Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission, known commonly as HPPSC, is a government agency and topmost constitutional body of Government of Himachal Pradesh. Here is a detailed syllabus for HPAS Main Exam Optional Paper Indian History.
Optional Paper – Indian History
PAPER-I
- Chalcolithic cultures: Indus civilization, patterns of settlements, economic and social organization. Recent debates on the decline of the Indus civilization.
- Society and culture in the Vedas and Upanishads: textual and archaeological evidence.
- Mahavira and Gautam Buddha: their teachings and popularity among contemporary Mahajanapadas.
- The Mauryan Empire: sources and their chronology, Ashoka's policy of Dhamma. The nature of the Mauryan state. Decline of the Mauryan empire.
- Post-Mauryan period in Indian history: polity and society. Religion and culture. Urbanization and trade. Sangam texts and Tamil society. Shilppadikaram.
- Emergence of classical patterns during the Gupta period. Evolution of art and architecture.
Development of ideas in science and mathematics. Varahamihira’s Brihatsamhita.
- Seventh century: major powers in the north and the south. Changes in political structure, economy, social structure and religion.
- Early medieval India, AD 700-1200. Tripartite struggle in north India. The rise of the Cholas in the south. Debates on Indian feudalism. Village communities in the south. Typology of urban centres. The Arab conquest of Sind. Alberuni’s India: society and science. The emergence of temple as an institution.
- The emergence of the Ghaznavide Empire. The Ghorian invasions and their impact.
Causes of the success of the Ghorian Turks. The Delhi Sultanate: Balban. Alauddin Khalji and his agrarian and economic measures.
- Fragmentation of the Sultanate, and the rise of provincial kingdoms: Bengal, Kashmir,
Gujarat, Malwa and Bahmanids. The Vijayanagar empire. Evolution of Indo-Persian literature. Bhakti and Sufi movements in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
PAPER-II
- The Mughal Empire: early expansion under Babar and Humayun. Sher Shah’s administrative and revenue measures. Akbar and his India. Establishment of jagir and mansab systems. Akbar’s policy towards chieftains, especially Rajputs. Akbar’s religious policy. Abul Fazl’s Akbarnama. Mughal-Rajputs relations under Jahangir, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb. Debate on the nature of the Mughal state. Economy and Society. Urban centres. Trade with Europe through Dutch, English and French companies.
- Culture during the Mughal court: literature, painting and architecture. Religious trends:
Bhakti and Sufism.
- The Eighteenth century debate. Decline of the Mughal empire. The emergence of the regional potentates in the Deccan, Bengal and Awadh. The rise of the Marathas, and the Afghans. India on the eve of the British conquest.
- Factors behind British success against Indian regional powers: Mysore, Maratha power, and Bengal. Annexation of Panjab and Sind. The nature of residency system and ‘doctrine of lapse’. Structure of the British Raj up to 1857.
- Indian resistance to the British rule: 1857—causes, course, nature and impact. Changes in
British administrative and economic policies after 1858. Socio-cultural impact of colonial rule. Christian missionary activities. Social and religious reform movements in Bengal and other areas. Railways. Commercialisation of agriculture. Growth of modern industry.
Trade and commerce: 1858-1939.
- The rise of Indian Nationalism. The evolution of modern associations. Peasant and tribal uprisings. The emergence of the Indian National Congress. Collaboration and confrontation of the Moderates and Extremists. Partition of Bengal, 1905. Swadeshi and
Home Rule Movements.
- Gandhian methods of mass mobilization: Rowlett Satyagraha, Khilafat and Noncooperation. Civil disobedience movement. The Swarajist politics. Simon Commission and Nehru Report. From Dominion status to Purna Swaraj. Second civil disobedience.
States People’s movement.
- Act of 1935. Congress Ministeries, 1937-1939. The communal problem. India during the
Second World War. The Cripps Mission. The Quit India Movement. Constitutional negotiations and the Transfer of Power.
- Achievement of Freedom and Partition of India. Integration of Indian states. The democratic constitution, 1950. Planning and industrialization.
- Towards Contemporary World: Some concepts Renaissance and its social roots. European
State system. Industrial Revolution: Britain, Japan, China. The emergence of the nationalities, and the making of the Nation States. Two World Wars. United Nations Organisation.
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