Paper – II
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 Anglo-Maratha 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: 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; 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; Iswarchandra Vidyasagar; The Young Bengal Movement; Dayanada 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 movements 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 Non-cooperation 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 postcolonial 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: Major ideas of Enlightenment: Kant, Rousseau; Spread of Enlightenment in the colonies; Rise of socialist ideas (up to Marx); spread of Marxian Socialism
17. Origins of Modern Politics: European States System; American Revolution and the Constitution; French revolution and aftermath, 1789- 1815; American Civil War with reference to Abraham Lincoln and the abolition of slavery; British Democratic Politics, 1815- 1850; Parliamentary Reformers, Free Traders, Chartists.
18. Industrialization: English Industrial Revolution: Causes and Impact on Society; Industrialization in other countries: USA, Germany, Russia, Japan; Industrialization and Globalization.
19. Nation-State System: Rise of Nationalism in 19th century; Nationalism: state-building in Germany and Italy; Disintegration of Empires in the face of the emergence of nationalities across the world.
20. Imperialism and Colonialism: South and South-East Asia; Latin America and South Africa; Australia; Imperialism and free trade: Rise of neo-imperialism.
21. Revolution and Counter-Revolution: 19th Century European revolutions, The Russian Revolution of 1917- 1921, Fascist Counter-Revolution, Italy and Germany; The Chinese Revolution of 1949
22. World Wars: 1st and 2nd World Wars as Total Wars: Societal implications; World War I: Causes and consequences; World War II: Causes and consequence
23. The World after World War II: Emergence of two power blocs; Emergence of Third World and non-alignment; UNO and the global disputes.
24. Liberation from Colonial Rule: Latin America-Bolivar; Arab World-Egypt; Africa-Apartheid to Democracy; South-East Asia-Vietnam
25. Decolonization and Underdevelopment: Factors constraining development: Latin America, Africa
26. Unification of Europe: Post War Foundations: NATO and European Community; Consolidation and Expansion of European Community; European Union.
27. Disintegration of Soviet Union and the Rise of the Unipolar World: Factors leading to the collapse of Soviet communism and the Soviet Union, 1985-1991; Political Changes in Eastern Europe 1989-2001; End of the cold war and US ascendancy in the World as the lone superpower.
History Optional Paper-I, Syllabus