History
- The preparation of the revised syllabus of History requires more or less the same
time period as before while preparing. One should lay emphasis put emphasis on the
Socio - Economic Cultrual aspects.
- While preparing, lay emphasis on the socio - economic- cultural aspects of the topics.
- Archaeological perspective must be taken into consideration wherever required.
- The revised syllabus of History is much in common with the many topics of General
Studies. The new topics of History. for example : India's foreign policy, planning
for development, Land reforms, Framing of the Democratic, Constitution etc. are
already the part of General Studies for the main examination.
- Certain topics do not find specific mention in the new syllabus (viz. The Vedic
Age) but they are implicit and are to be studied.
- The change in the nature of the course contents of History has made it more scoring.
So there is no need to abandon it, rather to prepare it better.
- This part, History of the period 750 AD - 1250 AD has become very important. Prepare
this part well and one may expect a full-length question from this part.
- The part First Phase of Independence (1947 - 64) is important and one may expect
one full-length question from this part as well.
- The parts 1, 2 and 4 of section A of the First Paper are important and one full-length
question is expected from these parts.
- In the World History Development of European History since the French Revolution
and Post - 1945 development are more important. There is a need to concentrate on
these two.
- Contemplate on probable questions which might be put from the new topics of the
syllabus and practise answer-writing. Get the help of a guide and get them assessed
and evaluated.
- Put special emphasis on the probable comment-type-question from the new topics added
to the Second Paper (Modern India & World History).
Syllabus For History
Paper - I
1. Sources:
Archaeological sources: Exploration, excavation, epigraphy, numismatics, monuments
Literary sources: Indigenous: Primary and secondary; poetry, scientific literature,
literature, literature in regional languages, religious literature. Foreign accounts:
Greek, Chinese and Arab writers.
2. Pre-history and Proto-history:
Geographical factors; hunting and gathering (paleolithic and mesolithic); Beginning
of agriculture (neolithic and chalcolithic).
3. Indus Valley Civilization:
Origin, date, extent, characteristics, decline, survival and significance, art and
architecture
4. Megalithic Cultures:
Distribution of pastoral and farming cultures outside the Indus, Development of
community life, Settlements, Development of agriculture, Crafts, Pottery, and Iron
industry.
5. Aryans and Vedic Period:
Expansions of Aryans in India.Vedic Period: Religious and philosophic literature;
Transformation from Rig Vedic period to the later Vedic period; Political, social
and economical life; Significance of the Vedic Age; Evolution of Monarchy and Varna
system.
6. Period of Mahajanapadas:
Formation of States (Mahajanapada) Republics and monarchies; Rise of urban centres;
Trade routes; Economic growth; Introduction of coinage; Spread of Jainism and Buddhism;
Rise of Magadha and Nandas. Iranian and Macedonian invasions and their impact
7. Mauryan Empire:
Foundation of the Mauryan Empire, Chandragupta, Kautilya and Arthashastra; Ashoka;
Concept of Dharma; Edicts; Polity, Administration; Economy; Art, architecture and
sculpture; External contacts; Religion; Spread of religion; Literature. Disintegration
of the empire; Sungas and Kanvas.
8. Post - Mauryan Period (Indo-Greeks, Sakas, Kushanas, Western Kshatrapas):
Contact with outside world; growth of urban centres, economy, coinage, development
of religions, Mahayana, social conditions, art, architecture, culture, literature
and science.
9. Early State and Society in Eastern India, Deccan and South India:
Kharavela, The Satavahanas, Tamil States of the Sangam Age; Administration, economy,
land grants, coinage, trade guilds and urban centres; Buddhist centres; Sangam literature
and culture; Art and architecture.
10. Guptas, Vakatakas and Vardhanas:
Polity and administration, Economic conditions, Coinage of the Guptas, Land grants,
Decline of urban centres, Indian feudalism, Caste system, Position of women, Education
and educational institutions; Nalanda, Vikramshila and Vallabhi, Literature, scientific
literature, art and architecture.
11. Regional States during Gupta Era:
The Kadambas, Pallavas, Chalukyas of Badami; Polity and Administration, Trade guilds,
Literature; growth of Vaishnava and Saiva religions. Tamil Bhakti movement, Shankaracharya;
Vedanta; Institutions of temple and temple architecture; Palas, Senas, Rashtrakutas,
Paramaras, Polity and administration; Cultural aspects. Arab conquest of Sind; Alberuni,
The Chalukyas of Kalyana, Cholas, Hoysalas, Pandyas; Polity and Administration;
local Government;
Growth of art and architecture, religious sects, Institution of temple and Mathas,
Agraharas, education and literature, economy and society.
12. Themes in Early Indian Cultural History:
Languages and texts, major stages in the evolution of art and architecture, major
philosophical thinkers and schools, ideas in Science and Mathematics.
13. Early Medieval India, 750-1200:
- Polity: Major political developments in Northern India and the Peninsula, origin
and the rise of Rajputs
- The Cholas: administration, village economy and society
- “Indian Feudalism”
- Agrarian economy and urban settlements
- Trade and commerce
- Society: the status of the Brahman and the new social order
- Condition of women
- Indian science and technology
14. Cultural Traditions in India, 750-1200:
- Philosophy: Skankaracharya and Vedanta, Ramanuja and Vishishtadvaita,
Madhva and Brahma-Mimansa
- Religion: Forms and features of religion, Tamil devotional cult, growth of
Bhakti, Islam and its arrival in India, Sufism
- Literature: Literature in Sanskrit, growth of Tamil literature, literature in
the
newly developing languages, Kalhan’s
Rajtarangini, Alberuni’s India
- Art and Architecture: Temple architecture, sculpture, painting
15. The Thirteenth Century:
- Establishment of the Delhi Sultanate: The Ghurian invasions – factors behind
Ghurian success
- Economic, social and cultural consequences
- Foundation of Delhi Sultanate and early Turkish Sultans
- Consolidation: The rule of Iltutmish and Balban
16. The Fourteenth Century:
- “The Khalji Revolution”
- Alauddin Khalji: Conquests and territorial expansion, agrarian and economic measures
- Muhammad Tughluq: Major projects, agrarian measures, bureaucracy of Muhammad Tughluq
- Firuz Tughluq: Agrarian measures, achievements in civil engineering and public
works, decline of the Sultanate, foreign contacts and Ibn Battuta’s account
17. Society, Culture and Economy in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries:
-- Society: composition of rural society, ruling classes, town dwellers, women,
religious classes, caste and slavery under the Sultanate, Bhakti movement, Sufi
movement
- Culture: Persian literature, literature in the regional languages of North India,
literature in the languages of South India, Sultanate architecture and new structural
forms, painting, evolution of a composite culture
- Economy: Agricultural production, rise of urban economy and non- agricultural
production, trade and commerce
18. The Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Century – Political Developments and Economy:
- Rise of Provincial Dynasties: Bengal, Kashmir (Zainul Abedin), Gujarat, Malwa,
Bahmanids
- The Vijayanagra Empire
– Lodis
- Mughal Empire, First phase: Babur and Humayun
- The Sur Empire: Sher Shah’s administration
- Portuguese Colonial enterprise
- Bhakti and Sufi Movements
19. The Fifteenth and early Sixteenth Century – Society and Culture:
- Regional cultural specificities
- Literary traditions
- Provincial architecture
- Society, culture, literature and the arts in Vijayanagara Empire.
20. Akbar:
- Conquests and consolidation of the Empire
- Establishment of Jagir and Mansab systems
- Rajput policy
- Evolution of religious and social outlook, theory of Sulh-i-kul and religious
policy
- Court patronage of art and technology
21. Mughal Empire in the Seventeenth Century:
- Major administrative policies of Jahangir, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb
- The Empire and the Zamindars
- Religious policies of Jahangir, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb
- Nature of the Mughal State
- Late Seventeenth century crisis and the revolts
- The Ahom Kingdom
- Shivaji and the early Maratha Kingdom.
22. Economy and Society in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries:
- Late Seventeenth century crisis and the revolts
- Population, agricultural production, craft production
- Towns, commerce with Europe through Dutch, English and French companies : a trade
revolution
- Indian mercantile classes, banking, insurance and credit systems
- Condition of peasants, condition of women
- Evolution of the Sikh community and the Khalsa Panth
23. Culture in the Mughal Empire:
- Persian histories and other literature
- Hindi and other religious literature
- Mughal architecture
- Mughal painting
- Provincial architecture and painting
- Classical music
- Science and technology
24. The Eighteenth Century:
- Conquests and consolidation of the Empire
- Factors for the decline of the Mughal Empire
- The regional principalities: Nizam’s Deccan, Bengal, Awadh
- Maratha ascendancy under the Peshwas
- The Maratha fiscal and financial system
- Emergence of Afghan Power, Battle of Panipat:1761
- State of politics, culture and economy on the eve of the British conquest
PAPER - II
1. European Penetration into India:
The Early European Settlements; The Portuguese and the Dutch; The English and
the French East India Companies; Their struggle for supremacy; Carnatic Wars;
Bengal -The conflict between the English and the Nawabs of Bengal; Siraj and the
English; The Battle of Plassey; Significance of Plassey.
2. British Expansion in India:
Bengal – Mir Jafar and Mir Kasim; The Battle of Buxar; Mysore; The Marathas; The
three Anglo-Maratha Wars; The Punjab.
3. Early Structure of the British Raj:
The early administrative structure; From diarchy to direct control; The
Regulating Act (1773); The Pitt’s India Act (1784); The Charter Act (1833); The
voice of free trade and the changing character of British colonial rule; The
English utilitarian and India.
4. Economic Impact of British Colonial Rule:
(a)
Land revenue settlements in British India; The Permanent Settlement; Ryotwari Settlement; Mahalwari
Settlement; Economic impact of the revenue arrangements; Commercialization of
agriculture; Rise of landless agrarian labourers; Impoverishment of the rural
society.
(b)
Dislocation of traditional trade and commerce; De-industrialisation; Decline of traditional crafts;
Drain of wealth; Economic transformation of India; Railroad and communication
network including telegraph and postal services; Famine and poverty in the rural
interior; European business enterprise and its limitations.
5. Social and Cultural Developments:
The state of indigenous education, its dislocation; Orientalist-Anglicist
controversy, The introduction of western education in India; The rise of press,
literature and public opinion; The rise of modern vernacular literature;
Progress of science; Christian missionary activities in India.
6. Social and Religious Reform movements in Bengal and Other Areas:
Ram Mohan Roy, The Brahmo Movement; Devendranath Tagore; Iswarchandra
Vidyasagar; The Young Bengal Movement; Dayanada Saraswati; The social reform
movements in India including Sati, widow remarriage, child marriage etc.; The
contribution of Indian renaissance to the growth of modern India; Islamic
revivalism – the Feraizi and Wahabi Movements.
7. Indian Response to British Rule:
Peasant movements and tribal uprisings in the 18th and 19th centuries including
the Rangpur Dhing (1783), the Kol Rebellion (1832), the Mopla Rebellion in
Malabar (1841-1920), the Santal Hul (1855), Indigo Rebellion (1859-60), Deccan
Uprising (1875) and the Munda Ulgulan (1899-1900); The Great Revolt of 1857 -
Origin, character, causes of failure, the consequences; The shift in the
character of peasant uprisings in the post-1857 period; the peasant movements of
the 1920s and 1930s.
8.
Factors leading to the birth of Indian Nationalism; Politics of Association; The Foundation of the
Indian National Congress; The Safety-valve thesis relating to the birth of the
Congress; Programme and objectives of Early Congress; the social composition of
early Congress leadership; the Moderates and Extremists; The Partition of Bengal
(1905); The Swadeshi Movement in Bengal; the economic and political aspects of
Swadeshi Movement; The beginning of revolutionary extremism in India.
9.
Rise of Gandhi; Character of Gandhian nationalism; Gandhi’s popular appeal; Rowlatt Satyagraha; the
Khilafat Movement; the Non-cooperation Movement; National politics from the end
of the Non-cooperation movement to the beginning of the Civil Disobedience
movement; the two phases of the Civil Disobedience Movement; Simon Commission;
The Nehru Report; the Round Table Conferences; Nationalism and the Peasant
Movements; Nationalism and Working class movements; Women and Indian youth and
students in Indian politics (1885-1947); the election of 1937 and the formation
of ministries; Cripps Mission; the Quit India Movement; the Wavell Plan; The
Cabinet Mission.
10.
Constitutional Developments in the Colonial India between 1858 and 1935
11.
Other strands in the National Movement The Revolutionaries: Bengal, the Punjab, Maharashtra, U.P, the
Madras Presidency, Outside India. The Left; The Left within the Congress:
Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, the Congress Socialist Party; the
Communist Party of India, other left parties.
12.
Politics of Separatism; the Muslim League; the Hindu Mahasabha; Communalism and the politics of
partition;
Transfer of power; Independence.
13.
Consolidation as a Nation; Nehru’s Foreign Policy; India and her neighbours (1947-1964); The
linguistic reorganization of States (1935-1947); Regionalism and regional
inequality; Integration of Princely States; Princes in electoral politics; the
Question of National Language.
14.
Caste and Ethnicity after 1947; Backward castes and tribes in postcolonial electoral politics; Dalit
movements.
15.
Economic development and political change; Land reforms; the politics of planning and rural
reconstruction; Ecology and environmental policy in post – colonial India;
Progress of science.
16. Enlightenment and Modern ideas:
(i) Major ideas of Enlightenment: Kant, Rousseau
(ii) Spread of Enlightenment in the colonies
(iii) Rise of socialist ideas (up to Marx); spread of Marxian Socialism.
17. Origins of Modern Politics:
(i) European States System.
(ii) American Revolution and the Constitution.
(iii) French revolution and aftermath, 1789-1815.
(iv) American Civil War with reference to Abraham Lincoln and the abolition of
slavery.
(v) British Democratic Politics, 1815-1850; Parliamentary Reformers, Free
Traders, Chartists.
18. Industrialization:
(i) English Industrial Revolution: Causes and Impact on Society
(ii) Industrialization in other countries: USA, Germany, Russia, Japan
(iii) Industrialization and Globalization.
19. Nation-State System:
(i) Rise of Nationalism in 19th century
(ii) Nationalism: state-building in Germany and Italy
(iii) Disintegration of Empires in the face of the emergence of nationalities
across the world.
20. Imperialism and Colonialism:
(i) South and South-East Asia
(ii) Latin America and South Africa
(iii) Australia
(iv) Imperialism and free trade: Rise of neo-imperialism.
21. Revolution and Counter-Revolution:
(i) 19th Century European revolutions
(ii) The Russian Revolution of 1917-1921
(iii) Fascist Counter-Revolution, Italy and Germany.
(iv) The Chinese Revolution of 1949
22. World Wars:
(i) 1st and 2nd World Wars as Total Wars: Societal implications
(ii) World War I: Causes and consequences
(iii) World War II: Causes and consequence
23. The World after World War II:
(i) Emergence of two power blocs
(ii) Emergence of Third World and non-alignment
(iii) UNO and the global disputes.
24. Liberation from Colonial Rule:
(i) Latin America-Bolivar
(ii) Arab World-Egypt
(iii) Africa-Apartheid to Democracy
(iv) South-East Asia-Vietnam
25. Decolonization and Underdevelopment:
(i) Factors constraining development: Latin America, Africa
26. Unification of Europe:
(i) Post War Foundations: NATO and European Community
(ii) Consolidation and Expansion of European Community
(iii) European Union.
27. Disintegration of Soviet Union and the Rise of the Unipolar World:
(i) Factors leading to the collapse of Soviet communism and the Soviet Union,
1985-1991
(ii) Political Changes in Eastern Europe 1989-2001.
(iii) End of the cold war and US ascendancy in the World as the lone superpower.
RECOMMENDED BOOK LIST FOR HISTORY
Ancient India:-
1) Early India: From Origin to AD 1300. by
Romila Thapar.
2) Ancient India by D.N. Jha.
3) NCERT:- Ancient India.
4) IGNOU notes.
Medieval India:-
1)Volume I, II by Satish Chandra.
2) Volume III by J.L. Mehta.
3) NCERT :- Medieval India
Modern India:-
1) India's Struggle for Independence by Bipin
Chandra.
2) Modern India by Grover and Grover.
3) India after Independence by Bipin Chandra.
4) NCERT :- Modern India.
World History
1) NCERT: Contemporary World.
2) World History: Jain and Mathur.
3) Mastering Modern World History: Norman Lowe