Lesson 1/33 min
Birth of Pakistan & its first rulers
14 August 1947. British rule ends and Pakistan is born. Its two wings lie on either side of India, with different languages and cultures. That distance shaped the next 24 years.
The basics
- The word ‘Pakistan’ was coined by Chaudhry Rahmat Ali, a student at Cambridge University
- Pakistan was born on 14 August 1947; India on 15 August 1947
- The state was founded on the two-nation theory
- The first capital was Karachi
- East Bengal became East Pakistan: 14 October 1955 (One Unit), constitutionally in 1956; exams usually give 1956
The firsts
| Office | Name |
|---|---|
| First Governor-General of Pakistan | Muhammad Ali Jinnah |
| First Prime Minister of Pakistan | Liaquat Ali Khan |
| First President of Pakistan | Iskander Mirza |
| First Chief Minister of East Bengal | Khawaja Nazimuddin |
| First Governor of East Bengal | Sir Frederick Chalmers Bourne |
| First elected Chief Minister | A. K. Fazlul Huq (1954) |
| Last Chief Minister of East Pakistan | Ataur Rahman Khan |
Governors-General, in order
| Name | Years |
|---|---|
| Muhammad Ali Jinnah | 1947–1948 |
| Khawaja Nazimuddin | 1948–1951 |
| Malik Ghulam Muhammad | 1951–1955 |
| Iskander Mirza | 1955–1956 |
Did you know?: Khawaja Nazimuddin held three top offices in turn: Chief Minister of East Bengal, Governor-General of Pakistan, then Prime Minister. He became Prime Minister in 1951 after Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated.
Check yourself
Who coined the word ‘Pakistan’?
At a glance
- 1
Pakistan was born on 14 August 1947; the word ‘Pakistan’ was coined by Chaudhry Rahmat Ali.
- 2
First Governor-General: Muhammad Ali Jinnah; first Prime Minister: Liaquat Ali Khan; first President: Iskander Mirza.
- 3
First Chief Minister of East Bengal: Khawaja Nazimuddin; first elected Chief Minister: A. K. Fazlul Huq.
- 4
East Bengal became East Pakistan under the 1956 constitution (One Unit took effect on 14 October 1955).