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a rt I C L e S F ro M e X p e rt S

csat Manual

a rti c l e f or r e a d i n g
i n d i a n H i s t o ry a n d indian national MoveMent
by: dr vipul singH*
Disclaimer
The aim of this content is to supply additional reading/practice material taken from sources believed to be valid and reliable. This is not an attempt to render any type of professional advice or analysis, nor is it to be treated as such. While much care has been taken to ensure the veracity and currency of the information presented within, neither the publisher, nor its authors bear any responsibility for any damage arising from inadvertent omissions, negligence or inaccuracies (typographical or factual) that may have found their way into this material. The compilation provided hereby is unedited and not reviewed, and neither the publisher nor the author owes any responsibility of technical, factual, typographical, grammatical or spelling errors in this material. This material does not stand as a straight-fit to the CSAT syllabus but the author believes that readers will find good use of this material during their preparation for the CSAT and other important examinations.

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Strategy for Scoring High in Indian History and Indian National Movement Section
The Indian History and Indian National Movement section is perhaps one of the largest in terms of number of questions asked in the Civil Services Preliminary Examination. There are almost 25 to 30 questions asked from this section every year out of a total of 150 questions of General Studies. Normally a candidate scoring 100+ in General Studies is expected to succeed in the Preliminary examination depending on the same level of scoring in his or her optional paper. It means that if one prepares well for Indian History and Indian national movement section he could score much higher since there are prescribed syllabus in Indian history unlike other sections which are not so well-defined. The candidate could be sure of scoring 100% in the section if he or she prepares it well and intensively. To succeed and score high in any competitive examination, more particularly in the Civil Services Preliminary examination, wherein about 2.5 lakh candidates appear, a well-planned strategy is necessary. Numerous and frequent reading of the old NCERT textbooks on Ancient, Medieval and Modern India would make your success in the civil services exam almost certain. However, I must caution you that additional source material listed at the end as bibliography should not be avoided. The students while reading additional material must draw up list of important information related to broad sub-topics. This could be done by putting tables under major topics/ chapters in a notebook which are basically accumulated historical facts. However, it is advised that the students rely more on reading details from the books and should avoid relying heavily on cramming facts. The trend of the questions over the last few years shows that many a times very obscure historical details are being put as questions. Many a times a holistic understanding of a topic is expected from the students to solve multiple-choice questions. The detailed reading of the book time and again would enable you to develop an objective overview of the historical developments and concepts. This, in turn, would help you in solving assertion-reasoning type questions very easily and correctly. In other words, as an integral element of strategy, the candidate should stock himself or herself with as much examination oriented information as possible by a careful reading of as many standard textbooks as possible and preparing notes on various broad topics. To ensure that the candidate has assimilated the collected information and has developed a clear understanding of Indian history and Indian National Movement, and is perhaps capable

of using it, he should practice as many objective-type tests on Indian history as possible. Sometimes map questions are also asked and it is expected from the candidate that he or she has a clear understanding of the broad political developments in Indian history. It is advised that the candidate must prepare and practice maps given in the NCERT textbooks. On numerous occasions, questions are asked about dates and to arrange events in correct chronological sequence. But memorizing of all dates is not humanly possible. Therefore, dates of significant events only should be memorized. During the examination or practice sessions always remember that if you do not manage to answer a question directly, try eliminate process, whereby your chances of ticking the right answers improves from 25% to 50%. The following are the essential and must read books which candidate need to consult while preparing for Indian History and Indian National Movement section. I have provided with a detailed bibliography as well for those who want to enhance their understanding on various topics.

Essential Readings
1. Basham, A. L. 1990. The Wonder that was India. New Delhi: Rupa & Co. 2. Chandra, Bipan et al. 1988. Indias Struggle for Independence 18571947. New Delhi: Penguin Books. 3. Chandra, Bipan. Modern India. New Delhi: NCERT (Old). 4. Chandra, Satish. 1990. Medieval India. New Delhi: NCERT (Old). 5. Chandra, Satish. 1997 and 1999. Medieval India: From Sultanate to the Mughals (Part I and II). New Delhi: Har-Anand. 6. Grover, B. L. and Grover, S. 1990. A New Look at Modern Indian History. New Delhi: S. Chand and Company. 7. Jha, D. N. and Shrimali, K. M. 1996. Praacheen Bhaarat Kaa Itihas. Delhi: University of Delhi. 8. Jha, D. N. 1998. Ancient India: In Historical Outline. Delhi: Manohar. 9. Majumdar, Raychaudhuri and Dutta. 2008 (Revised). An Advanced History of India. New Delhi: Macmillan. 10. Mehta, J. L. 198688. Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India (Vols. I, II and III). New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Limited. 11. Raychaudhuri, Tapan and Habib, Irfan. 1982. The Cambridge Economic History of India (Vol. I). New Delhi: Orient Longman.

*Associate Professor in University of Delhi and Author of Indian History Manual

12. Sarkar, Sumit. 1983. Modern India (18851947). New Delhi: Macmillan India Limited. 13. Sharma, R. S. 1990. Ancient India. New Delhi: NCERT (Old). 14. Singh, Vipul. 2008. Indian History Manual. New Delhi: Pearson Education. 15. Thapar, Romila. 2002. Early India: From The Origins to AD 1300. New Delhi: Penguin Books. 16. Varma, Harishchandra. 1995. Madhyakaleen Bharat (Part I and II). Delhi: Delhi University.

12. Jha, D. N. and Shrimali, K. M. 1996. Praacheen Bhaarat Kaa Itihas. Delhi: University of Delhi. 13. Jha, D. N. 1998. Ancient India: In Historical Outline. Delhi: Manohar. 14. Khanna, V. N. 1997. Foreign Policy of India. New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House. 15. Koshambi, D. D. 1985. An Introduction to the Study of Indian History. Bombay: Popular Prakashan. 16. Majumdar, Raychaudhuri and Dutta. 2008 (Revised). An Advanced History of India. New Delhi: Macmillan. 17. Mehta, J. L. 198688. Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India (Vols. I, II and III). New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Limited. 18. Prasad, L. 1985. Modern India, New Delhi: Bookhives. 19. Raychaudhuri, Tapan and Habib, Irfan. 1982. The Cambridge Economic History of India (Vol. I). New Delhi: Orient Longman. 20. Sarkar, Sumit. 1983. Modern India (18851947). New Delhi: Macmillan India Limited. 21. Sastri, K. A. Nilakantha. 1975. A History of South India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. 22. Sharma, R. S. 1965. Indian Feudalism c. 3001200. Calcutta. 23. Sharma, R. S. 1990. Ancient India. New Delhi: NCERT (Old). 24. Sharma, R. S. 1969. Social Changes in Early Medieval India (circa A.D. 5001200). New Delhi. 25. Singh, Vipul. 2008. Indian History Manual. New Delhi: Pearson Education. 26. Singh, Vipul. 2009. Interpreting Medieval India. New Delhi: Macmillan. 27. Srivastava, K. C. 1991. Praacheen Bhaarat Kaa Itihaas Tathaa Sanskriti. Allahabad: United Book Depot. 28. Thapar, Romila. 1997. Asoka and the Decline of Mauryas. New Delhi. 29. Thapar, Romila. 2002. Early India: From The Origins to AD 1300. New Delhi: Penguin Books.

Detailed Bibliography
1. Basham, A. L. 1990. The Wonder that was India. New Delhi: Rupa & Co. 2. Chandra, Bipan. 1966. The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism in India: Economic Policies of Indian NationalLeadership, 18801905. New Delhi. 3. Chandra, Bipan et al. 1988. Indias Struggle for Independence 18571947. New Delhi: Penguin Books. 4. Chandra, Satish. 1982. Medieval India: Society, the Jagirdari Crisis and the Village. New Delhi: Macmillan India Limited. 5. Chandra, Satish. 1990. Medieval India. New Delhi: NCERT (Old). 6. Chandra, Satish. 1997 and 1999. Medieval India: From Sultanate to the Mughals (Part I and II). New Delhi: HarAnand. 7. Grover, B. L. and Grover, S. 1990. A New Look at Modern Indian History. New Delhi: S. Chand and Company. 8. Gupta, P. L. 1996. Coins. New Delhi. 9. Habib, Irfan. 1982. An Atlas of the Mughal Empire. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. 10. Hardiman, David. 1993. Peasant Resistance in India 18581914. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. 11. IGNOU. 1991 and 1996. EHI-02, 03, 04, 05, 06 (Study Material on Indian History). New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Open University.