History Paper 2

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
AngloMaratha 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; Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar; The Young Bengal Movement; Dayananda 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 movement 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 Noncooperation 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
reorganisation 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 post-colonial 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:
a. Major Ideas of Enlightenment: Kant, Rousseau.
b. Spread of Enlightenment in the colonies.
c. Rise of socialist ideas (up to Marx); spread of Marxian Socialism.
17. Origins of Modern Politics:
a. European States System.
b. American Revolution and the Constitution.
c. French Revolution and Aftermath, 1789-1815.
d. American Civil War with reference to Abraham Lincoln and the abolition of slavery.
e. British Democratic politics, 1815-1850: Parliamentary Reformers, Free Traders, Chartists.
18. Industrialization:
a. English Industrial Revolution: Causes and Impact on Society.
b. Industrialization in other countries: USA, Germany, Russia, Japan.
c. Industrialization and Globalization.
19. Nation-State System:
a. Rise of Nationalism in 19th century.
b. Nationalism: State-building in Germany and Italy.
c. Disintegration of Empires in the face of the emergence of nationalities across the World.
20. Imperialism and Colonialism:
a. South and South-East Asia.
b. Latin America and South Africa.
c. Australia.
d. Imperialism and free trade: Rise of neo-imperialism.
21. Revolution and Counter-Revolution:
a. 19th Century European revolutions.
b. The Russian Revolution of 1917-1921.
c. Fascist Counter-Revolution, Italy and Germany.
d. The Chinese Revolution of 1949.
22. World Wars:
a. 1st and 2nd World Wars as Total Wars: Societal implications.
b. World War I: Causes and Consequences.
c. World War II: Causes and Consequences.
23. The World after World War II:
a. Emergence of Two power blocs.
b. Emergence of Third World and non-alignment.
c. UNO and the global disputes.
24. Liberation from Colonial Rule:
a. Latin America-Bolivar.
b. Arab World-Egypt.
c. Africa-Apartheid to Democracy.
d. South-East Asia-Vietnam.
25. Decolonization and Underdevelopment:
a. Factors constraining development; Latin America, Africa.
26. Unification of Europe:
a. Post War Foundations; NATO and European Community.
b. Consolidation and Expansion of European Community
c. European Union.
27. Disintegration of Soviet Union and the Rise of the Unipolar World:
a. Factors leading to the collapse of Soviet Communism and Soviet Union, 1985-1991.
b. Political Changes in East Europe 1989-2001.
c. End of the Cold War and US Ascendancy in the World as the lone superpower.