Pak Studies, Islamiyat O Level, IGCSE

[Zaeem Dani]

I am only handling the top 3 bands, lower than that is unacceptable.

For [4], four statements are all that is required. The condition is that all 4 are true and relevant. Like:

What was the Rowlatt Act? [4]
1919 (1 mark), this Act was introduced by Justice Rowlatt (another mark) to overcome revolutionary activities in India/to deal with those the 1919 Act didn't (another mark for development). It included arrest without warrant (another mark), detention without bail (another mark) and replacement powers (another mark). It causes great resentment from the Indian community. (another mark) ....

And so on..

For [7], you need to EXPLAIN three reasons in THREE separate paragraphs. One well-explained reason scores 5, two well-explained ones score 6 and so on.

Like:
Why was the Muslim League founded? [7]

Answers like it was found because of the two nation theory or describing the theory scores zero credit, primely because [7] require you to EXPLAIN reasons.

Here is a SUGGESTED response (do NOT, please, rote-learn it, it is for your guidance)

What to do:
EXPLAIN three reasons
Link back to the question

A prime reason for the establishment of the Muslim League was to counter the Indian National Congress's propaganda. Set up in 1885, this organization claimed to represent all Indians but was then actively working to advocate the rights of the Hindus only. Therefore, the Muslims realized that the Congress was too Hindu an organization for the Muslims to wish to join, and so it was inevitable that some Muslim group should be formed, to, of course, protect and advance their rights.
Besides, the Hindu agitation at the partition of Bengal greatly worried the Muslim Community as this movement had taken a terrorist turn, aiming at its reversal by violent methods. The Muslims feared that the British would succumb to their demands and that it was necessary to establish an organization to represent the Muslim view to the British and to gain better terms for Muslims.
Also, the Muslims were perturbed by the Congress demand that 'India' should be treated as a cultural whole and Hindi should be declared the national language. As they had stuck to the Two Nation theory, they believed that India was divided along religious lines and that it was impossible to put the Congress's demands into practice. Therefore, a number of prominent Muslims founded the League, mainly to protect the identity of Muslim culture and language.

For [14] the most I can say is that, be succinct and avoid rambling answers. Stay focussed and answer the question as set. Like for the question below:


Was the withdrawal of Gandhi’s support the most important reason for the decline of the Khilafat Movement? Explain your answer. [14]

Notice what is asked. It has NOT asked you what was the chauri chaura incident, but how it was a REASON. Moreover, you are expected to produce multiple reasons. The limit doesn't matter but you are restricted to QUALITY and TIME. If you stray away, the examiner might drop a level below. It is one thing to 'describe' Gandhi's role and the Hijrat Movement, but actually another to EXPLAIN why it led to the failure of the Khilafat Movement.

Let me give you some 'explanations' for Gandhi's role:
When he called off his non-cooperation movement,
"This infuriated the Muslims who saw this action as taking the pressure off the British Government and weakening the Movement."


read this:
"there was a need to establish how the stated reason actually helped bring about its failure. For example, almost all candidates wrote at length on the Hijrat, but most stopped at ‘So when the Muslims returned, they had no homes or jobs’. Where a candidate was able to add ‘ This meant they lost faith in the Muslim leaders and instead of continuing to support the Khilafat Movement, instead they devoted their time to trying to improve their difficult lives. So this led to the decline of the movement’, then much higher reward was given. This pattern was repeated when many candidates merely described events such as Chauri Chaura without showing how this contributed to the failure of the Movement. There were not as many strong candidates on this question but those that were, explained each point well."

Also, "The Muslim League opposed this, wanting Muslims to stay and fight for their
cause. The migration was a failure. The Afghan government was hostile to the migrants,
who on their return found their homes and jobs occupied which dispirited the Muslims. "



"By joining with a Hindu-majority grouping the objectives of the Movement
were made less clear. Some perceived that Gandhi and some Hindus and
used it for their own political reasons." -for Gandhi's role-

When he withdrew his support for the Khilafat Movement, the movement weakened because a great majority of Hindus ended their involvement.

thanks bro it really helped me alot but can u plz explain a 14 marks question again with a different example?

 

[Saadarsalan]

Was the attempt to achieve a better understanding with the British the most important contribution that Sir Syed Ahmad Khan made to the Muslim cause during the nineteenth century? Explain your answer. [14]

13/14 by CIE

 

[Saadarsalan]

Another, 'so-claimed' answer to have achieved 14/14


Sir Syed Ahmad Khan wrote Loyal Muhammadans of India in which he pointed out the Main Muslims figures that had helped the British during the war of Independence. Thus he called upon the British to finish their hostility towards the Muslims and have better relations with them as they were not the only one responsible for the war. L3
Secondly, he wrote Tabiyan ul Kalam in which he pointed out similarities between Islam and Christianity. This work was not completed however, this shows his commitment to improving British Muslims relations as he tried to unite them as Christians had many common beliefs as Islam. The Muslims called the British as Nadarath and they considered it an abuse, however, he pointed out that it came from the word Nasir which meant helper. Thus he tried to improve British Muslim Relations by pointing out that Muslims had a good image for the British and they should end their hostilities with them and cooperate with them. L3
However, he had other achievements as well. He opened a school in Ghazipur and Muradabad, therefore he is important as he made educational opportunities available for the Indian Muslims and they could now receive the education. He set up a scientific society at Ghazipure and this translated scientific teachings from English to Urdu, Arabic, and Persian. Thus he is important because he made educations degrees possible for the Indians and they could now receive education at a higher level and get admissions in better institutes. L4
He showed his concern about the Hindi-Urdu Controversy. The Hindus wanted to replace Urdu with Hindi as the national language. However, SSAK opposed this and declared that the 2 nations could not live in harmony as the Hindus would always dominate Muslims. This movement marked the official start of Pak Movement, thus he can be called its father. L4
He set up Muhammadan defense association and in this, the Muslims countered the Congress propaganda and thus he is important because he protected Muslims rights from Hindu domination. L4
I think his greatest achievement is concern about the Hindi Urdu Controversy and the two Nations theory as this was inspirational for the future Muslim leaders who got inspired for the creation of Pakistan and this was the start of Pak Movement which shows its importance as this ultimately lead to the creation of Pakistan. 15

 

[Zaeem Dani]

Was the attempt to achieve a better understanding with the British the most important contribution that Sir Syed Ahmad Khan made to the Muslim cause during the nineteenth century? Explain your answer. [14]

thanks for all the help brother! actually my school pak studies teacher is a lunatic (though I have all the due-respect for her). thanks once again!
are u a teacher or a student?

13/14 by CIE

 

[Zaeem Dani]

Was the attempt to achieve a better understanding with the British the most important contribution that Sir Syed Ahmad Khan made to the Muslim cause during the nineteenth century? Explain your answer. [14]

13/14 by CIE

btw u have used the word "indians" specificallly (many times) and the question clearly says "Muslims" so was that the reason u got like 13/14?

 

[Zaeem Dani]

b

Was the attempt to achieve a better understanding with the British the most important contribution that Sir Syed Ahmad Khan made to the Muslim cause during the nineteenth century? Explain your answer. [14]

13/14 by CIE

bro? u didnt write about that ssak wrote a pamphlet on the causes of the sepoy mutiny or war of independence wasnt this important?

 

[Zaeem Dani]

Another, 'so-claimed' answer to have achieved 14/14


Sir Syed Ahmad Khan wrote Loyal Muhammadans of India in which he pointed out the Main Muslims figures that had helped the British during the war of Independence. Thus he called upon the British to finish their hostility towards the Muslims and have better relations with them as they were not the only one responsible for the war. L3
Secondly, he wrote Tabiyan ul Kalam in which he pointed out similarities between Islam and Christianity. This work was not completed however, this shows his commitment to improving British Muslims relations as he tried to unite them as Christians had many common beliefs as Islam. The Muslims called the British as Nadarath and they considered it an abuse, however, he pointed out that it came from the word Nasir which meant helper. Thus he tried to improve British Muslim Relations by pointing out that Muslims had a good image for the British and they should end their hostilities with them and cooperate with them. L3
However, he had other achievements as well. He opened a school in Ghazipur and Muradabad, therefore he is important as he made educational opportunities available for the Indian Muslims and they could now receive the education. He set up a scientific society at Ghazipure and this translated scientific teachings from English to Urdu, Arabic, and Persian. Thus he is important because he made educations degrees possible for the Indians and they could now receive education at a higher level and get admissions in better institutes. L4
He showed his concern about the Hindi-Urdu Controversy. The Hindus wanted to replace Urdu with Hindi as the national language. However, SSAK opposed this and declared that the 2 nations could not live in harmony as the Hindus would always dominate Muslims. This movement marked the official start of Pak Movement, thus he can be called its father. L4
He set up Muhammadan defense association and in this, the Muslims countered the Congress propaganda and thus he is important because he protected Muslims rights from Hindu domination. L4
I think his greatest achievement is concern about the Hindi Urdu Controversy and the two Nations theory as this was inspirational for the future Muslim leaders who got inspired for the creation of Pakistan and this was the start of Pak Movement which shows its importance as this ultimately lead to the creation of Pakistan. 15

My answer:
Sir syed ahmed khan(SSAK) was a great Muslim scholar and helped the Muslims when they were suffering from various difficulties. Among his services the attempt to achieve better understanding with the british contributed alot. He removed the misunderstandings between the muslims and the British. he did educational services by establishing schools and colleges. he also created political awareness among the Muslims of India and introduced the two-nation theory.

He started Aligarh movement because after the war of independence the social and economic conditions of the muslims were miserable. He felt that the muslims could not afford any type of enmity with the British as they were the rulers. He wrote a pamphlet on the causes of Indian revolt (1860) and in-which he explained the main causes due to which the revolt started. The reasons he mentioned were: Indians were not given representation in the government, conversion of the muslims to other nations and mismanagement in the army. He also mentioned that in the war Hindus and the other nations were also involved so the muslims should only not be punished for the war. The muslims hated the british reaction towards them only and used some degrading words for the british, the word "nadarth" also used which was Hated by the british and taken as an abuse. He gave explanation of the word nadarth that it camde from arabic word "nasir" meaning benefactor or helper. The muslims had a fear the british would replace islam with christianity. muslims are closer to the christians than any other community so, he made it a point and wrote Tabyin-ul-kalaam to explain Bible and pointed out the similarities between the islam and christianity. he tried his best to convince the british that all the muslims were not against the British govt in the war(some helped them) and he gave various examples as well. He wrote Loyal muhammedans of india in which he gave details of trhe loyal services of the muslims, which they did for british rulers. all these services helped to clear misunderstandings between the british and therefore muslims achieved a better understanding with the british.

However, his educational services are also beneficial and aimed to qualitatively educate more and more muslims. He took practical steps to educate the muslims. in 1859 he opened a school at Muradabaad. In 1863 he opened another school and founded a scientist society at Ghazipur. the scientific society translated the modern science works from English, persian and arabic into urdu, it also issued "Aligarh institute gazette" in 1866 in english and urdu. its main purpose was to realize the british that muslims also wanted to acquire the modern education. during ssak's visit to britain in 1869 he was greatly impressed by the british educational system in england. in 1857 he established mao school at aligarh which was upgraded to a status of a college in 1876 as a part of Uni of calcutta and which was supported by the govt and inaugrated by viceroy Lord litton. the college offered westrean eastren and islamic education. it was upgraded to the level of university in 1921 aftyer his death. many prominent muslims got educatuion from there like liaqat ali and m ayub khan.

ssak's political services are also important. he was a great thinker and politician. he had a complete vision of the political condition in India. Hindus wanted democracy like in england but he opposed this because in democracy majority rules and the muslims were in minority. allah ocatavan hume formed congress in 1885; at that time ssak didnt support its formation and urged the muslims not to join it. he also opposed th hindu demand of the competetitve exams should be held for government services; he also rejected it because the muslims were far behind than the hindus in education. he formed the Muhammedan defense association in 1893, which was earlier known as United patriotic alliance for the protection of the rightsd of the muslims. he firmly believed in the hindu-muslim unity and always tried his best to bring them closer but due to Hindus attitude against the Muslims and Hindi-Urdu controversy in 1867 (in-which the Hindus demanded that the urdu should be replaced with the hindi as the next official language), he changed his views. in 1868 he gave the two nation theory declaring that the hindu and muslims were two separate nations having different religion, culture, social values and a different way of life. In 1878 he became the member of imperial legaslative council. He also supported the rights of separate electorates for the muslims.

So, I conclude that ssak did a remarkable job for the indian muslims and among his services the emoval of misunderstandings with the british also played an important role because without forming good relations with the british, the muslims could not develope educationally, socially or politically.

marks???????????????? go kind on punctuation and spelling mistakes!

 

[TehrikeInsaf]

We can't give any marks as we ppl are just students.. But i can gurranttee Level 4 for the answers of both of u.. Means 9-14 marks

 

[Saadarsalan]

My answer:
Sir syed ahmed khan(SSAK) was a great Muslim scholar and helped the Muslims when they were suffering from various difficulties. Among his services the attempt to achieve better understanding with the british contributed alot. He removed the misunderstandings between the muslims and the British. he did educational services by establishing schools and colleges. he also created political awareness among the Muslims of India and introduced the two-nation theory.
--------------------------
marks???????????????? go kind on punctuation and spelling mistakes!

To clarify, I am a student, and those 'marked' answers were taken from ecr and the cie site. So, one can't really complain about those... Here's what the examiner wrote on this:
"The candidate began their accurate and well-argued response by describing the ways in which Sir Syed Ahmad Khan attempted to achieve a better understanding with the British. This part of the response was able to achieve the maximum mark within Level 3. The candidate then went on to discuss further contributions made to the Muslim cause by Sir Syed, which were well explained and evaluated. Overall the resulting mark achieved was the maximum within Level 4. This was an excellent answer, demonstrating authoritative knowledge and a clear understanding of the question. "

And furthermore, just a sincere advise, you are NOT expected to list EVERY POSSIBLE contribution of Sir Syed. Thus, an answer which 'explains' several reasons is above than one which just, mercilessly, describes them. The answer is level 4, but TOO LONG to be managed in mere 12-14 mins. I see that you have proceeded in levels, which is just wastage of time. Like in the 1860 pamphlet you wrote, you first stated, then described and then evaluated, which becomes TOO verbose imo. But you are free to go as you want; after all, I am a student and not a mentor

 

[Saadarsalan]

800+ words in 12-14 minutes is unmanageable imo

 

[Saadarsalan]

Let's test our 'evaluative' skills since most of the candidates tend to get 4/4 and 7/7. The real challenge is in the [14], where an explanation is required, and a succinct yet accurate answer is demanded.

(c) How far was Indian resistance to British expansion in the subcontinent successful before 1850? [14]

Zaeem, tehreek and all others are free to contribute their answers. Preferred as an outline, since complete answers will be too much and time-consuming to ask. I will also add to this question after you guys.

 

[Saadarsalan]

I'd add some of the Indian successes:

-> The Marathas gave the British a decisive defeat between 1775-82. Mahadji was perhaps too powerful to be crushed and the British signed the humiliating Treaty of Salbai. Not only they were unable to carry out their expansion but also had to give most of the lands taken from the Marathas. So this was an example of an early Indian success to resist British attempts to expand into the sub-continent.
-> Besides, Hyder Ali and his son, Tipu Sultan of Mysore were quite successful in resisting the British. Together with the Nizam of Hyderabad, Hyder Ali defeated the British in the First Anglo-Mysore War b/w 1767-69 and almost captured Madras. The Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-84) erupted as a result of disagreements between the two parties and in this battle too, British suffered heavy losses. Tipu with the French military, as well as his strategic skills, succeeded in forcing the British to sign the Treaty of Mangalore, which became an important document in the history of India because it was the last occasion when an Indian power dictated terms to the Company. He held off British attempts to overthrow him towards the end of the eighteenth century, matching British weapons with rockets, cannons, and muskets.
-> Moreover, the local nawabs of Carnatic, Hyderabad and other regions discouraged Britain from following its policy of expansion for some time, due to her initial failures. They were too powerful to be countered directly and had instead to be won over diplomatically by the British.
-> In Bengal, Titu Mir was opposed to the British colonial system. Proclaiming himself King, he raised an army of 15 000 against the British. He built a bamboo fort at Narkelbaria in October 1831 and defeated the British forces sent to destroy it.
-> The last Indian success was that of Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler of Punjab. The British were unwilling/unable to annex Punjab in his lifetime as he was seen too powerful to take on militarily. He halted British expansion through treaties and agreements with them, such as the Treaty of Perpetual friendship in 1809.

 

[TehrikeInsaf]

Oh! I did not see that before.. The answers u gave are from the revision guides.

 

[Saadarsalan]

Oh! I did not see that before.. The answers u gave are from the revision guides.

What revision guides?

 

[Saadarsalan]

Zaeem, I can, in the same way, explain the Khutabat-i-Ahmadiya, the Madrasatul Ulum Mussalmanan-i-Hind , write about asbab-i-baghawat-i-hind, the muhammedan defense association alone in 3 pages, but remember that we are at o level, and NOT doing a css exam. So, even if a thing is important, you are NOT expected to write EVERYTHING you know, this isn't matriculation.

 

[Saadarsalan]

14/14 and 10/10 are notoriously hard to get, most get stuck at 6/14 - they fail to 'explain' - and those who do, do not elaborate their answer much to be considered as a sound explanation. I'll attach another example too:
(d)Was the work of the Christian missionaries the most important reason why the Indians opposed British attempts to westernise them between 1750 and 1850? Explain your answer. [10]

 

[Saadarsalan]

Examiner Comments:
(1d) The candidate wrote an articulate response to the question. A top Level 4 answer was achieved as the candidate was able to explain the effects of the work of the Christian missionaries as well as identify why other factors caused opposition. The candidate understood that the candidate was able to recognise the question required reasons for opposition to ‘westernisation’ rather than any other general opposition to the British. The end date was 1850 and it was pleasing that the candidate didn’t go beyond this date, since such work would have been irrelevant to the question.

Mark awarded = 9 out of 10

 

[Saadarsalan]

Notice that the answer is NOT rambling or long, but instead to the point.

 

[Saadarsalan]

MY bad, the last portion of the answer is cut, here's the remaining part:
British replaced persian with english as the official language. THis was another cause of resentment as Indians became uneducated and so, jobless.

 

[Zaeem Dani]

I'd add some of the Indian successes:

-> The Marathas gave the British a decisive defeat between 1775-82. Mahadji was perhaps too powerful to be crushed and the British signed the humiliating Treaty of Salbai. Not only they were unable to carry out their expansion but also had to give most of the lands taken from the Marathas. So this was an example of an early Indian success to resist British attempts to expand into the sub-continent.
-> Besides, Hyder Ali and his son, Tipu Sultan of Mysore were quite successful in resisting the British. Together with the Nizam of Hyderabad, Hyder Ali defeated the British in the First Anglo-Mysore War b/w 1767-69 and almost captured Madras. The Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-84) erupted as a result of disagreements between the two parties and in this battle too, British suffered heavy losses. Tipu with the French military, as well as his strategic skills, succeeded in forcing the British to sign the Treaty of Mangalore, which became an important document in the history of India because it was the last occasion when an Indian power dictated terms to the Company. He held off British attempts to overthrow him towards the end of the eighteenth century, matching British weapons with rockets, cannons, and muskets.
-> Moreover, the local nawabs of Carnatic, Hyderabad and other regions discouraged Britain from following its policy of expansion for some time, due to her initial failures. They were too powerful to be countered directly and had instead to be won over diplomatically by the British.
-> In Bengal, Titu Mir was opposed to the British colonial system. Proclaiming himself King, he raised an army of 15 000 against the British. He built a bamboo fort at Narkelbaria in October 1831 and defeated the British forces sent to destroy it.
-> The last Indian success was that of Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler of Punjab. The British were unwilling/unable to annex Punjab in his lifetime as he was seen too powerful to take on militarily. He halted British expansion through treaties and agreements with them, such as the Treaty of Perpetual friendship in 1809.

i palnned and though for about 10 mins and then i am writing this I can write on battle of plassey, its outcomes battle of buxar its outcomes then mysore wars annexation of dehli.....punjab....nwfp..... defeat of marathas.....and doctrine of lapse... these are all I can remember!