Syllabus for History Optional

The History optional syllabus for UPSC Mains is divided into two parts, Paper 1 starts from early ancient history and goes up to the eighteenth century and Paper 2 begins from the European penetration into India and covers the entire modern Indian History up to the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1990. The entire History Optional syllabus is divided into 4 broad categories:

• Ancient Indian History
• Medieval Indian History
• Modern Indian History
• World History

Indian Heritage and Culture, History

• Indian Culture: Salient features of Literature, Art Forms, and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
• Modern Indian History: Significant events, personalities, and issues during the middle of the eighteenth century until the present.
• Indian Freedom Struggle: Stages, important contributors, and contributions from different parts of the country.
• Post-independence consolidation and reorganization in the country.
• History of the World: Events, forms, and effects on the society from the 18th century like world wars, the industrial revolution, colonization, redraw of national boundaries, decolonization, political philosophies like communism, capitalism, socialism, etc.