Strategy for History as Optional in Main Examination

Writing an answer for 60 marks question is challenging. It is as good as writing a short essay. Here you cannot bluff if you don’t know; you get exposed from second paragraph onwards. 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. Here you have to balance different view points. For that purpose you have to know different view points. At least three main currents i.e. leftist, centrist and rightist. The angle of focus on history has constantly changed. From Political to Cultural to Economic. Now the subaltern approach is in vogue.

HOW MUCH SCORING HISTORY IS?

History is most popular option is U.P.S.C. examination for obvious reasons. It has synergy with General studies. 90 marks questions of modern India get covered in optional history. 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.

Percentile method is not applied in the mains 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. Who of them is right & who is wrong? No one. 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 nobody 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.

That doesn’t mean that history is not a scientific subject or cannot be studied scientifically. It is as scientific as physics or mathematics, only since it is from humanities side, things are open ended.

For those who are having History as first option in prelim,- Be cautious, don’t overestimate your knowledge of History. Prepare separately of mains.

For prelim’s following syllabus may not be a fruitful exercise, but for mains it is. The vast syllabus cannot be covered without the pointers. Especially they have made work easy by giving some points in bold, for e.g. Kitab-ul-Hind. It means short note or long answer question is expected. Indeed on Kitab-ul-Hind both came in different years. The compulsory map question should be solved first and prepared first. Fifteen sites are given & you have to mark the site in given map and describe its importance in four lines. Two marks for marking site and two for description. All sites are compulsory Fortunately they give only important sites, and that has made it scoring. Mapping has to be practiced daily. On the given map they use to give rivers in the beginning then they started giving states and now they give blank map with only India’s international boundaries. 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. It is useful from both prelims and mains point of view. 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 jump to modern India in the last movement but reverse is not true

IGNOU books are useful for mains too. Publication Division has published a book on Ancient India. Each of its 16 article’s is like long, answer of mains.

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. World History by L.Mukherjee is lucid and will make answers readable 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. So that’s the hint. Here some analysis of past papers from 2001 onwards. It may sound absurd, but NCERT books on History, both old and new versions are highly useful in writing the mains answers. They present the clue the direction and the structure of the answer.

It is advisable to make notes in question-answer format for mains.

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. 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.

THE CHANGED SYLLABUS

The new syllabus declared in 2007 advertisement is the extension of previous one. It has elaborated on the earlier heads and became, more specific.

Sections are removed from the paper. That is has made the paper open ended. Earlier total components were 24, now they are 27. At least in 2008 mains they have followed the old format and equal weightage is given to all the four components.

Sources of history now detailed as indigenous and foreign. Earlier one major question was asked on this section and more could be expected.

Now Megalithic culture is selected as separate head. So one can expect the major question on it. Since sources and histrography is already asked, lithic cultures in general and megalithic culture in particular can become .the next, choice of examiners, IGNOU can be useful to tackle this part. Iranian and Macedonian invasions are specified. This indicates towards the broader view taken of the term ‘Indian History’.

‘Early State and Society in Eastern India, Deccan and South India’ is made into separate head. It signals towards shifting focus from main dynasties to regional one. ‘Themes in Early Indian Cultural History’ is another new head. It involves dynamic understanding of the people and the time. Answering the question on this part is going to be challenging as well as rewarding in terms of marks. Bhakti and Sufi movement continue to be important themes of Indian history. 2008 mains bypassed the regular mainstream history, and entered into corner areas. Like farming communities and Sangam age. Many students caught by surprise. More of it will be expected.

In the Medieval India, the focus has shifted from general history of sultanat to core rules of Alauddin Khalji, Muhammad Tughlaq and Firuz Tughlaq.

‘Mughal Empire in the Seventeenth Century’ is another new head added. It has drawn attention towards nature of state, relation with Zamindars, crisis and revolts. Economy, Society and Culture of Mughal Period is divided into two separate heads. It’s a common guess work then that major question is expected on this topics. 2008 mains put totally unexpected topics like Tamil devotional cult and agriculture and craft production in Mughal times. But it has to be admitted that they have not deviated from syllabus. Syllabus is scruplessly followed.

In Paper II, Modern India is as it is broad and strategy will remain more or less the same. Constitutional development should be given attention as separate head is dedicated to it.

Until now maximum questions were asked on economic impact of British rule on India and drain of wealth. Continuing the trend even in 2008 mains two major questions appeared on the same. In World History very few visible changes are made. Renaissance is omitted from the syllabus. But its importance shifted to enlightenment. asked immediately in 2008 mains American Civil War with reference to Abraham Lincoln and the abolition of slavery is totally new addition.

The word ‘cold war’ is omitted, instead they have used the phrase ‘The World after WW II’. In imperialism South and South-East Asia, Australia and Neo-imperialism is added. Political changes in Eastern Europe are now extended up to 2001. Appeared immediately in 2008 mains

In order to secure good marks in history one needs to develop a comparative approach in analyzing things by keeping an eye over, the subtle relationship between the past and the present. While answering a, question, students are generally much particular about vomiting the information-facts and figureswhich they have. so assiduously collected, but they must remember that they are not supposed to behave like news reporters. Instead, they need to cultivate an analytical approach to prove their point of view, for facts and figures merely help in validating the ideas. The real thing that clinches the issue for them in an examination situation is the comparatist-analytical line of writing that draws on the correlation between the past and the present. This approach contributes significantly towards bringing the answer up to the desired standard. A very simple looking but indispensably essential thing, that is to say, catching the right spirit of the questions asked is also highly important. Whenever we go through the question papers of the Main Exam, we underline the difference in the nature of the questions. The examples make the point crystal clear:

1. Personality-based questions: “Evaluate the achievements of Ashoka.”
2. Question based on state boundary and political structure: “Throw light on the expansion of the Mauryan Empire.
3. Administration-related question: ‘’Clarify the important aspects of Mansabdari system. Why did weaknesses appear in this system in course, of time?”
4. Question based on socio-economic system: “Comment on economic and social life during the Guptan period.”
5. Questions based on cultural artifacts such as religion, art and, literature:

i “Throw light on the development of literature during the Mughal period.”
ii “Focus on the features of architecture during the period of Akbar. What sorts of changes can one underline in the architecture under Shahjahan?

As next simple with regard to the privileging of the comparatist method over the non-comparatist one we can take a culture-based question such as “Throw light on the development of literature during the Mughal period.” This sort of question is factual in nature but here also we should prefer the comparatist approach over the non-comparatist one.

In a non-comparatist type of writing different sorts of literature would be classified with a large number of texts in each group, but in a standard variety of comparatist writing there should be a focus on the development of literature during the Mughal period in its totality. We can say that it is not sufficient to discuss the different types of literature and enumerate a large number of texts but rather we should highlight both the. trends in literary activities and the factors engendering those trends. For example, while considering the development of literature during the Mughal period we can underline the following trends:

1. Under the Mughals there was the exploitation of resources, in a vast region. So better availability of resources encouraged literary and artistic activities.

2. Mughal emperors gave patronage to a large number of scholars and their court became a cynosure for such scholars who came from very far-off regions.

3. Mughal emperors evinced interest in literary activities and some of Mughal emperors including Babar and Jahangir composed their autobiographies.

4. The Mughal period was marked by the policy of religious tolerance and cultural assimilation. Mughal-emperors encouraged the translation of Sanskrit texts’ into Persian. During this period Hindu scholars made a contribution to the development of Persian literature such as Surjan Rai Bhandari, Bhimsen Burhanpuri-while Muslim scholars helped develop Indian literature.

5. Mughal emperors gave patronage to Hindu scholars as -well. In this way Mughal emperorsencouraged Indian literature also.

6. During this period as the result of Bhakti and Sufi movement regional languages and literatures like Avadhi Tulsidas, Braj Bhasa Surdas and Marathi Eknath were encouraged.

7. During this period in regional states Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Golkonda too apart from Persian language even regional languages like Marathi and Telugu enjoyed the state patronage. In this way we should underline the trends and then we should present the name of certain texts and scholars as examples. Trends should be discussed in paragraphs and not presented as points. In analytical writing trends are extremely important while facts and figures are there to enforce a point of view. This is the reason why in the study of history it becomes imperative to underline the elements of change, but some students unfortunately waste their time only in collecting facts and figures.

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