O Level Pakistan Studies History MCQs with answers
Practise O Level Pakistan Studies History (2059) with 318 exam-style MCQs, each with the answer and a short explanation. Every test is marked the moment you finish and shows your score chapter by chapter, so you know what to revise next. It is free and needs no sign-up.
318 questions · 6 chapters
What each chapter covers 6 chapters
The questions follow the syllabus chapter by chapter. You can test the whole subject or one chapter at a time.
- Cultural and historical background to the Pakistan Movement: Mughal decline and the religious thinkers 47 questionsDecline of the Mughal Empire, The East India Company: arrival and expansion to 1857, Shah Waliullah, Syed Ahmad Barelvi and the Jihad movement, Haji Shariatullah and the Faraizi Movement
- Cultural and historical background to the Pakistan Movement: 1857, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and languages 49 questionsCauses, course and failure of the War of Independence 1857, Consequences of the War of Independence, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: education and the Aligarh Movement, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan: religion, politics and the Two-Nation Theory, Urdu and regional languages
- The emergence of Pakistan: 1905 to 1939 68 questionsThe Partition of Bengal, 1905-1911, The Simla Deputation, the Muslim League and the Minto-Morley Reforms, 1906-1909, The Lucknow Pact to the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms, 1914-1919, The Khilafat Movement, 1919-1924, The Delhi Proposals, Simon Commission, Nehru Report and Jinnah's Fourteen Points, 1927-1929, The Round Table Conferences and the Communal Award, 1930-1932, The Government of India Act 1935 and Congress rule, 1937-1939
- The emergence of Pakistan: 1940 to 1947 49 questionsThe Second World War and the Pakistan Resolution, 1940, The Cripps Mission, the Gandhi-Jinnah talks and the Simla Conference, 1942-1945, The 1945-46 elections, the Cabinet Mission Plan and Direct Action Day, The June 3 Plan, the Radcliffe Award and the Indian Independence Act, 1947, Jinnah, Allama Iqbal and Rahmat Ali
- Nationhood: 1947 to 1971 51 questionsThe initial problems of Pakistan, 1947-1948, The Princely States, Kashmir and the Canal Water Dispute, Governments and constitution-making, 1948-1958, Muhammad Ayub Khan and the 'Decade of Progress', 1958-1969, Yahya Khan and the creation of Bangladesh, 1969-1971
- Nationhood: 1971 to 1999 and Pakistan in world affairs 54 questionsZulfikar Ali Bhutto, 1971-1977, Zia-ul-Haq, 1977-1988, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, 1988-1999, Pakistan as a nuclear power; relations with India and Bangladesh, Relations with Afghanistan, Iran, China, the USSR, the USA, the UK and the UN
Sample O Level Pakistan Studies History MCQs with answers 12 questions
12 questions from the test, one or two from each chapter. Try each one, then open the answer.
1. What was the position of the Mughal emperor after the British took Delhi in 1803?
- A
he was exiled to Rangoon and the dynasty came to an end
- B
he kept his title but lived as a British pensioner
- C
he was made the Company's Governor-General in Calcutta
- D
he was given the Punjab to rule as a British ally
Show answer
Answer: B. The emperor remained a symbol in the Red Fort, paid by the Company. Exile to Rangoon came only after the War of 1857.
2. Why did Sir Syed oppose Congress demands for elections on the Western model?
- A
he believed only the Mughals had any right to rule
- B
the Hindu majority would win most seats
- C
he thought India should have no councils of any kind
- D
he wanted British officials to fill every council seat
Show answer
Answer: B. In simple majority voting Muslims, as a minority, would lose; this idea later fed the demand for separate electorates.
3. What was the official British reason for partitioning Bengal?
- A
Muslims had petitioned for a province of their own
- B
Hindus had asked for a new capital at Dhaka
- C
the Congress had demanded it at its 1904 session
- D
the province was too large to govern well
Show answer
Answer: D. Bengal had about 80 million people; the British said it was too big to administer, though critics saw political motives.
4. Which post did Liaquat Ali Khan hold in the interim government of 1946–47?
- A
Defence Member
- B
Home Member
- C
Finance Member
- D
Foreign Affairs Member
Show answer
Answer: C. His 1947 budget, called the 'poor man's budget', taxed businessmen heavily. Patel held Home and Nehru External Affairs.
5. What role did India play in the events of 1971?
- A
it stayed neutral and mediated through the UN
- B
it supported the Pakistan army against the rebels
- C
it ran refugee camps but took no military part
- D
it backed the Mukti Bahini and invaded in December
Show answer
Answer: D. India also sheltered millions of refugees; its forces entered East Pakistan in December 1971 and the war there ended within about two weeks.
6. Which laws introduced under Zia in 1979 set Islamic punishments for crimes such as theft?
- A
the Hudood Ordinances
- B
the Muslim Family Laws Ordinance
- C
the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance
- D
the Qanun-e-Shahadat Order
Show answer
Answer: A. The Hudood laws were central to Zia's Islamisation. The Family Laws Ordinance was Ayub Khan's, 1961.
7. What was the main result of the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761?
- A
Ahmad Shah Abdali defeated the Marathas
- B
Nadir Shah defeated the Mughal army and sacked Delhi
- C
the Company defeated the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies
- D
the Sikhs defeated the Afghans and took control of Lahore
Show answer
Answer: A. Abdali's victory broke Maratha power in the north for a time, but the Afghans did not stay, leaving a power vacuum the British later filled.
8. Which organisation did Sir Syed help set up in 1888 to counter the Congress claim to speak for all Indians?
- A
the All-India Muslim League
- B
the Muhammadan Educational Conference
- C
the United Indian Patriotic Association
- D
the Central National Muhammadan Association
Show answer
Answer: C. The Patriotic Association lobbied Parliament against Congress demands. The Educational Conference (1886) was educational, and the League came in 1906.
9. What was the main effect of the reversal of the Partition on Muslim attitudes?
- A
Muslims joined the Congress permanently
- B
Muslims dropped the demand for separate electorates
- C
many Muslims began to doubt British promises
- D
Muslims launched the Hijrat to Afghanistan
Show answer
Answer: C. Many felt betrayed. The reversal showed that agitation could change British policy and led the League to move closer to the Congress for a time.
10. Under the Indian Independence Act, what happened to the princely states?
- A
they stayed under British protection after 1947
- B
British paramountcy over them lapsed
- C
they became separate Commonwealth dominions
- D
they were divided by the Radcliffe Award
Show answer
Answer: B. Rulers were expected to accede to India or Pakistan, taking account of geography and population; Radcliffe drew only provincial lines.
11. What was unusual about the results of the 1970 elections?
- A
the PPP won a majority of seats in both wings
- B
the two leading parties each won in only one wing
- C
no party won any seat in East Pakistan
- D
the Muslim League won most seats in both wings
Show answer
Answer: B. The Awami League won almost every East Pakistan seat but none in the West, while the PPP led in the West; this made power-sharing very difficult.
12. Which was an attempt to improve Pakistan-India relations in 1999?
- A
the Tashkent Declaration
- B
the Simla Agreement
- C
the Indus Waters Treaty
- D
the Lahore Declaration
Show answer
Answer: D. Vajpayee travelled to Lahore by bus in February 1999 and he and Sharif agreed to work for peace and reduce nuclear risks.
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The 318 MCQs are our own, written to the syllabus in the style of the exam.
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