UPSC & State PSC
History for UPSC CSE
Ancient, medieval and modern India, the freedom struggle and world history from the revolutions onward. Prelims draws on facts and chronology; GS Paper I asks for causes, consequences and interpretation rather than dates alone.
4 guides·Conducted by Union Public Service CommissionOfficial website
Study in this order
- 1The Harappan civilisation for UPSCA civilisation without palaces, without a deciphered script, and with better drains than many modern towns. What we know about the Harappans, how we know it, and which sites and features the exam keeps returning to. 5 min read
- 2The Mauryas and Ashoka's DhammaThe first empire to span most of the subcontinent, and a ruler who wrote to his subjects on rocks and pillars. How the Mauryas governed, what Ashoka's Dhamma really was, and how we know any of it. 5 min read
- 3The Gupta age: how classical was it?Kalidasa, Aryabhata, the Ajanta paintings and a gold coinage — the Gupta period has long been called India's golden age. Historians now ask: golden for whom? A balanced guide for Prelims and Mains. 5 min read
- 4The Delhi Sultanate: iqta, army and market reformsThree centuries, five dynasties and a set of institutions — the iqta, a paid standing army, price controls — that shaped north Indian governance long after the Sultans were gone. The administrative story UPSC asks about. 5 min read
New History guides are added regularly. Back to all UPSC CSE guides