Ch 1
Harappan Civilisation
Key Definitions
Harappan Civilisation: Bronze Age urban civilisation (c. 2600–1900 BCE) in the Indus Valley. Also called Indus Valley Civilisation.
Citadel: The elevated and fortified part of a Harappan city. The great bath and granaries were located here.
Key Points to Remember
- →Key sites: Mohenjodaro (Sind), Harappa (Punjab), Dholavira (Gujarat), Lothal (Gujarat, has a dockyard), Kalibangan (Rajasthan).
- →Urban features: well-planned grid streets, covered drainage system, standardised burnt bricks, two-part city (citadel + lower town).
- →Great Bath at Mohenjodaro: ritual bathing, public use, watertight with bitumen lining.
- →Economy: agriculture (wheat, barley), craft production (pottery, bead-making, bronze tools), long-distance trade.
- →Evidence of trade: Harappan seals found in Mesopotamia. Weights and measures were standardised.
- →Script: undeciphered. Written right to left, then boustrophedon (alternating).
- →Decline theories: environmental change (river shifts, floods), Aryan invasion (outdated), internal decline, epidemic.
- →Historians approach: archaeological evidence, cannot use literary sources (script undeciphered).
Exam Tips
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Map question: mark Harappa, Mohenjodaro, Lothal, Kalibangan, Dholavira.
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Source-based question on Harappan cities: look for clues about urban planning, economic activity, social hierarchy.
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Absence of weapons/temples = no evidence of kings or armies — but not absence of authority.
Ch 2
Bhakti-Sufi Traditions
Key Definitions
Bhakti: A form of devotional worship emphasising personal love for god, accessible to all regardless of caste.
Sufi: Followers of Islamic mysticism (tasawwuf) who emphasise inner devotion and direct experience of God.
Khanqah: A Sufi lodge or hospice where devotees gathered for religious instruction and worship.
Key Points to Remember
- →Bhakti movement: originated in Tamil Nadu (Alvars — Vishnu, Nayanmars — Shiva), spread north.
- →Key figures: Kabir (challenged caste and religious orthodoxy, weaver, from Varanasi), Mirabai (Rajput, devoted to Krishna), Tukaram (Maharashtra), Basavanna (Karnataka, Veerashaiva).
- →Bhakti ideas: direct relationship with god, rejection of rituals, equality (rejected caste hierarchy), use of vernacular language.
- →Sufi orders (silsilas): Chishti (India — Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, Nizamuddin Auliya), Suhrawardi (northwest India).
- →Sufi practices: sama (devotional music), ziyarat (shrine visits), use of vernacular poetry.
- →Interaction: Bhakti saints like Kabir were influenced by both Hindu and Islamic mysticism.
- →Women saints: Andal (Tamil Alvars), Mirabai, Lal Ded (Kashmir) — challenged patriarchal norms.
Exam Tips
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Distinguish Bhakti saints by region: Tamil (Alvars/Nayanmars), Maharashtra (Tukaram, Eknath), Punjab (Guru Nanak).
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Source-based: Kabir's poetry often criticises caste and religious hypocrisy — look for irony and critique.
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Chishti order was the most influential Sufi order in India — emphasise this in answers.
Ch 3
The 1857 Revolt
Key Definitions
Sepoy Mutiny: British term for 1857 — emphasises military nature. Indian historians call it First War of Independence.
Doctrine of Lapse: British policy by Dalhousie: if a ruler had no male heir, the state lapsed to British. Used to annex Jhansi, Nagpur, Satara.
Key Points to Remember
- →Immediate cause: greased cartridges (Enfield rifle) — rumoured to be greased with cow and pig fat, offensive to Hindus and Muslims.
- →Started at Meerut: May 10, 1857. Sepoys marched to Delhi and proclaimed Bahadur Shah Zafar as emperor.
- →Key centres and leaders: Delhi (Bahadur Shah Zafar), Lucknow (Birjis Qadir, Begum Hazrat Mahal), Kanpur (Nana Sahib), Jhansi (Lakshmi Bai), Bihar (Kunwar Singh).
- →Social causes: religious fears (missionary activity, widow remarriage act), breaking of social customs.
- →Economic causes: destruction of handicrafts, land revenue settlements ruining peasants and zamindars.
- →Political causes: Doctrine of Lapse, annexation of Awadh (1856), treatment of Mughal emperor.
- →Reasons for failure: no unified leadership, no national consciousness, lack of coordination, British superior arms and support from Sikhs and Gurkhas.
- →Result: End of Mughal rule (Bahadur Shah Zafar exiled to Rangoon), end of East India Company, Crown rule begins (Queen Victoria's proclamation 1858).
Exam Tips
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Map question: mark Meerut, Delhi, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jhansi, Patna/Bihar.
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For 8-mark question: structure as — immediate cause, social/religious causes, economic causes, political causes, spread, and consequences.
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Different interpretations: British called it 'Sepoy Mutiny'; Indian nationalists called it 'First War of Independence'; historians call it a complex, multi-dimensional uprising.
Ch 4
Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement
Key Definitions
Satyagraha: Gandhi's philosophy of non-violent resistance: truth-force. Resist injustice without hatred or violence.
Civil Disobedience: Deliberate refusal to obey specific unjust laws as a form of protest. Central to Gandhi's 1930 movement.
Key Points to Remember
- →Gandhi returns to India 1915. First Indian Satyagraha: Champaran (1917) — indigo farmers, Bettiah district.
- →Rowlatt Act 1919 — empowered government to imprison without trial. Gandhi called hartal (general strike). Jallianwala Bagh massacre (April 1919) followed.
- →Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22): boycott of schools, courts, legislature, foreign goods. Ended after Chauri Chaura violence (Feb 1922).
- →Civil Disobedience Movement 1930: Salt March (Dandi March) — Gandhi walked 240 miles from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi coast, made salt illegally.
- →Poona Pact 1932: Gandhi-Ambedkar agreement on reserved constituencies for Dalits within the Hindu electorate.
- →Quit India Movement 1942 (August Kranti): 'Do or Die'. Mass arrests, underground movement, provincial disturbances.
- →Gandhi mobilised: peasants (agrarian issues), women (picketing liquor shops), tribals (forest rights), workers.
- →Partition and assassination: Gandhi fasted for communal harmony, assassinated January 30, 1948 by Nathuram Godse.
Exam Tips
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Timeline MCQs are common: Champaran 1917 → Rowlatt 1919 → NCM 1920 → Salt March 1930 → QI 1942.
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Source-based on Gandhi: newspapers, letters, speeches — look for key terms like 'swaraj', 'swadeshi', 'ahimsa'.
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For 8-mark questions: cover at least 3 movements + mobilisation of different groups.
Ch 5
Framing the Constitution
Key Definitions
Constituent Assembly: The body tasked with drafting India's constitution. First met December 9, 1946. Completed November 26, 1949.
Objectives Resolution: Moved by Nehru on December 13, 1946. Declared India a sovereign, democratic republic with justice, liberty, equality for all citizens.
Key Points to Remember
- →Constituent Assembly: 389 members initially, 299 after Partition. Meetings held from Dec 1946 to Nov 1949 — 11 sessions, 166 days of debate.
- →Dr B.R. Ambedkar: Chairman of Drafting Committee. Known as chief architect of the Constitution.
- →Key debates: language (Hindi vs English vs regional languages — compromise: Schedule 8 languages), minority safeguards (separate electorates vs reserved seats), reservations for SC/ST.
- →Influence of Government of India Act 1935: federal structure, emergency provisions.
- →Rights debates: free speech limits, property rights, right to equality vs social hierarchy.
- →Jawaharlal Nehru's vision: socialism, secularism, democratic republic.
- →Sardar Patel: argued for strong centre and unified nation.
- →Constitution adopted November 26, 1949. Came into effect January 26, 1950 (Republic Day).
Exam Tips
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Map question: mark Ambedkar's birthplace, Nehru's constituency — less likely but possible.
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For source-based on Constitution: look for themes of justice, equality, federalism, rights.
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Key argument: why did India adopt a written constitution? — diversity, fresh start, protect minorities.