1a) What reasons are suggested for the British victory at the battle of Plassey in

1757?[4]
Ans) The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company
over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757, under the
leadership of Robert Clive which was possible due to the defection of Mir Jafar Ali
Khan, who was Siraj-ud-Daulah's commander in chief. British also started the
fortification of Calcutta which was opposed by the Nawab. The reason for the
Battle of Plassey was that the servants of the company were indulged in abuse of
dastaks in inland trade and not paying duty.
b) Why were the British able to control of India by 1850?[7]
Ans) Military Superiority: The British were successful in gaining control over India
because of their military superiority. They fought a series of bloody wars and
defeated several strong local rulers like Siraj-ud-Daulah in the battle of Plassey,
Tipu Sultan in the battle of Maysure, the Marathas and the Sikhs. They had the
latest warfare tools, efficient communication for quick deployment of troops and
sound financial resources for fighting costly wars in the far-flung areas.
Dealing Skills: The British were very skilled diplomatic experts. They gained the
support of several local rulers. They were curious about purchasing the loyalties
of influential Indians. They signed “subsidiary alliances” with local rulers under
which the rulers were granted protection by the British troops. In return, they
paid the salaries of the soldiers and provided residence to a British advisor. These
were lucrative deals and control on the affairs.
Indian Disunity: Indians were not united as a single nation. They were divided
along religious, linguistic and ethnic lines. Local rulers were interested only in
their own territories. Some princely states even supplied troops to the British
when they were fighting against their countrymen. It was very easy for the strong
British army to conquer them one after the other. Majority of the well-off Indians
stayed away from the wars. They were making profits by trading with the English
merchants. They were also happy with the infrastructure the British were
developing including schools, hospitals, roads, railway networks and irrigation
systems.
The doctrine of Lapse: The doctrine of lapse, introduced in 1852, was a land-
grabbing law. If the ruler of a princely state would pass away without having a
direct heir, his kingdom would become the property of the British. Several states
were seized under this law.
c) Was the work of the Christian missionaries the most important reason why
the Indians opposed British attempts to westernize them between 1750 and
1850? Explain your answer?[14]
Many Indians feared that Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism were under threat from
British rule. During the rule, Christian missionaries came to India to convert the
local population as well as set up schools. In these schools, the missionaries came
to India and taught Christianity and expected locals who worked for them to give
up their religion and follow Christian teachings. In promoting the Christian religion
western missionaries caused offense by criticizing Hindu, Muslim, and other forms
of worship. This was resented by Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs alike. 
The banning of female infanticide and suttee, whilst seen by the British as
inappropriate, did go against many traditional feelings of Hindus especially. British
banned some practices which they thought were brutal and unfair such as suttee.
It was a Hindu custom for a widow burning herself, at the funeral of her dead
husband. Although never widely practiced, suttee was the ideal of certain
Brahman and royal castes. 
The British soldiers also mocked the names Ram and Muhammad, and it is said
that there was a huge number of Indians in the British Army, however their pay
checks and their ranks were always lower than the Indians since the British were
thought by themselves to have a superior culture, many officials would mock
soldiers with common Indian names. Along with that, Hindus that were sent to go
fight against rebels in Afghanistan had started rebelling because in Hindu culture
they would never want to leave their motherland India while Muslims that were
sent were rebelling for the reason that they had to fight their muslim brothers. 
Moreover, the British also introduced the Widow Remarriage Act which provided
legal safeguards against the loss of certain forms of inheritance for a remarrying
Hindu widow. However, cruel it may have seemed to the British but these
religious practices were held in high regard by the Hindus. So the Hindus despised
that their religious practices were being restricted during the British rule. 
Indians were also forced to abandon purdah which had been their custom for
centuries; especially it was the social custom of all Muslim women. According to
some families, it was part of their religion. The abolishment of purdah caused
resentment among Indians as it was a part of their culture and of great
significance for Muslims. So, banning Suttee and Purdah was a blow to the
Indian's cultural values as they had great significance for them. As a result, they
were infuriated at the attack on their values and rebelled. 
The British also introduced educational reforms which made teaching only done
in English and caused uproar as many people didn’t want to learn English. The
subjects were mostly science and caused risings when they realised no religious
studies were present, yet missionaries would publicise Christianity and attempt to
revert the Indians.They also built railway tracks and roads for easier
transportation of their transports which the Indians thought as westernising. 
Therefore, it can be said that the work of Christian missionaries was the
important reason to opposed British attempts to westernize them between 1750
and 1850. As the policies were totally against Indians .i.e. Impose high taxes,
make English as official language, and introducing activities which threaten the
religions of Indian (Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism). Therefore, these all work
triggered Indian to stand out and oppose the attempts of the British to bring
western culture to India. 

2a) What was the khilafat movement conference? [4]

The Khilafat movement (1919-1924) was an agitation by Indian Muslims allied

with Indian nationalism in the years following World War I. Its purpose was to
pressure the British government to preserve the authority of the Ottoman Sultan
as Caliph of Islam following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the
war. 
b) Why Jinnah produce his 14 points in 1929[7]
Ans) Jinnah produced his fourteen points in response to the Nehru Report in
1929. Jinnah wanted separate Muslim electorates in the Indian Govt. So that
Muslims could have a representation of 1/3 in every decision made by the
government of India. Nehru Report said that there should be joint electorates
which were automatically declared as against the Muslims of India and they
opposed it. That is why Jinnah produced his fourteen points.
Urdu was the official language of Muslims in India from a very long time and they
recognized it a language for the Muslims after Arabic. The Nehru Report said that
Hindi should be made the official language of India which was rejected by all the
Muslims as it was against their choices and instead, they wanted Urdu in place of
Hindi. This was why Jinnah produced his fourteen points to establish Urdu as the
official language. Jinnah wanted full provincial autonomy for the Muslims while
the Nehru Report said that the powers will be with the Central Government. This
meant that Hindus were in majority and they would win the elections being the
Central Government. This will result in Muslims being suppressed and
permanently in the minority. To restrict Nehru from doing so, Jinnah produced his
14 points.
c) How successful were three round table conference of 1930-32? Explain your
answer.[14]
Ans) Failure of Simon Commission: Simon Commission arrived in India in 1927 for
discussing further constitutional reforms with Indian political leaders. The
commission was openly rejected as there was no Indian member in it and it could
not address the Indian concerns. The Indians thought it as part of delaying tactics
towards self-rule. When Simon published his report in 1930, he suggested that a
Round Table Conference should be organized in London to discuss the
constitutional reforms with Indian political leaders.
Failure of Nehru Committee: Nehru Committee was set up by the All-Parties
Conference in 1928 to formulate constitutional proposals that would be
acceptable to all political stakeholders. But the committee completely ignored the
Muslim views. The two big parties could not develop a consensus on
constitutional reforms that could jointly be forwarded to the British for
implementation in India. For the two parties to resolve their differences and reach
a compromise, the British arranged a series of three Round Table Conferences in
London.
The threat of violence: Mr Gandhi launched another non-cooperation movement
in 1930 which created the danger of widespread violence and disorder. This
situation was disturbing for the British. They wanted to pacify the Indians by
introducing new reforms in India. To make some progress in the direction of
constitutional reforms, the British invited Indian political leaders and the princes
in London to negotiate their issues in a Round Table Conference. The first
conference failed due to Congress boycott and therefore a second one was
scheduled. Since consensus could not be developed on constitutional reforms in
the second conference also, therefore the third one was organized which also
ended in a fiasco.
3a) What has been the importance of the Siachen glacier to both India and
Pakistan?[4]
The Siachen glacier demarcates central Asia from the Indian subcontinent and
separates Pakistan from China in the region. The Saltoro Ridge of the Siachen
glacier serves as a divide that prevents direct linking of PAK with China, stopping
them to develop geographical military linkages in the area. However, when in
1977, Indian Colonel Kumar climbed the Glacier and soon Pakistanis found out
and thus decided to plant their soldiers. Thus, frequent fighting has been occurred
throughout the time and has caused major deaths. It is estimated that about 3000
to 5000 soldiers have lost their lives and to resolve this issue, there have been
meetings since 1989. 
b) Explain why General Musharraf was able to gain power in 1999?[7]
During India Pakistan Kargil War, Bill Clinton pressurised Prime Minister of
Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, to remove armed forces from that area and end the war.
PM, under American pressure, had no choice but to order the removal of armed
forced from the area which led to severe military castualines and loss of territory.
This led the army - government conflict and it is said that PM Nawaz Sharif made
several efforts to clear these conflicts, but Musharraf had different plans. These
were the same plans that ex- martial law executors in Pakistan had and the
elected democratic government obviously feared it.

In Oct 1999, Parvez Musharraf, Chief of Army Staff, was not on good terms with
the PM. Although, according to the Constitution of Pakistan, Chief of army staff is
selected by the PM and is answerable and takes orders from the elected PM of
Pakistan, this has hardly been the case in Pakistan till then.

Parvez Musharraf was sent to Sri Lanka for an official visit. Before going he
warned Nawaz Sharif that if he tried to overthrow him, there will be
consequences. Before going, Musharraf had even decided with his generals for
the coup, just in case.

While Parvez Musharraf, was on his trip to Sri Lanka, Nawaz Sharif dismissed him
from his post and appointed a new Army Chief, Lieutenant General Zia ud Din.
The orders were signed by the Prime minister and the President and Musharraf’s
plane was not allowed to land in Pakistan but was asked to be diverted to India.
The Generals of that time sent army to the PM house and the Parliament to
overthrow the elected government and take control. That was 12th October and
that is how Musharraf became the Chief Executive of the Pakistan till 2008.

c) How successful were Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s domestic policies between 1971and
1977? Explain your answer.[14]
Ans) Successes: A new constitution drawn up in 1973 established a Senate which
offered the opportunity for professionals, academics and specialists to work
together. It also safeguarded the interests of minority provinces which now had
equal status in the Senate. He produced the 1973 Constitution in an attempt to
return to a form of parliamentary democracy and it was important since it is the
basis upon which Pakistan has been governed to the end of the 20th century,
apart from when it was suspended due to martial law.
He also tried to improve infant mortality and age expectancy rates by introducing
Rural Health Centres and Basic Health Units. Pharmaceutical companies were
banned from charging for a particular medical brand name and so medicines
became cheaper. Amongst Bhutto’s education reforms, free primary education
was introduced. New schools were to be built and all private sector schools were
nationalised. The aim was to increase the literacy rate and raise academic
standards.
Failures One of the main weaknesses of the new constitution was that the focal
point of political power lay with the party leadership and Bhutto in particular.
When things went wrong, Bhutto was blamed. Banning pharmaceutical
companies from charging for a medical brand and making medicines cheaper did
see the profits of chemists fall drastically and as a result, many international drug
companies closed down their operations in Pakistan.
The changes in education led to overcrowding in existing schools while new ones
were built. The reforms were not very successful since the building of new schools
and the recruitment of new teachers could not be achieved quickly and were also
very expensive. Many families resented the reforms since it meant a loss of
earnings for them.