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How to Approach

G.S. – Modern

Indian History

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Copyright © by Vision IAS

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transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or

otherwise, without prior permission of Vision IAS

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As we live our life in the present and read about the happenings around the world in newspapers, we

do not usually pause to think about the longer history of these events. We see change before our eyes,

but do not always ask, why are things changing? Very often we do not even notice that things were not

the same in the past. History is about tracking these changes, understanding how and why they are

taking place, how the present world in which we live has evolved. The subject of Modern Indian History

has always occupied a dominant space in both the Preliminary as well as Mains Civil Services

Examination of the UPSC.

The Innovative Classroom Sessions at Vision IAS would cover the preliminary and mains syllabus

exhaustively and also focus on generating interest and developing conceptual clarity. Using basic

concepts and chronological events we shall seek to understand the broader themes and cross-

connections amongst them as a focus area, more so if the current trends are kept in mind.

If you are one of those students -

• Who have a ‘Historo-Phobia’ – to mean that History is all about cramming of events with

endless dates and terrorizing names, which in the end becomes all too boring and tedious.

OR

• Who are still confused as to what is so significant about Mangal Pandey that Aamir Khan

choose to make a whole movie about him or what was so special about Gandhiji that we

have him on every currency note or why do we celebrate 26th January when we already

have 15th August or why we call West Bengal as ‘West’ while it is in geographical East

direction (If you think they are easy questions, try writing these in 200 words)

OR

• Who wish to go through the complete history syllabus quickly to get a kick start and gain

some confidence in UPSC journey preparation.

For such students, as a starting point we are providing the following basic readings from NCERTs, which

you are expected to complete before the Classroom Sessions begin.

You can start with Old NCERT for Class X – The Story of Civilization Part 2 by Arjun Dev. The last two

chapters of this book, Chapter-15, ‘India Awakening’ and Chapter-16, ‘India’s Struggle for

Independence’ cover all the major events in Indian History from 18th century to Independence. The

idea is, to read it not like a text book but like a story book. Don’t try to learn, memorize or make notes

but just enjoy reading these 55 pages like a short story. After giving a reading or two, in case you feel

the need, you should go through the questions at the end of these chapters and try to correlate them

with the story you have just read. At the end of this, the ONLY thing which you are expected of- is a

good feel about history and a broad picture covering all the major events.

Next, one can read the Old NCERT for Class XII, the book ‘History of Modern India’ by Bipin Chandra,

now being published by Orient Blackswan. This book is the basic text which needs to be compulsorily

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read as it matches completely, with the demand of the syllabus of GS Modern Indian History. You make

skip making notes of this book, as the whole book is at best, a summary of Modern Indian history.

Note - Students who are quite familiar with Modern Indian History can directly start with this book,

skipping the Class X NCERT.

While going through Chapter 1, there are lot many facts and events given; however just push yourself

through this chapter while understanding the major players in that phase. From Chapter 2 onwards,

you shall notice that you can start filling the gaps in the broad picture you have in your mind. Later you

can try writing answers to the questions given at the end of each chapter (They are given in the old

NCERT book only). Be sure to revise this book at least once before moving to next book.

Now arises the question on how to complete these readings before the Classroom Sessions begin. One

way to cover these would be to design your personal study program. Try to create a schedule: an

orderly, systematic approach is not only beneficial but also critical in an examination like the UPSC CSE.

Preferably dedicate a consistent block of time everyday of the week.

As you now flow along the Classroom sessions, you can start identifying the major themes that run

through these critical events. Some examples of these themes can be taken from the ‘new’ NCERT for

Class XII on Indian History. An insight will help you connect the dots to build up the thematic content.

However, the ‘Bible of Modern Indian History’ – India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra is

sure an aid in crystallizing such themes, their forward and backward linkages and cross-connections

across time-periods.

If you still have the appetite to read through more books, you may go through the book ‘Plassey to

Partition’ by Sekhar Bandopadhyay. This book will give you multiple perspectives about the same

event and hence will further enhance your understanding.

There is one specific portion of syllabus related to the famous personalities of India’s freedom

struggle. While going through various text books, you should keep track of these personalities,

sometimes whose contributions may also be scattered across many chapters. You should also keep an

eye on the articles in newspaper about such personalities from the past. These articles highlight the

contribution of such personalities in a consolidated form and some articles are about less famous

personalities as well, which otherwise may not be adequately covered in the text books.

All the Best !

* * * * * * * * *

Copyright © by Vision IAS

All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or

otherwise, without prior permission of Vision IAS

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