Pakistan Studies - Movement, Constitution and Geography
Pakistan Studies in this paper covers the freedom movement's timeline, constitutional development, and the physical and administrative geography of Pakistan. The questions are almost always date-and-name based, so a clean chronology is your best asset.
Chronology
- 1857 War of Independence; 1885 Indian National Congress; 1906 All-India Muslim League founded at Dhaka.
- 1909 Minto–Morley Reforms (separate electorates); 1916 Lucknow Pact; 1919 Rowlatt Act and Jallianwala Bagh.
- 1930 Iqbal's Allahabad address ( idea of a separate Muslim state in the north-west); 1933 the name Pakistan proposed by Chaudhry Rahmat Ali in Now or Never.
- 23 March 1940 Lahore Resolution at Minto Park; 1946 Cabinet Mission Plan; 3 June 1947 Partition Plan; 14 August 1947 independence.
Constitution
- 1956: first constitution, parliamentary, Pakistan declared an Islamic Republic; abrogated 1958.
- 1962: presidential system under Ayub Khan.
- 1973: present constitution, parliamentary, framed under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto; Punjab's provincial capital is Lahore.
Geography anchors
- Highest peak K2 (8611 m); longest river Indus; Khyber Pass links Peshawar to Afghanistan; Bolan Pass in Balochistan; Thar Desert in the south-east; Port Qasim near Karachi.
Worked example
"In which year were separate electorates granted to Muslims?" Reasoning: separate electorates came through the Minto–Morley Reforms of 1909, not the Lucknow Pact of 1916 (which was a Congress–League agreement on representation). The date is 1909.
Traps
- Confusing 1940 Lahore Resolution with the 1946 Delhi Legislators' Convention.
- Mixing 1956 and 1973 constitutional features.
- Attributing the name Pakistan to Iqbal instead of Rahmat Ali.