(Article) History Optional - A Strategic Guideline for Mains

History - A Strategic Guideline for Mains

So, don’t be complainative and be prepared for the exam. As far the question that, is it safe to take history as an option in the IAS mains and how we should prepare for the mains ?

The answer must be a big yes… It is safe’em all to take history as an optional in the IAS mains. It is very stable as well as predictable also. You can leverage on this subject as it is also to be studied for general studies prelims and mains. Student from any discipline can choose and master this subject with systematic efforts. It has synergy with General studies. 50 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. If you are interested in the subject you can feel history is just like sitting into time machine and visiting our wonderful past. There is another advantage of history, as it makes a very good pair with many subjects, such as- Hindi, Philosophy, Public Administration, Anthropology, Political Science, Geography, etc. However, Proper understanding of the subject can’t be developed without interest. Thus, it can be said that yes it is very safe to take history as an option in IAS mains.

A variety of books are available on each topic in the market in history. As a result you can look upon the various books for the interpretation, even the same facts can be interpreted differently. However you must have to be cautious here, it becomes trap for the candidates to choose quality books. Candidate is not expected to research in subject but to command the various viewpoints, You have to be jack of all topics not the master in the subject. It is clearly stated in the UPSC syllabus that the questions will be asked upto the graduation level. In short if it’s a question of mastering the subject vs. mastering the examination which seems grossly the same, later should be selected. In that case reading of minimum number of standard books is sufficient. Right  approach is needed to catch the veins of UPSC.

Main’s study is analytical study, knowing the essence of the story. 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. History is most popular option is UPSC 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 sociocultural 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. It is as scientific as physics or mathematics, only since it is from humanities side, things are open ended.

Just keep in mind that one must fine the central issue, tendency or idea in each period of history. It helps in analyzing the period and also in establishing the cause-effect relationships between different events. Eg. During the Mauryan Age, the most importanttendency was that of centralization of power despite a huge bureaucracy. When we understand this tendency, it suddenly opens new avenues to analyze Ashoka’s policy of consolidation  of the empire after the victory at Kalinga, by the use of Dhamma. Immediately, we start viewing the decision of Ashoka to turn towards Buddhism not as an emotional decision but as a political one. This is just one example. And again, my interpretation may be wrong. That’s why the emphasis on understanding the subject and developing your own opinion. In the Mains exam, there is a Mapmarking question for 60 marks in Paper-1,
which can help you in coming out with flying colours. To solve this question, keep on referring to the Atlas whenever you come across some site while reading the books and note down the importance of the site. Specially for this question I referred “History through Maps” by Ensemble. It’s a fairly good book, but ultimately nothing can beat your own maps (done while studying the subject). Another important thing to bear in your mind is that History is an inter-connected subject, where the events occurring in one part of the world can have implications on events taking place in another. Don’t form water-tight compartments in your mind regarding the division of history as Indian History and World History, or Ancient, Medieval and Modern India. There is an invisible web of interconnections that runs through all this and we need to identify that web, which will become the USP of your answers. Eg. If you are asked to write about the Reasons behind the Charter Act of 1813, which substantially abolished the monopoly of East India Company over trade with India and China, everybody will know the eventsthat occurred in India that made this move necessary. Also, most candidates will be  aware of the happenings in British Parliament that necessitated this move. But only the person who has deciphered the web of interconnections will know that a main reason for the Charter Act of 1813 was the Continental Policy of Napoleon. Now, if you say that this is a part of world history, you’ll lose the USP of your answer to this question. So, use your knowledge to make the answer as unique as possible and find out the connections and causality.

It is said that a proper beginning is the stepping stone from where the sky is the limit. And as Mains are round the comer to waste time now is putting a semi-colon on your career, if not a full stop. Remember, times is
more precious than money, because money once lost can be earned back, but time once lost never returns. Here, we have tried to provide some specialized opinion to the students who are about to appear in ht Mains.
So that they can utilize their precious time its optimum.

History has always been a popular subject, both, at the Preliminary and Mains levels, in the Union and State Civil Service Examinations. A few reasons have become instrumental in establishing history as a most pt for optional. First, the study of History doesn’t require any kind of specialized knowledge. A student coming from any steam, be it Arts, commerce or Science, in due course of time, can easily excel the subject. Second comprehensive, specific, and as one can say ‘crystal clear’. On the contrary, in case of some others subjects, though the syllabus seems too short, but as we get into its description the journey seems to be endless. Thirdly,
whatever be the type of the question, it does not go outside one’s spheres of knowledge. And last but the least, in the General Studies section of both, the prelims and the Mains, History contributes in a very vital manner.
Before going into the details of the strategy for the preparation of History, we have to give some focus over certain vital questions. The first and foremost question is, that whether this subject is convenient for the students coming-from science background. It is also opined in the students’ community that such students consider themselves to be in disadvantaged position as compared to the students from the History background. Notwithstanding the fact, a study conducted in this regard confirms, that the students; specialty coming from the science background, have done meritoriously well in History as compared to the students from History background. This probably: is because of their sense of clarity objectivity and precision in their viewpoint in analysing and understanding the requirement of the questions:-These qualities in turn leads then to a better score sheet.

The second question, that can concerns the students is the level of scores in History They either think or are made to think that History, as a subject in these examinations is not; a scoring subject. And because of these apprehensions, students land to move away t6 the other optional, notwithstanding the fact of their interest in the subject. This-step of theirs’ renders them with a subject in which they fail to develop the kind of interest and insight, dowering them with lesser marks: However,. it is essential for, the students to choose, a subject of their interest, because, it  is the interest only which leads them towards an overall better performance. Further, what,; I think, that it is not only important for a student to choose a, subject in which they can score but also a subject in which they can excel. And, as we all know that History has always been a preferable optional among the students at the Union and State level examinations, it is but obvious that the largest number of students appearing in these exams, are from History. Hence, we also find, both serious and non-serious type of students to their maximum in History, This indicates that one should not jump on to the conclusion regarding the orientation of results of the subject, just by considering a few, bad mark sheets. On the contrary History is one of the better. scoring subjects in Civil Services Examinations.

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Finally, all this is for those immortal souls who would like to understand the subject and enjoy mastering it. Keep this in your mind, ‘Master the subject, and marks will follow you’. But is there any other way of just clearing the exam without mastering the subject? Can you clear the exam with history as an optional without having the proper attitude or ever loving the subject? Of course you can. But why make life miserable for ourselves? Why not make the effort. Rather than go through the motions, make history a part of your life. After all, that’s exactly what history is—it is your life. When we observe minutely, we find that most of the students appearing in -the, Mains, with History as their optional, are unable to reach to its core, despite the fact that this exam expects them to have an in-depth knowledge of the subject to score well. Considering this case, and the kind. of approach the students have, be it any sulk, History or Chemistry, Geography or Philosophy, it is almost impossible for them to climb the upper-most ladder of the scoreboard. The approach, students have towards History, makes it e subject based on conception mere cause and result-based subject, and their way of writing remains descriptive, thus outdated. This is the natural outcome of conventional methods of teaching and studying history in most of the Indian universities. On the other hand, new researches keep emerging every now and then, thus, forming the base for preparing questions. As most of the students are quite unaware of the new developments in the field of History, so they fail to fulfill the demand of the questions. Consider this example, R.S. Sharma’s opinion on the subject like Indian Feudalism, has gone grey in the light of recent researches, which hardly matters to most of the students. However, it is not only important for a student to remain updated with recent opinions, but it is also essential for him/her to be aware of the kind of importance the new opinion holds, and accordingly, they have to decide that in which context and format the opinion has to be taken in their writings. Only then, they can be assured of leaving a specialised, mark on their answer sheets. There is no shortcut to success; though if one works considering an appropriate strategy, flawless time management, and upright direction, it is possible to reduce the time within one’s schedule. Henceforth, we will discuss in detail  the strategy required to prepare for the examination.

The third and the most important question that has recently surfaced in the intellectual community is the controversy over writing history. It lies become the most sought after question, in the recent time, that
whether the Indian history should be rewritten. In fact, this controversy arose between two groups of historians working under different ideology, as’ the fight for supremacy The main area of the confrontation is the
Ancient and the Medieval- Indian History. Not to mention, Marxist Historians are comparatively doming- t; in both these areas. These historians have a specialised way of writing history. They gave a materialistic
interpretation of History by underlining changes in the society on the basis of means of production and production relations. In: the recent past, a group of intellects hay stoodagainst this; style of historiography. This group emphasizes that whatever is bees presented by the Marxist historians in the name of history is simply distorted interpretation of the reality. Thus, now, these intellect historians claim to present the actual history. This aha resulted in many a controversy. One of the most important controversies is related to Harappan Civilisation and Vedic Aryans. This controversy stated in July 1999, when NS Rajaram and Natwar Sah claimed to have deciphered the Harappan script. They in their text “The Deciphered Indus Script” have made a claim to have deciphered more than 2000 Harappan Script. But, NS Rajaram was and engineering professor in America during the decade of 1980. Bu, later in the decade of 1990, he emerged as a propagandist of Hindutava and a revisionist historian. Recently, he has been appointed as a member of Indian Council of Historical Civilisation.
Not simply this but he takes the credit of unearthing pre-Harappan literary evidence as well. The evidence is supposed to be as old as mid of 4000 BC. In nutshell, these historians and to emphasise that Vedic Aryans were the founders of Harappan Civilisation. Even N S Rajaram appears to be much inclined to prove this.

But Marxist historians oppose this view. If the theory of Aryan invasion, they believe, is on type of distortion of the fact, then the theory of indigenous origin is another type of distortion. Historians like Romila Thapar, Michael Witzel, Steve Farmer, Irfan Habib etc. have strongly opposed the theory of indigenous origin. Apart from this, some other controversies have also emerged. For e.g. the controversy about the Sikh Guru Teg
bahadur as mentioned in the NCERT books of class XI and the historicity of Jain Guru etc. As a result Ministry of Human resource Development has directed NCERT to eliminate the portion, that directly or indirectly hurts the religious sentiments of any community out the course. Author controversy that surfaced is of beef eating by the Vedic Aryans. In fact, D N Jha, in his book, ‘Holy Cow – Brief and Indian Dietary’ has presented that brief was the part of Vedic Indian’s daily food. The book faced strong opposition even before it could see the shelves. In January 2002, another controversy related to the first urban structure emerged. In fact, on 16th Jan, 2002 the Science and TechnologyDepartment has claimed to have discovered the most ancient human settlement in the Bay of Cambay at the Gujarat Coast. The settlement is supposed to be-as old as around 7500 BC. However, many a ‘Historian and Archaeologist have put a question mark on this discovery.

Apart from the controversies discussed above, one important controversy is about the nature of government during Medieval age. For example, a few Hindutava supporting intellectuals believed that Indian History has witnessed the two layers of colonization. The first layer is that of Islam whereas second is that of European Christianity. According to them India hasn’t lost its independence in  8th century, rather, it was lost much before
in the 13th century itself. In 18th century, it was just a shuffle of rulers. They also believe that the sacrifice and resistance shown by Lebit Burfucan of Assam and Rana Pratap of Rajasthan against Mughal imperialism should be viewed as the liberation movement.In this way we find that some new controversies have surfaced in analysis of history. Although, the emergence of the opposite view should not be taken as a regressive step in itself, because, it is after the intense debate among scholars that any research takes the form of a historical truth. But, the one strong limitation of this new historiography is the active participation of the governmental machinery in History writing. The appointments of, first B.R. Grover, then later KS. Lal as the Chairman of ICHR and the appointment of J.S. Rajput as the Director of NCERT are a good examples in this regard, because these scholars are looked upon as the government favourers. This active participation of government machinery has resultantly made the entire process of Historiography suspicious. R. Champak Laxmi has clearly stated that the question here, is not of the disagreement between the historians of two different groups, rather, here it is between historians and, politicians..

But still students should be scared about the controversies, as these are not going to be the part of the questions either at preliminary or mains level. The students have to take care of one simple fact that they are the followers of an established researcher and not the researcher themselves. Thus, one should not be concerned about the research that has not yet been the part of the syllabus. That’s why you are not supposed to change the way-of your preparation. Maximum you can do for making your answer more updated and relevant is to, mention in you answer that “some opposite view has emerged recently but further researches’ are still awaited”. Some students have this sort of misconception that scoring in a paper depends on the phenomenon that how far your writing confirms to the mood and the ideological inclination of the examiner. In fact, examiners are highly educated persons who posses intellectual honesty. Thus, they are less concerned with their personal inclination and more with specific and logical answers. So far as disagreement of opinion is concerned, it has always been there. When we observe minutely we find that even the scholars working under the same ideology have strong disagreement on certain issues. For eg. in Medieval history writing, even the historians, popularly known as Aligarh group, have strong differences on certain issues. The theory of agrarian crisis, originally propounded by Irfan Habib, was revised by Athar Ali, a historian belonging to the same group. Likewise, the view of Irfan Habib on the topic ‘capitalist potentiality of Mughal Economy’ faced a serious challenge from Iqtidar Ala Khan. Similarly, disagreement is quite visible among them most important Marxist writers Indian Feudalism, namely, D D Kaushambi, .RS Sharma and D N Jha. It is true that these controversial questions are having the weight age in interview, so the students who are going to face the interview board should specifically be prepared on these topics. Here the best way for them is to strike a middle path.

Analysis of the Syllabus

Now we will discuss about the syllabus and the strategy for the preparation in main exam. In the first section of the first paper there is the history of ancient India. The first topic is compact and lucid, apart from ‘the source for study of ancient India’ even historiography is included here. But this sort of change is desirable because for the students of history the knowledge of historiography is essential. In the topic no-2 there is a focus over Neolithic age. But even this change has some positive countenance in the sense that it is the Neolithic age which prepares the background of the Indus valley civilization. Otherwise, the study of Indus Valley Civilization turns to be a dull affair for most of the students as they do not know its back ground. In the topic no-4 Chalcolithic Cultures in Indian continent between 2000 BC to 500 BC have to be studied. This topic throws light on the late Harappan Culture and other Chalcolithic Cultures. In ‘fact this area, so far, remained to be the unexplored area of ancient history until the last few decades. But, because of the recent researches a number of new findings have come to light. Actually, it was this area, that the issue of the decline of Indus Valley Civilization, the position of a number of Chalcolithic Cultures and their relationship with Vedic Aryans were all combined. In addition to the existing topicsof the syllabus some new topics like ‘earlier  phase of state formation’ has been includedunder the topic no-6. For the preparation of  this topic Romila Thapar’s text ‘From lineage to state’ can be a reliable book. Likewise, in the topic no-7’Nature of Mauryan state’ has been added as a sub-topic. On this particular subject there is much controversy over the centralized verses decentralized state. The historians like R.S. Sharma, M. Barua and initially even Romila Thapar are inclined to prove that the modern state was a centralized state. Whereas, on the other hand, foreign historians like Bongard Levin and Jerald Fussman emphasize on the decentralization theory. Students are supposed to have the proper knowledge of different approaches to the analysis of history. Moreover, they have to strike a compromise between the two extremes as and when required. Likewise topic no-12 comprises different philosophical schools. Above all archaeology as a source material for the study of Ancient India, has been given much emphasise, considering the growing importance of archaeology in historical studies.

The second part of the first paper includes history of Medieval India. In this section except few new topics, almost all the old topics have been reorganized. In the history of early medieval age some minor topics like ‘Ghaznavi empire’ and ’Ramanuja’ etc are added. These topics can be prepared simply on the basis of some general books. Condition of women’ is an important topic which has been added in the history of early medieval, age and later medieval age separately. Likewise in political history some new topics like in ‘Ghorian invasion’ ‘Provincial Dynasty’ etc has been added new syllabus. Similarly, in Mughal age topics like. ’Jahangir’ and ’Shahjahan’ have been given some space. It shows the growing influence of historians opposed to Aligarh school. There is a charge against the historians of the Aligarh school that they have laid greater emphasis over Akbar and Aurangzeb, the hero and the villian among the Mughal Emperors and simply neglected other Mughal Emperors. Moreover, these historians gave much emphasis over economic and social history, but, in the new syllabus there is equal emphasis over political history and culture as well.

Besides these ‘provincial art’, ‘classical music’, ‘Dara Sukoh’ and some other minor topics have been added into the syllabus. Cane need not consult any specific book for these topics, as the relevant information is available, even in the general book of art and culture. One special feature of this syllabus is that one single topic has been divided into different segments chronologically. But while preparing a topic the students should be
particular about the fact that all the topics make an organic whole thus, should not be viewed in fragments. For example we can underline the development of Sufism as an organic whole although for convenience, it has been divided and placed into different topics separately.

The first part of the second paper comprises the history of Modern India. In old syllabus, the history of Modern India was divided into seven topics, but in the new syllabus, it has been divided into 12 topics. Secondly, one significant change is that, in the old syllabus’ administrative and economic policies were put under the separate topics but now they have been combined together. Likewise, British economic policies and their impact on Indian Economy have been dealt separately. The impact of the First World War on British economic policy has emerged as an important topic. Cambridge history volume- 2 by Dharma Kumar and materials of IGNOU are of much use on this subject. Even topics related to the freedom movement are divided into different segments. Thus, the beginners may face some difficulties in proper analysis of syllabus of Modern India. Therefore, instead of viewing the topic separately, one should view these topics in totality, and at the time of answering the question he should choose the relevant portion. The syllabus of Modern India still carries most of the old topics except some like ‘literary and cultural movements’, art, film industry etc, and also the history of postindependence era (1947-64). The topics like literary and cultural movements etc. are not very important from mains’ point of view. The topic of post- independence era can be prepared from the materials by IGNOU and the text ‘India After Independence’ by Bipin Chandra and Fifty years of Indian Republic’ by K. M Santhanam.

Now we should move to World History. The preparation of world history require consistency and expertise. Here, the first requirement is the proper analysis of the syllabus itself. When we observe minutely, we find that in the first topic there is a focus on Renaissance background. Next is the ‘Topic of Enlightenment’ which is intensely related to Renaissance consciousness. Enlightenment reflects middle class world view. The ideas of Enlightment also influenced America. This point has been mentioned in a separate subtopic Enlightment outside of Europe’. In the same topic, the development of socialism up to Marx has been underlined. The topic no-2
emphasize over the emergence of modem politics. In this topic, apart from European State system; American Revolution and the French Revolution have also been focused upon. This topic also focuses on political developments in Britain between 1815-1850. The topic no-3 is separate topic titled ‘Industrialization’ Beginning with the causes and impact of Industrial Revolution in Britain, it also throws light on industrialization on USA, Germany, Russia and Japan. Furthermore, this topic. includes socialist industrialization i.e. industrialization in Russia and China. In the next topic deals with the emergence of nation state. In the nutshell, we can say that in the old syllabus, topics were presented in a chronological order but in the new syllabus, trend is more important than chronology. For example; it is in the topic no-3 that socialist industrialization, industrialization in Russia
and China has been mentioned. On the other hand, the Russian and Chinese Revolutions have been specified in the topic no-6, while the’ revolutions took place much earlier then the socialist industrialization. Thus here ‘trend’ appears to be more prominent than chronology. The one important feature of the new syllabus is that the 5 of the 12 topics of the world history reflects the development in post-world war era extending up to the
postmodernist era.

When we view on the books required for the preparation of World History, we find that particularly the books in accordance with the new syllabus are scarce. Some books mentioned below can be useful for preparing the topics ‘related to World History. First and the foremost is the series of 8 books on European History published by IGNOU titled— “Modern Europe – Between 18th to 20th Century”, can be of real use. Except this,
the book like International Relations between the two World wars by E H Kar is much useful in underlining the developments between the two’ world wars. For the topics after the Second World War there is the dearth of books in History, so one has to move to the books on International Relations and series of 8 books divided respectively in two groups by IGNOU titled “international Relations” and “Contemporary International  Relations” cart be of real use. For the last two topics, “Integration of Europe” and “Deintegration of USSR, and the Emergence of Unipolar World” one can gather the important information published in magazines and
journals from time to time. The Strategy for the preparation for Mains: The only formula for success is that, your performance should excel on others and your answers should be different, outstand the rest. For this, you should be well prepared. Thus, to walk the road of success, a planned preparation is mandatory in fact, the preparation should start with the study of syllabus and the question bank itself. Apart from giving the direction it keeps you alert and conscious.

It is safe to divide the-preparation into different stages. The first stage requires the thorough study of whole syllabus, as a Civil Service aspirant is supposed to know something of everything and everything of something. In course of the.thorough study of the syllabus, one can underline the interrelationship among different topics: In fact, the student, while making a serious study of History, is expected to underline the forces of changes and those of continuity in History. It is only after the thorough study of the syllabus; one can develop the comparative approach in analysis of History. The method of analytical writing is only possible through comparative approach. So this is not advisable for the students to be selective from the very beginning; because in that condition, he cannot gain either confidence or expertise. But, after making a thorough study, one has to be selective as well, in order to fetch good marks in sum total, there should be a proper mix between intensive and extensive studies. When the first stage is finished, then the aspirant should switch over to historiography. It implies the second stage of preparation. Historiography means the proper knowledge of different approaches for analyzing history. More clearly we can say, if history is the study of society, historiography is the study of history. For e.g. if history informs us about a particular event that took place in a particular frame of time, historiography presents before us different explanations which may be instrumental behind a particular event. You very well know the fact that in most of the questions, the, students are supposed to present his own stand. But it is possible only after the proper knowledge of historiography. To make this point more clear we can give a example of a particular question, this is such as ‘do you agree that rise of Gandhi in Indian politics was a high level political game?. On this question you have, to present your own stand, and the task would be easier for you when you came to know that this is a particular view which has been propounded by Cambridge School of Historiography.

In the third stage of preparation, the student should be more particular about the selection of important topics as well as making serious writing practices. Because your consciousness at this third stage make your knowledge directly culminate into marks. This is a general tendency among students to give more and more time on study but little time on the writing practice. Try to  develop extempore writing. For that you have
to earmark at least two hours daily. As a result your writing will improve gradually. History is such a subject on which umpteen books are available on each topic in the market. As the view of the past constantly changes, even the same facts can be interpreted differently. A candidate is not expected to conduct research on the subject but to master the various viewpoints and substantiate the viewpoint that one believe strongly in. E.H.Carr, while defining ‘what is history’, has noted that history is a ‘continuous dialogue’ between the past and the present. So, it is not just the past events that shape our present and our future, but also the present that changes the way we interpret history. This is especially reflected in the Nationalist school of historians as well as in the leftist or Marxist school of historians. So, according to me, having the ability to forge your opinion and sieve through different layers of history is also a necessary art to master the subject. The study of history reveals that there is no clear cut answer for anything. Since understanding history is based on individual—and therefore subjective—interpretation, you must decide for yourself what kind of meaning you will attach to the topic. Go into history with an open mind. Don’t expect the answer to be presented to you as if written in stone. It’s not.

The vast syllabus cannot be covered without the pointers. Especially they have made work easy by giving some points in bold. There is a question of map work for sixty marks in the mains examination in Paper I. Name of the sites are given and candidate is supposed to identify the location as well as write description of the site, with 250 to 300 sites with description you can outperform others, If you are ready with it. 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. Mapping has to be practiced daily. On the given map they give only India’s international boundaries. It is safer to make blocks and practice.

World history is to be targeted in paper- II. On modern India now so much research is available that there is no end of interpretation. Comparatively world history is straight and neutral. If world history questions are difficult you can jump to modern India in the last moment but reverse is not justifiable. One has to focus on relevant areas. Guesswork has to be done to what will come and what will not. If the notes are prepared in question-answer format then nothing like practicising it. Candidates dream that as soon as study is over they will give tests. That’s ideal, but that is not to be happen. Studies may never get over. Just make a timetable of tests, follow it strictly, and get it checked from an eligible person. Structure of answer, handwriting, speed, fluency, plays a main role in obtaining marks. One should give full attention to the direction of the question like Discuss, Explain, Evaluate, Describe, Compare etc. Each of them denotes different meaning.3 History is a subject that we have actually lived, through many generations and still continue to live everyday. It is full of plots and counter plots, desires and detachments, wars and peace, giant triumphs and utter failures, like a methodical chaos created by actions of different people, at different locations, at different points in time. Studying history is like ‘moving faster than the speed of light’ (Einstein says that if we move faster than light, then we can actually travel back and forth in time). It’s like being in a time machine. But all this is true only if you have a ‘real’ interest in the subject. Otherwise it can be an extremely dry subject, with enormous amount of facts to mug up and a huge syllabus spanning the entire known history of human existence on earth (although, somewhat limited)

HOW TO WRITE ANSWER

Now we will discuss the strategy and technique of writing answers. How to answer short notes: When we observe the first and the second paper simultaneously, we find that, the nature of short notes is quite different in both these papers. In the first paper, short notes are like short essays. For answering them, mainly the information is required. For eg. short notes are such as, ‘Religion of Indus Civilization’, Mauryan’s Citizen Administration etc. In such questions you simply need to put in relevant information without presenting your own inclination and stand But the demand of the second paper is something different. In this paper the short notes are more concept-based. So, mere, presentation is more important than just information. Above all, the student has to present his oven stand on most of the questions. So, while answering the short notes; one should be particular about the points mentioned below

1. Read the question more than once to find out the real meaning: Because most of the times, it is difficult to understand the actual meaning of the question.
2. Once you find out the meaning, try to answer the question in the light of standard view.
3. It is not always imperative to agree with the statement, because in some questions disagreement is indispensable. For e.g. in such questions like, ‘On 23th June 1757, Medieval age ended and the modem age started’, we cannot avoid disagreement.
4. Some questions are simply the statements of the important historians or scholars. However, it is not essential for the examinee to mention their name. He should write the answer on the basis of statement only.
5. The answer should be started with the main point itself, because, the examinee do not have enough time to get into the format of introduction etc.

HOW TO WRITE LONG-ANSWERS

1. Read the question more than one time to understand the actual, meaning and requirement of the question. To this context it is imperative to consider the terms like ‘explain’, ‘analyse’, ‘through light on’, critically examine etc. which just comes at the end of the questions. Considering the convenience of the students, we are going to focus on few such terms below

(a) Explain: to give wide extent exposition of a particular statement or a. question so much so that its basic concept is made clear. .
(b) Through light on: here, examine is expected to give his opinion considering different aspects.
(c) Analyse: here; different aspects of the fact should be. comparatively described.
(d) Critically examine: here, the fact concerned should be described in context of some other related fact.
(e) Criticise: In this context both positive and-negative factors should be specified.
(f) Critically evaluate: this is similar to point.
(g) Do you agree one should be much, careful in answering these questions because in most of the situations; you are supposed to strike a note of disagreement.

2. Answer should best with them in point itself. Other relevant information should be stated in the mid of the answer itself. While concluding the answer, one should repeat the basic point again so. that the meaning is not-raft unclear.

3. Instead of answering in points, prefer: to write in paragraphs. After finishing every para, the question should be observed again, so that the answer is riot deviated from the actual requirement.

4. While answering the question, one should try to use moderate and neutral words in his answers as far as possible. For e.g. instead of a sentence like, “thus the statement cannot be accepted, it is always recommended to use thus it seems different colt to accept the statement’.

5. The answer writing should be well planned. It is always good to prepare a draft of the: answer well in advance. Maps: In order to secure good marks in the first paper, it is essential to solve the question on ma p. As it is observed from the last few years’ question papers, it is very difficult to conclude that the question’ on map would be associated either with ‘ancient or Medieval history On other hand; in the question paper of the year 2000 the lines indicating different Fivers were eliminated from the snap,. rendering the students in severe problems. Though, the situation as revised in the year 2001, still one can dot ignore the possibility of the repetition of year was revised in the year 2001, still one can not ignore the possibility of the repetition of 2000’s pattern. Thus it is essential to from a strategy in this regard. Firstly, its preparation should have a long term strategy. In other words along with the preparation of preliminary exams, one should starts preparing for maps too. Secondly a specialized techniques should be used while preparing for maps. In other words considering the length
and breadth of the map being 7" and 6" respectively it should be divided In to squares of equal sizes on 7 and 6 vertical and horizontal parts respectively with the pencil.

This way, the entire map will be divided into the blocks. Now mark the important rivers, places etc on the map with a pen and rub the pencil blocks. What is most important here is that the strategy used to divide and mark the map during the practice should be used as it is in the examination hall too. In other words if the map is divided in 7 parts horizontally and 6 parts vertically, the same technique should be used in the examination hall too because, if there is any variation in this the answer is ought to go wrong. Thus it is important to take proper precaution while preparing for maps, the most important aspect of this strategy is that , whatever type of map you get, you will never have problem in marking the places successfully.

History : A Versatile Optional In Civil Services Exam.

History has been a popular optional in civil services examination. There are various reasons behind its popularity. First of all, it does not require as a pre-requisite, any kind of specialization. That is a student of even non-history background may opt and prepare this subject effectively.

Secondly, this subject can be prepared in short period in spite of the lengthy size of its syllabus. Thirdly, history has a large share in the syllabus of General Studies at both levels – prelims and mains examinations. Thus history is productive in this respect too. Success is not ensured, however, by going for a particular optional subject only. It requires a short-term as well as a long-term planning. Success is a product of a well planned effort which includes each of hard labour, strategy and vision. There is no ready –made formula of success and there is sufficient scope for personal experimentation. There is a specific methodology and discipline to study any subject, so history too must be prepared in a particular manner. But it would be opposite to purge a few confusions about this subject before deliberating upon its special method of study. A number of students think that the syllabus of history is enormous and it requires building a vast pool of facts. But such a presumption is not realistic (well-founded). It can be prepared beautifully in short span of time with systematic effort. Collection of facts and study of history are two jobs apart. Some students take history for collection of events or an avalanche of informations and they miss those results or conclusions for which the description of an event is important. We cannot view the description of event in isolation of the results. To dissect is to murder.

Let us illustrate it with the help of an example. Al-beruni said, observing the India of the first half of 11th century, that neither the Vaishyas nor the Shudras had the right to read or listen to the Veda. This information leads us to a conclusion that the condition of Vaishyas deteriorated by the early-medieval time down to that of the Shudras. Thus, a full view can be developed by a mutual coordination of information and conclusion. Study of history means underlining the forces of continuity and forces of change. For example, while reading history one should be careful about the fact that which elements of the Vedic society can be seen in the society of the Buddha Age and which elements became absent. There is a need, therefore, to study in a synthesized and cause-effect method the various aspects of history viz economic, social, political and cultural. The philosophy of Upnishada, for example, was related to the evolution of agrarian culture in the economic sphere and to the emergence of maharajanapadas in the political sphere. Thus history should be viewed and understood as an organic whole,in its totally.

Such a strategy is equally useful for both the preliminary as well as the mains examination.

“It’s choice – not chance that determines your destiny”.

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