History Past Papers Additional Overall (2011-2020) Corr.

Was the India act of 1784 the main reason why the British were able to expand beyond Bengal b/w
1784 and 1850? Give reasons for your answer. [14]

It made the governor general a royal appointment and Lord Cornwallis was the first to take this position.
It replaced the board of control from a trading concern to an administrative body, giving the Queen
direct control over Bengal. It also introduced a police system which was responsible for managing affairs
and maintaining law and order.

Another reason was the introduction of the Permanent Settlement in 1793 by Lord Cornwallis.
According to this, the Zamindars of the Bengal landowners had to pay 10% of the total sum from their
lands to the British. This made Bengal the wealthiest province of India and one of the reasons why
British were able to expand beyond Bengal.

The signing of the Subsidiary Alliance was another immediate reason. The rulers had to give up their
own security and had to hire British soldiers for their protection and also had to accept a British advisor.
This also helped British extend control over Bengal.

Another reason was the introduction of the Doctrine of lapse which stated that if a leader died without a
natural heir, his land would be taken by the British. After the death of the Nawab of Oudh, his land was
taken by the British even though he had a legal heir.

Furthermore, the annexations of Sindh by provoking the Amirs who had signed a peace treaty with the
British and annexation of Punjab by taking advantage of the constitutional crisis going on after the death
of Ranjit Singh, the British were able to expand well over Bengal and extend their rule to an absolute
level.

In my opinion, instead of the Indian Act of 1784, the unlawful annexations by the British were the
immediate reasons why they were able to expand beyond Bengal between 1784-1850.

How successful was Zia’s foreign policy between 1978 and 1988? [14]

According to Zia’s foreign policy, the relations with China were strengthened. There were many
agreements on trade and China setup many projects in Pakistan. Also, the Karakoram Highway was built
which linked both counties, making travelling easy.

The relations with the US were also strengthened. Zia allowed the US to setup a military base near
Peshawar. Also, after the USSR invasion in Afghanistan, many Afghan refugees flee to Pakistan. US
provided 13.2 Billion USD along with military support to help accommodate the refugees and drive out
USSR from Afghanistan. The provided aid was so large that Zia used some of it to solve the economic
problems of Pakistan.

The relations with Bangladesh were too strengthened. Both the countries reached agreements on trade,
tourism and media. There was an exchange of ambassadors between the 2 countries. About 10 years
later, the trade between the 2 counties valued almost 40 million dollars.

However, after the strengthening of relations with US, the relations with USSR became hostile and this
led to the U2 Crisis in which USSR threatened Pakistan that it would take military action. Also, providing
aid to Afghanistan led to bombing and raiding in Pakistan. Weapons and drugs were easily available and
there were many murders. Also, India blamed Pakistan for the Sikh Movement and assassination of

1
History Past Papers Additional Overall (2011-2020) Corr.

Indira Gandhi. In 1987, India was on the verge of war with Pakistan. Zia, to ease the situation went to
watch a Pak-India match in India along with the Indian PM and discussed the issues which helped
prevent war.

In my opinion, Zia’s foreign policy was quite successful in solving the economic problems of Pakistan as
due to the Afghan Miracle a lot of funds were provided which helped resolve many problems of the
state.

How successful was Quaid-e-Azam/ Pakistan in solving the problems of partition during 1947-1948?
Explain your answer. [14]

Quaid e Azam setup the Quaid e Azam relief fund in which he appealed to the people to help
accommodate the refuges as a result of which many donated generously, mostly in cash. He signed up in
the world forums such as the United nations so that Pakistan could solve the Kashmir Problem. He also
called himself the Protector General of Minorities since he gave them equal rights to the Muslims and
wanted to rule on Islamic lines. He secured unity between West and East Pakistan and condemned the
idea of different sects and said all were Pakistanis.

He formed the cabinet and appointed Liaquat Ali khan as the first prime minister. He reorganized the
civil services and formed an assembly to frame a new constitution. He made Karachi the capital of
Pakistan. He also ordered British officers since there was lack of military in Pakistan.

He also established the State bank of Pakistan along with currency of the new state. He setup many
industries. He signed the Canal Water Dispute treaty with India so that Pak won’t be deprived of its
water resources. Also, the division assets took place between Pakistan and India.

However, the problems of Kashmir were not solved and still persists to this day. Also, the other princely
states which Pakistan had the due right of were not given to Pakistan. Furthermore, the division of
assets which took place didn’t give Pakistan all of the funds and it was still short of 60 million dollars.

In my opinion, Jinnah was quite successful in solving the problems of partition since he worked tirelessly
to improve the conditions of the newly developed state and to accommodate the Muslim refugees from
India.