The syllabus for the UPSC Civil Services Examination with History as an optional subject is as follows:
Paper I:
1. Sources and approaches to study of ancient and medieval Indian history.
2. Pre-history and proto-history: Geographical factors; hunting and gathering (paleolithic and mesolithic); beginning of agriculture (neolithic and chalcolithic).
3. Indus Valley Civilization: Origin, extent, major sites, society, economy, and culture.
4. Megalithic cultures: Distribution of megaliths in India; cultural dimensions.
5. Aryans and Vedic Period: Expansions of Aryans in India; Vedic culture; society and economy; religious and philosophical ideas; Mahajanapadas; Jainism and Buddhism; Iranian and Macedonian invasions and their impact.
6. Period of Mauryas: Chandragupta, Asoka; Ashoka's inscriptions; Asoka's dhamma; the decline of the Mauryas.
7. Post-Mauryan Period: Early state and society in Eastern India, Kharavela, the Satavahanas, Gupta Empire; society; Harsha; Indian feudalism; territorial states and their significance; the decline of the Guptas.
8. Early Medieval India: Rajputs; Arab conquest of Sind; the Chola empire; Vijayanagar empire; the Delhi Sultanate; the Mughals.
9. Cultural Traditions in India: Intellectual and aesthetic achievements; literary sources; the dialects of Hindi; Bhakti and Sufi movements; the Vijayanagar empire; Maratha state; Mughal court; Mughal nobility; Mughal architecture and art; the regional cultures.
10. Modern Indian History: European penetration into India; British conquest of Bengal; the economic impact of British colonial rule; social and cultural developments during the British period; social and religious reform movements in the 19th and 20th centuries; factors leading to the birth of Indian nationalism; the role of different social and religious groups in the national movement; the rise of militant nationalism; the revolutionaries; the Gandhian era; the post-independence consolidation and reorganization of India.
Paper II:
1. European expansion and colonialism: Mercantilism and the European economy; the industrial revolution and the emergence of capitalism; the colonial conquest of Asia and Africa; colonial policies and the response of the colonized people; the rise of nationalism in Asia and Africa.
2. Origins of Modern Politics: Enlightenment and modern ideas; the French Revolution; the Industrial Revolution; the ideas of liberty, equality, fraternity; the rights of man and citizen; nationalism and liberalism; the revolutions of 1830 and 1848; the socialist and communist movements; nationalism in Europe: Italy and Germany; the unification of Italy and Germany.
3. World Wars: The First World War and its aftermath; the League of Nations; the Second World War; fascism and Nazism; the Soviet Union and the socialist states; the Chinese Revolution; the First World War: causes, consequences, and significance; the Russian Revolution of 1917; the emergence of socialist thought.
4. The World After World War II: United Nations; the emergence of the two power blocs; the Cold War; the collapse of the colonial system; the creation of the United Nations; the African nationalism and the movement of liberation; the socialist bloc; the non-aligned movement; the disintegration of the Soviet Union; the post-Cold War world order.
5. Indian Nationalism: Factors leading to the growth of nationalism; the first phase of nationalism, 1857-1905; the moderates; the extremist phase, 1905-1918; the Gandhian era
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