May 2025 Edexcel: AS
Level History 8HI0/2F
Paper 2 – Depth Study,
Option 2F: India,
c.1914–48: The Road to
Independence; South
Africa, 1948–94: From
Apartheid State to
'Rainbow Nation' –
Merged Question Paper
& Mark Scheme
, May 2025 Edexcel: AS Level History 8HI0/2F Paper 2 – Depth Study, Option 2F: India, c.1914–48:
The Road to Independence; South Africa, 1948–94: From Apartheid State to 'Rainbow Nation' –
Merged Question Paper & Mark Scheme
Exam Resource Summary
The May 2025 Edexcel AS Level History 8HI0/2F document merges the official question paper and
mark scheme for Paper 2 – Depth Study, covering Option 2F: India, c.1914–48: The Road to
Independence; South Africa, 1948–94: From Apartheid State to 'Rainbow Nation'. This paper
assesses students' understanding of the political, social, and economic transformations in India
and South Africa during these periods, including India's path to independence and South Africa's
transition from apartheid to a democratic society. The merged format provides students with full
visibility of examiner expectations, mark allocation, and question structure. Each question is
paired with the official mark scheme, supporting targeted revision, self-assessment, and the
development of coherent, analytical historical arguments. An essential resource for thorough
preparation for the 2025 Edexcel AS Level History examination.
Turn over
, SECTION A
Choose EITHER Option 2F.1 (Question 1) OR Option 2F.2 (Question 2), for which
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS AREA
you have been prepared.
Option 2F.1: India, c1914–48: the road to independence
Answer Question 1, parts (a) and (b).
You should start the answer to part (a) on page 4.
You should start the answer to part (b) on page 7.
1 (a) Study Source 1 in the Sources Booklet before you answer this question.
Why is Source 1 valuable to the historian for an enquiry into the problems that
the British government faced in India in the years 1946–47?
Explain your answer using the source, the information given about it and your
own knowledge of the historical context.
(8)
AND
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS AREA
(b) Study Source 2 in the Sources Booklet before you answer this question.
How much weight do you give to the evidence of Source 2 for an enquiry into the
relationship between Subhas Chandra Bose and the Axis Powers during the
Second World War?
Explain your answer using the source, the information given about it and your
own knowledge of the historical context.
(12)
(Total for Question 1 = 20 marks)
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS AREA
2
■■■■
, Choose EITHER Option 2F.1 (Question 1) OR Option 2F.2 (Question 2), for which
you have been prepared.
Option 2F.2: South Africa, 1948–94: from apartheid state to ‘rainbow nation’
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS AREA
Answer Question 2, parts (a) and (b).
You should start the answer to part (a) on page 4.
You should start the answer to part (b) on page 7.
2 (a) Study Source 3 in the Sources Booklet before you answer this question.
Why is Source 3 valuable to the historian for an enquiry into the impact of the
pass laws on black South Africans in the years 1948–56?
Explain your answer using the source, the information given about it and your
own knowledge of the historical context.
(8)
AND
(b) Study Source 4 in the Sources Booklet before you answer this question.
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS AREA
How much weight do you give to the evidence of Source 4 for an enquiry into
how the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) was organised in early 1960?
Explain your answer using the source, the information given about it and your
own knowledge of the historical context.
(12)
(Total for Question 2 = 20 marks)
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS AREA
3
■■■■ Turn over
Level History 8HI0/2F
Paper 2 – Depth Study,
Option 2F: India,
c.1914–48: The Road to
Independence; South
Africa, 1948–94: From
Apartheid State to
'Rainbow Nation' –
Merged Question Paper
& Mark Scheme
, May 2025 Edexcel: AS Level History 8HI0/2F Paper 2 – Depth Study, Option 2F: India, c.1914–48:
The Road to Independence; South Africa, 1948–94: From Apartheid State to 'Rainbow Nation' –
Merged Question Paper & Mark Scheme
Exam Resource Summary
The May 2025 Edexcel AS Level History 8HI0/2F document merges the official question paper and
mark scheme for Paper 2 – Depth Study, covering Option 2F: India, c.1914–48: The Road to
Independence; South Africa, 1948–94: From Apartheid State to 'Rainbow Nation'. This paper
assesses students' understanding of the political, social, and economic transformations in India
and South Africa during these periods, including India's path to independence and South Africa's
transition from apartheid to a democratic society. The merged format provides students with full
visibility of examiner expectations, mark allocation, and question structure. Each question is
paired with the official mark scheme, supporting targeted revision, self-assessment, and the
development of coherent, analytical historical arguments. An essential resource for thorough
preparation for the 2025 Edexcel AS Level History examination.
Turn over
, SECTION A
Choose EITHER Option 2F.1 (Question 1) OR Option 2F.2 (Question 2), for which
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS AREA
you have been prepared.
Option 2F.1: India, c1914–48: the road to independence
Answer Question 1, parts (a) and (b).
You should start the answer to part (a) on page 4.
You should start the answer to part (b) on page 7.
1 (a) Study Source 1 in the Sources Booklet before you answer this question.
Why is Source 1 valuable to the historian for an enquiry into the problems that
the British government faced in India in the years 1946–47?
Explain your answer using the source, the information given about it and your
own knowledge of the historical context.
(8)
AND
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS AREA
(b) Study Source 2 in the Sources Booklet before you answer this question.
How much weight do you give to the evidence of Source 2 for an enquiry into the
relationship between Subhas Chandra Bose and the Axis Powers during the
Second World War?
Explain your answer using the source, the information given about it and your
own knowledge of the historical context.
(12)
(Total for Question 1 = 20 marks)
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS AREA
2
■■■■
, Choose EITHER Option 2F.1 (Question 1) OR Option 2F.2 (Question 2), for which
you have been prepared.
Option 2F.2: South Africa, 1948–94: from apartheid state to ‘rainbow nation’
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS AREA
Answer Question 2, parts (a) and (b).
You should start the answer to part (a) on page 4.
You should start the answer to part (b) on page 7.
2 (a) Study Source 3 in the Sources Booklet before you answer this question.
Why is Source 3 valuable to the historian for an enquiry into the impact of the
pass laws on black South Africans in the years 1948–56?
Explain your answer using the source, the information given about it and your
own knowledge of the historical context.
(8)
AND
(b) Study Source 4 in the Sources Booklet before you answer this question.
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS AREA
How much weight do you give to the evidence of Source 4 for an enquiry into
how the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) was organised in early 1960?
Explain your answer using the source, the information given about it and your
own knowledge of the historical context.
(12)
(Total for Question 2 = 20 marks)
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS AREA
3
■■■■ Turn over
