporting knowledge
2	2–4	Identifies or describes relevant reasons, 1 mark each
1	1	A valid general comment without specific knowledge
0	0	Nothing creditable

Extended judgement (10) — Question 1(d)

Level	Marks	What the answer does
5	10	Explains both sides at the top of Level 4 and reaches a supported judgement
4	7–9	Explains both sides: one explanation of each [7]; two on one side and one on the other [8]; further explanation on either side [9]
3	4–6	Explains one side only: one explanation [4]; two, or one developed [5]; further explanation [6]
2	2–3	Identifies or describes relevant factors, 1 mark each
1	1	A valid general comment without specific knowledge
0	0	Nothing creditable

Extended judgement (14) — every Section B part (c)

Level	Marks	What the answer does
5	13–14	Explains both sides at the top of Level 4 and reaches a judgement supported by accurate knowledge [13]; a developed, well-supported judgement [14]
4	10–12	Explains both sides: one explanation of each [10]; two on one side and one on the other [11]; further explanation on either side [12]
3	7–9	Explains one side only: one explanation [7]; two, or one developed [8]; further explanation [9]
2	3–6	Identifies or describes relevant factors, 1 mark each
1	1–2	Valid general comments without specific knowledge, 1 mark each
0	0	Nothing creditable

Mark check. Question 1: 3 + 5 + 7 + 10 = 25. Questions 2–5: 4 + 7 + 14 = 25 each. Paper: 25 + two Section B questions × 25 = 75.

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Where marks are usually lost

• Giving Section A too little time: it is a third of the paper and carries the only source-based marks.
• In 1(a), using own knowledge instead of taking the answer from the source.
• In 1(b), describing what the source says without stating its message, or stating a message with no reference to the source.
• In the 7-mark parts, listing reasons (Level 2) instead of explaining how each one led to the outcome.
• In the 14-mark parts, arguing only one side: without an explained counter-argument an answer cannot go above Level 3, however detailed it is.
• Ending a 14-mark essay without a judgement that actually answers “how far”.
• Confusing the Nehru Report (1928) with Jinnah’s Fourteen Points (1929), or Allama Iqbal’s Allahabad address (1930) with Rahmat Ali’s Now or Never (1933).

Timing

With 90 minutes for 75 marks, allow a little over a minute a mark: roughly 30 minutes for Question 1 and 30 minutes for each Section B question, of which about 16 to 18 minutes should go on the 14-mark essay.