UPSC- Civil Services Exam-Strategy for History Mains

UPSC- Indian Civil Services Exam- Mains

Strategy for History mains

                              By Bhushan Deshmukh

If the prelim’s is to be compared with one day match, mains could be described as test match. The temperament and technique to play it is different then prelims.

Prelim is mainly factual study, many times without knowing how or why. On the other hand main’s is analytical study, knowing the essence of the story.

With introduction of first 30 marks questions last year and now 20 marks one,  instead of regular 60 marks, you are suppose to know the essence of many more stories.

Who can take history?

Student from any discipline can choose and master this subject with systematic efforts. Apart from that it enables candidate to write their essay paper with a historical perspective which gives depth to the arguments.

History is the only subject that can be lived. It is full of plots and counter plots, desires and detachments, wars and peace missions, giant triumphs and utter failures, a moving kaleidoscope of people, events and locations. Studying history is as good as sitting into time machine and visiting our ‘wonderful’ past. But all this is true only if you are ‘interested’ in the subject. Without interest, proper understanding of the subject can’t be developed. In that case history will seem like subject with vast syllabus, full of unrelated events and mere description of dead past. But interest either natural or created will make your past talk with you. Indeed in the words of E.H.Carr “history is a continuous dialogue between past and present”

As it is rightly said that history is not a study of facts, but interpretation of facts. Facts are just raw material with which interpretation is done. Answers in the main’s are about your interpretation of History. The angle of focus on history has constantly changed. From Political to Cultural to Economic.

Candidates are exempted if facts go wrong, but analysis is correct, but other way round will not do. Unlike other humanies subject, history do not have a theory part, all the 4 part i.e. Antient, Medieval, Modern and World are applied.

How much scoring history is?

History is one of the most popular option is U.P.S.C. examination for obvious reasons. It has synergy with General studies. 28 marks questions of history and culture get covered in optional history (As per mains 2010, year with lowest ebb of history questions in G.S.). It is also useful in writing essay. Since at least one socio-cultural issue comes as a topic, historic vision gives depth to the arguments. (nfor e.g.”Geography may remain the same; history need not” asked in mains 2010.)

History complements with any combination of optional but goes best with political science, next best with Public Administration.

In the mains examination History is directly compared with other subjects.

History is highly subjective subject. Suppose the question was given ‘Evaluate the Gandhi’, then all candidates will write different answers. Which of them is right or wrong? None. It depends on how arguments are pushed. This makes the subject safe. Generally it is not possible that you don’t know anything about the answer. Ultimately you fetch some minimum marks in each question. That way no body goes below 200 in history.

But going by same logic history also does not give very high marks. There is nothing called perfect answer. Because of this phenomenon marks do not go above 380. But then to get into IAS one need to get 55-60% marks in the subject and that makes this subject an attractive proposition.

History is scoring subject. One of my student Srikesh Lathkar scored 365 in history in 2010 mains in his second attempt to get the 57^th rank. 

We can refer to the data of those written mains 2009. This is the larges sample group of 9026 (excluding only those handful who are chosen for interview). We can observe that History is third most popular optional taken (2777), just after Public Administration (3067) and Geography (3190)

But if we the average marks secured by the candidates then History (242) is better then Public Administration (232) and Geography (221)

History is the scientific subject and can be studied scientifically. It is as scientific as physics or mathematics, only since it is from humanities side, things are open ended.

With optionals scraped in prelim, now there is no differencial between those having history as first optional and those having it second, all are now equally placed.

Resource material?

The compulsory map question should be solved first and prepared first. Twenty sites are given & you have to mark them all on the given map and describe its importance in four lines. (Probabaly) one mark for marking site and two for description. Sites given are of specific importance in history (for e.g. Edakka, Tripuri, Kalanjar in mains 2010)

By daily practice this question can turn into scoring one.

They give blank map with only India’s international boundaries.(As in 2010 mains) It is safer to make blocks and practice. Sites from Ancient and medieval India are asked. Spectrum has published the book about Ancient Indian places. Ensemble has come out with ‘History Through Maps’, a well researched and royally presented work.

In paper II world history is to be targeted. On modern India now so much research is available that there is no end of interpretation. Comparatively world history is straight and neutral. There are controversies in France about how the fall of Napoleon took place, but there are no such controversies in India.  As it is, if world history questions are difficult you can swich to modern India at the last moment but reverse is not true.

IGNOU books are useful for mains too. Some internet sites are rich in content and photography in history. For e.g. www.indhistory.com, www.historywiz.com/India.htm Wikipedia can prove a magic wand for getting answers.

Publication division has done grand job of publishing material which prove very helpful for the mains. They are

1)     India – Art & Architecture in Ancient & Medieval Period

2)     India – Early History

3)     India – Government & Economic life in Ancient and Medieval periods

For world History good work is done by Jain & Mathur. Their book for world History mains is excellent. It has covered our syllabus topic wise, but it is also true that it is not edited properly. Recently a book is published by Krishna Reddy by the name ‘Modern World’ overcomes this issue. It has avoided the bulkiness and is updated with recent changes in syllabus.  World History by L.Mukherjee is lucid and will make answers readable. It can be used as complementary with Jain & Mathur or Krishna Reddy.

Tracking syllabus is a fruitful exercise, for mains. The vast syllabus cannot be covered without the pointers. What is interesting is that syllabus of mains is clearly defined and examiners remain stick to it. (For e.g. in 2010 mains question asked word to word from lines of syllabus, circumstances leading to the emergence of Third world (30), role of women in India's freedom struggle (20), Shivaji’s organization of  administration and finances(30) role of guilds and trade organizations (30), archaeological materials are useful in understanding(30))

If you analyze the past papers you will be surprised to find that most of the questions are repeated from the last ten year papers for e.g. Indian Feudalism, Bhakti & Sufi Movement. Economic impact of British rule on India is asked record no of times. So that’s the hint. Here some analysis of past papers from 2001 onwards.

Ancient India

Topic	Sub-topic	Brief Description	30 Marks	60 Marks
1		Sources
	i)	Archeological sources		2003
	ii)	Exploration, excavation, epigraphy, numismatics, monuments		2007/09
2		Pre-history and Proto-history	2010
3		Indus Valley Civilization		2002
4		Megalithic Cultures		2008
5		Aryans and Vedic Period	2009/10	2004
6		Period of Mahajanapadas
	i)	Economic growth; Introduction of coinage		2003
	ii)	Spread of Jainism and Buddhism		2007
	iii)	Rise of Magadha and Nandas		2001
7		Mauryan Empire
	i)	Polity, Administration		2005
	ii)	Religion; Spread of religion; Literature		2004
8		Post - Mauryan Period	2010	2008
9		Early State and Society in Eastern India, Deccan and South India	2010	2008
10		Guptas, Vakatakas and Vardhanas
	i)	Polity and administration	2009	2006/05
	ii)	Indian feudalism, Caste system, Position of women		2007/05/10
	iii)	Education and educational institutions		2003
11		Regional States during Gupta Era
	i)	Chalukyas of Badami
	ii)	Palas, Senas, Rashtrakutas
12		Themes in Early Indian Cultural History
	i)	major stages in the evolution of art and architecture		2004/2009
	ii)	ideas in Science and Mathematics		2001

Medieval India

Topic		Brief Description	20 Marks	30 Marks	60 Marks
13	Early Medieval India, 750-1200
	The Cholas: administration, village economy and society			2009	2004/07
	“Indian Feudalism”		2005/09	2010
14	Cultural Traditions in India, 750-1200
	Philosophy: Skankaracharya and Vedanta		2001		2008
	Growth of Bhakti		2002	2010
	Sufism		2003
	Kalhan’s Rajtarangini		2003	2009
	Alberuni’s India		2007		2003
15	The Thirteenth Century
	Consolidation: The rule of Iltutmish and Balban		2004/08	2009
16	The Fourteenth Century
	“The Khalji Revolution”		2006
	Alauddin Khalji				2001
	Muhammad Tughluq		2003/04/09
17	Society, Culture and Economy in the 13th & 14th Centuries		2010	2010
	Sufi movement		2006	2009
18	The 15th & Early 16th Century – Political Developments and Economy
	Mughal Empire, First phase: Babur and Humayun		2001	2010
	The Sur Empire: Sher Shah’s administration				2006
	Bhakti and Sufi Movements		2005		2001/03/04/05/07
	Portuguese Colonial Enterprise		2008
19	The 15th & Early 16th Century – Society and Culture
	Literary traditions		2002/10
20	Akbar
	Establishment of Jagir and Mansab systems		2002
	Rajput policy				2003/07
	Evolution of religious and social outlook		2004/06/09		2002
21	Mughal Empire in the Seventeenth Century
	Major administrative policies of Jahangir, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb				2004
	Religious policies of Jahangir, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb		2006	2009
	Ahom Kingdom		2008
22	Economy and Society in the 16th & 17th  Centuries
	Agriculture & craft		2010		2008
	Towns, commerce with Europe		2009/10		2006
	Indian mercantile classes, banking, insurance and credit systems				2005
	Evolution of Khalasa		2008
23	Culture in the Mughal Empire
	Hindi and other religious literature				2006
	Mughal architecture		2001		2002
	Mughal painting		2005/07
	Science and technology		2001	2009/10
24	The Eighteenth Century
	Factors for the decline of the Mughal Empire				2005
	Maratha ascendancy under the Peshwas				2001
	The Maratha fiscal and financial system		2003/04/07	2010
	Emergence of Afghan Power, Battle of Panipat:1761		2002		2008

Modern India

Topic	Sub-to	Brief Description	20 Marks	30 Marks	60 Marks
1		European Penetration into India	2002/6	2009	2002
2		British Expansion in India	2001/4/5/10	2009	2006
3		Early Structure of the British Raj	2004		2005
	1	English Utilitarian	2008
4		Economic Impact of British Colonial Rule	2001/3/4/5/6/9/10		2001/3/4/6/7
	1	Famine and poverty in the rural interior	2003	2010	2002/5/8
	2	Drain of wealth		2010	2008
5		Social and Cultural Developments	2008		2004
6		Social and Religious Reform movements in Bengal and Other Areas	2005/7/9	2009
7		Indian Response to British Rule	2001
	1	The Great Revolt of 1857	2005/7/9/10
8		Factors leading to the birth of Indian Nationalism	2010	2010	2001
	1	National Congress	2002	2009
	2	the Moderates and Extremists	2006		2003
9		Rise of Gandhi	2002
	1	the Khilafat Movement; the Non-cooperation Movement	2008		2007
	2	beginning of the Civil Disobedience movement			2005
	3	Quit India Movement;	2001/3	2009
	4	The Cabinet Mission	2004
10		Constitutional Developments in the Colonial India	2007
11		Other strands of the National Movement	2010
	1	The Revolutionaries	2008		2003
	2	The Left			2002/6
	3	Subhas Chandra Bose	2002
12		Politics of Separatism	2006/09/10	2009
13		Consolidation as a Nation; Nehru’s Foreign Policy
	1	Integration of Princely States			2007
	2	Nehru’s Foreign Policy			2001/4
14		Caste and Ethnicity after 1947	2008	2010
15		Economic development and political change

World History

Topic	Sub-topic	Brief Description	20 Marks	30 Marks	60 Marks
16		Enlightenment and Modern ideas
	(i)	Major Ideas of Enlightenment	2004/10		2008
	(ii)	Spread of Enlightenment
	(iii)	Rise of socialist ideas	2001/8
17		Origins of Modern Politics
	(i)	European States System
	(ii)	American Revolution and the Constitution.	2006/10		2005
	(iii)	French revolution and after math, 1789-1815.	2002/3/4/5/6/7/10	2009	2001
	(iv)	American Civil War
	(v)	British Democratic Politics, 1815-1850;	2005		2004
18		Industrialization
	(i)	English Industrial Revolution:
	(ii)	Industrialization in other countries:		2009
	(iii)	Industrialization and Globalization.	2009
19		Nation-State System
	(i)	Rise of Nationalism in 19th century
	(ii)	Nationalism : state-building	2001/4/5		2002/3
	(iii)	Disintegration of Empires	2001/6
20		Imperialism and Colonialism	2010
	(i)	South and South-East Asia		2010
	(ii)	Latin America and South Africa	2009		2001
	(iii)	Australia
	(iv)	Imperialism and free trade:	2007
21		Revolution and Counter-Revolution :
	(i)	19th Century European revolutions	2008
	(ii)	The Russian Revolution of 1917-1921	2005	2009	2003
	(iii)	Fascist Counter-Revolution	2005		2004/7
	(iv)	The Chinese Revolution of 1949	2010		2002/5/6
22		World Wars
	(i)	1st and 2nd World Wars as Total Wars:	2007
	(ii)	World War I : Causes and Consequences	2001/3/4/6	2010
	(iii)	World War II : Causes and consequence	2002/8/9	2010
23		The World after World War II:
	(i)	Emergence of two power blocs	2008		2005
	(ii)	Emergence of Third World and Non-Alignment		2010
	(iii)	UNO and the global disputes	2003	2009
24		Liberation from Colonial Rule:
	(i)	Latin America-Bolivar
	(ii)	Arab World-Egypt	2009		2001
	(iii)	Africa-Apartheid to Democracy			2006
	(iv)	South-East Asia-Vietnam		2009
25		Decolonization and Underdevelopment
	(i)	Factors constraining Development :		2009
26		Unification of Europe
	(i)	Post War Foundations :	2003/7
	(ii)	Consolidation of European Community
	(iii)	European Union.
27		Disintegration of Soviet Union
	(i)	Collapse of Soviet communism	2010		2002/4/7
	(ii)	Political Changes in Eastern Europe 1989-2001			2008
	(iii)	End of the Cold War and US Ascendancy			2003/8

For preparing mains one has to be focused on relevant areas. Guesswork has to be done to what will come and what will not. (And be mentally prepared to face anything in paper). If you make notes in question-answer format then nothing like that. If you get ready with say 150-200 questions with outline of answers then you can stuck a jackpot. Chronicle Publication has published the book in such format and will prove useful for reference.

It may sound absurd, but NCERT books on History (Class XI & XII), both old and new versions are highly useful in writing the mains answers. They present the clue about direction and the structure of the answer.

It is very common to say that one has to do writing practice. I repeat it is necessary. Candidates dream that as soon as study is over they will give tests. That’s ideal, seldom has this happened. Studies may never get over. Just make a timetable of tests, follow it strictly, and get it checked from competent authority and discuss them out. Handwriting, speed, fluency and structure of answer play a main role in marks.

One should give full attention to the direction of the question like Discuss, Explain, Evaluate, Describe, Compare etc. Each of them connotes different meaning. 

Where ever possible the answer should be substantiated with tables, diagrams and flowcharts.

Group study can do wonders in study of history. Every member in the group can give different insight into the subject. You can shoot questions to each other and comprehend the facts. But make sure that group is no larger than 3-4 friends and all damn serious.

So take a long breath and strings tight in your hand. Now with full vision of future turn your eyes towards past. May goddess of history bless you with success.

Twist in the story continues

In last two Mains (2009/10) UPSC surprised (or shocked) the candidates by changing the question format. Instead of 60 marks question, they divided it into two questions of 30 marks, or three questions of 20 marks each. This was done not only in History but in all other optional’s. Its like test match suddenly turned into 20-20.

With this examiner were able to cover far more syllabus, they are able ask the questions on such areas of syllabus that remained uncovered 60 marks pattern (for e.g. Indian response to European technology)

Earlier hardly three questions are asked on Ancient, Medieval, Modern and World each. But with double the questions appearing now, much more syllabus is covered. In others words luck factor has came down.

There is one more twist. Since the old format is divided into two questions. It bought the catch-22 situation for the candidates. Suppose you know the (a) answer of question 4 and (b) answer of question (5), no use, you have to answer either 4 or 5.

In the next twist in mains 2010, in the compulsory map question, all the 20 sites have made compulsory to be solved instade of 15/20.

Actually every mains UPSC will surely keep throwing new surprises, keep changing the pattern of questions ask so that nobody should take disadvantage of it.

So those who accepted the changes with open heart survived. Those who were not able to and remain rigid ended up getting low score.

Not to forget that the biggest test scorer in the world Sachin Tendulkar has won the Orange Cap for the best batsman in the 20-20 format.