Pakistan (West & East)

Modern state Level 2 ★ Major power

1947 – 1971

Dominion from 1947 and Islamic Republic from 1956, with East Pakistan until 1971.

🗺 See on map in 1959

Capital: Karachi, later Islamabad
Region: Northwest
Duration: 24 years
Main period: Dominion of India

Approximate extent.

Rulers

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Governor-General
Quaid-e-Azam, founder of Pakistan.
1947 – 1948
Liaquat Ali Khan Prime Minister
1947 – 1951
Ayub Khan President
1958 – 1969
Yahya Khan President
1969 – 1971

Selected rulers; gaps in the list are not gaps in the dynasty.

Key events

Year	Event	Place
1947	Pakistan comes into being 14 August 1947.	Karachi
1952	Bengali Language Movement	Dhaka
1956	Pakistan becomes an Islamic Republic	Karachi
1958	Ayub Khan's coup	Karachi

📚 Recommended reading on the Pakistan (West & East)

Popular history

The Great Partition

Yasmin Khan · Yale University Press

A humane, clear-eyed history of the Partition of 1947.

General reading

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Reference

A History of Bangladesh

Willem van Schendel · Cambridge University Press

The land, people and politics of Bangladesh, from ancient Bengal to today.

General reading

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Textbook

Our Pasts I, II & III (Classes 6–8)

NCERT · NCERT

The simplest possible start: short, illustrated and the base of countless exam questions.

NCERT basics UPSC Prelims SSC State PSC

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Textbook

Themes in Indian History, Parts I–III (Class 12)

NCERT · NCERT

Source-based chapters on Harappa, Vijayanagara, the Mughal court and 1857 — essential for UPSC.

NCERT basics UPSC Prelims UPSC Mains SSC State PSC

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Contemporaries

Powers that coexisted with the Pakistan (West & East) for a significant part of its history.

Sultanate of the Maldives ★

Islands · c. 1153 – 1968

Portuguese Estado da Índia ★

Coastal · 1505 – 1961

Kingdom of Nepal ★

Himalaya · 1816 – 2008

Kingdom of Bhutan ★

Himalaya · 1907 – present

Dominion of Ceylon ★

Sri Lanka · 1948 – 1972

Republic of India ★

Pan-Indian · 1950 – present

Portuguese Diu

Coastal · 1535 – 1961

Portuguese Daman

Coastal · 1559 – 1961

French India

Coastal · 1668 – 1954

Pondichéry

Coastal · 1674 – 1954

Coastal · 1721 – 1954

Coastal · 1731 – 1954

Coastal · 1739 – 1954

Kingdom of Afghanistan

Northwest · 1926 – 1973