UPSC Prelims — Indian History and Polity

Why This Chapter Matters

History and Polity together account for 40-50 questions in UPSC Prelims GS Paper 1 — the largest single chunk. Modern India's freedom movement and Constitutional provisions are highest-weightage areas.

Indian History

Ancient India — High-Yield Facts

Indus Valley Civilisation (2600-1900 BCE):

Sites: Harappa (Punjab, Pakistan), Mohenjo-daro (Sindh), Lothal (Gujarat — only port city), Kalibangan (Rajasthan — pre-Harappan + Harappan), Dholavira (Gujarat — only site with sign board inscription), Rakhigarhi (Haryana — largest IVC site in India).

Key features: Town planning, Great Bath (Mohenjo-daro), no iron, bronze age, pictographic script (undeciphered), standardised weights and measures, no temples found, evidence of trade with Mesopotamia.

Vedic Period (1500-600 BCE):

Rig Veda: oldest text, 1028 hymns, River Saraswati mentioned (now dried).

Later Vedic: shift from nomadic to settled agriculture; caste system crystallised; Upanishads (philosophy — "Brahma is reality, world is illusion").

16 Mahajanapadas: Magadha rose to prominence.

Maurya Empire (322-185 BCE):

Chandragupta Maurya: founded with help of Chanakya (Arthashastra — treatise on statecraft).

Ashoka (268-232 BCE): Kalinga War (261 BCE) → converted to Buddhism → Dhamma (moral code, not Buddhism per se) → rock edicts and pillar edicts across empire → sent missionaries to Sri Lanka, Greece, Egypt.

Megasthenes (Greek ambassador): wrote Indica.

Post-Maurya Empires:

Shunga, Satavahana, Kushana (Kanishka — 4th Buddhist council), Gupta.

Gupta Empire (320-550 CE): "Golden Age" — science, art, literature. Aryabhata (zero, pi, heliocentric theory), Kalidasa (Shakuntala, Meghaduta), Varahamihira, Brahmagupta.

Chandra Gupta II (Vikramaditya): Chinese traveller Fa-hien visited.

Hunas invasion → decline of Gupta.

Chola Empire (South India):

Rajaraja I, Rajendra I (naval expeditions to Southeast Asia).

Bronze sculptures, temple architecture (Brihadeeswarar temple at Thanjavur).

Medieval India — High-Yield Facts

Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526):

Qutb-ud-din Aibak: 1st Sultan, started Qutb Minar.

Iltutmish: 1st Sultan to receive investiture from Caliph. Completed Qutb Minar.

Razia Sultana: 1st and only woman Sultan.

Alauddin Khilji: Market reforms (4 markets — grain, cloth, cattle, slaves/animals), Khambat conquest.

Muhammad bin Tughlaq: Transfer of capital (Delhi→Daulatabad — failed), Token currency (failed). Called "wisest fool" or "mix of opposites."

Firuz Shah Tughlaq: Welfare works — hospitals, canals, abolition of torture.

Timur's invasion (1398): Delhi sacked, weakened Tughlaq.

Mughal Empire (1526-1857):

Babur: First Battle of Panipat (1526) vs Ibrahim Lodi. Used gunpowder.

Humayun: Defeated by Sher Shah Suri, recovered empire.

Sher Shah Suri (1540-1545): Grand Trunk Road, postal system, land revenue reforms (precursor to Mughal system).

Akbar (1556-1605): Din-i-Ilahi (syncretic religion), Ibadat Khana (house of worship — debates), Navratnas (9 gems at court), Fatehpur Sikri, Todar Mal (land revenue), Abul Fazl (Ain-i-Akbari, Akbarnama). Married Jodha Bai (Rajput alliance).

Shah Jahan (1628-1658): Taj Mahal (1632-1653 in memory of Mumtaz Mahal), Red Fort, Jama Masjid.

Aurangzeb (1658-1707): Reimposed Jizya, banned music in court, Deccan campaigns (drained treasury), Hindu temples destroyed. Longest-reigning Mughal but initiated decline.

Bhakti and Sufi Movements:

Bhakti: Devotion over ritual, opposed caste. Ramananda, Kabir (both Hinduism-Islam synthesis), Mirabai, Tukaram, Guru Nanak (Sikhism founded), Chaitanya.

Sufi: Islamic mysticism. Orders: Chishti (Moinuddin Chishti, Ajmer — most popular in India), Suhrawardi, Qadiri, Naqshbandi.

Modern India — Critical for UPSC

British India Timeline:

1600: East India Company founded (charter by Elizabeth I).

1757: Battle of Plassey (Clive vs Siraj-ud-Daulah) — British political power begins.

1764: Battle of Buxar — British defeat combined force of Nawab of Oudh, Mughal Emperor, Bengal Nawab → more decisive than Plassey.

1773: Regulating Act — first Parliamentary control of EIC. Warren Hastings became 1st Governor-General.

1793: Permanent Settlement (Cornwallis) — zamindari system in Bengal, Bihar, Odisha.

1829: Sati banned (Lord William Bentinck, after campaign by Ram Mohan Roy).

1853: First railway (Bombay to Thane, 34km) and telegraph.

1857: Sepoy Mutiny / First War of Independence. Centres: Meerut, Delhi, Kanpur (Nana Sahib), Lucknow (Begum Hazrat Mahal), Jhansi (Rani Lakshmibai). Causes: Enfield rifle cartridge (greased with pig/cow fat), annexation policy, doctrine of lapse.

1858: Crown rule replaces EIC. Queen Victoria's Proclamation.

1885: INC founded. A.O. Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinshaw Wacha. First president: W.C. Bonnerjee. First session: Bombay.

1905: Partition of Bengal (Curzon) → Swadeshi Movement → INC split (Moderates vs Extremists).

1906: Muslim League founded (Dhaka).

1909: Morley-Minto Reforms — separate electorate for Muslims.

1919: Rowlatt Act → Jallianwala Bagh (Amritsar, April 13, Baisakhi day, Gen. Dyer, 379 killed officially) → Gandhi returned knighthood, others returned titles.

1920: Non-Cooperation Movement (Gandhi's first mass movement).

1929: Lahore Congress → Poorna Swaraj (complete independence) declared → 26 Jan 1930 celebrated as Independence Day.

1930: Civil Disobedience Movement → Salt March (Dandi March, March 12 - April 6, 241 miles).

1931: Gandhi-Irwin Pact → CDM suspended → Round Table Conference (London) — unsuccessful.

1935: Government of India Act — established federation (didn't work), provincial autonomy, dyarchy at centre, separate electorates.

1940: Lahore Resolution (Pakistan Resolution) — Muslim League demands separate state.

1942: Cripps Mission (failed) → Quit India Movement ("Do or Die", August 8) → mass arrests, underground resistance.

1945-46: INA trials → public sympathy for INA. Naval Mutiny (1946). Cabinet Mission (1946) — federal plan rejected.

1947: Mountbatten Plan (June 3) → Indian Independence Act → August 15, 1947 — Independence. Partition into India and Pakistan.

1948: Gandhi assassinated (January 30, by Nathuram Godse).

1950: Constitution came into force (January 26).

Indian Polity

Constitutional Framework

Salient features:

Longest written constitution (448 articles, 12 schedules — originally 395 articles, 8 schedules).

Federal with unitary bias (Centre stronger than States).

Borrowed from: UK (PM, cabinet), US (fundamental rights, judicial review, President), Ireland (DPSP, Rajya Sabha nomination), Australia (concurrent list), Canada (strong centre, residuary powers with centre), Germany (emergency), South Africa (amendment procedure), Japan (procedure for law).

Preamble:

"We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic and to secure to all its citizens:

Justice... Liberty... Equality... Fraternity..."

"Socialist" and "Secular" added by 42nd Amendment (1976).

Types of constitutions:

Rigid: Requires special procedure to amend (India's fundamental provisions).

Flexible: Amended by simple majority (some provisions of Indian Constitution).

India's constitution: partly rigid, partly flexible.

Constitutional amendments:

Simple majority (Art 368 not required): Some provisions.

Special majority + ratification by half of states: Federal provisions (Art 368, 2nd proviso).

Special majority alone (Art 368): Most amendments.

Fundamental Rights (Part III, Art 12-35)

Six fundamental rights:

1.Right to Equality (Art 14-18): Equality before law, no discrimination, abolition of untouchability (Art 17), titles abolished (Art 18).

2.Right to Freedom (Art 19-22): Six freedoms in Art 19 (speech, assembly, association, movement, residence, profession). Art 20: protection in conviction. Art 21: Life and liberty (MOST expanded by courts). Art 21A: Right to education (6-14 years, added by 86th Amendment 2002). Art 22: Protection from arbitrary arrest.

3.Right against Exploitation (Art 23-24): No forced labour (trafficking, begar). No child labour below 14 in hazardous employment.

4.Right to Freedom of Religion (Art 25-28).

5.Cultural and Educational Rights (Art 29-30): Minorities can establish educational institutions.

6.Right to Constitutional Remedies (Art 32): Ambedkar called it "Heart and Soul of Constitution." Five writs: habeas corpus (produce the body — wrongful detention), mandamus (we command — to perform duty), prohibition (inferior court to stop exceeding jurisdiction), certiorari (quash decision), quo warranto (by what authority — to hold public office).

Suspension during Emergency: Art 358 (Art 19 suspended during national emergency), Art 359 (enforcement of any FR can be suspended by Presidential order during emergency — except Art 20 and 21).

DPSP (Part IV, Art 36-51) and Fundamental Duties (Art 51A)

DPSP: Non-justiciable (cannot be enforced in court) but fundamental in governance. Directive to state for welfare state.

Categories: Gandhian (Art 40 village panchayats, Art 43 cottage industries), Socialistic (Art 39 equal pay, Art 41 right to work), Liberal-Intellectual (Art 44 uniform civil code, Art 45 early childhood care).

Fundamental Duties: Added by 42nd Amendment (1976), 10 duties. 11th duty added by 86th Amendment (2002): Parent/guardian to provide education to child 6-14 years.

Non-justiciable (can't sue someone for not following). Swaran Singh Committee recommended.

Revision Notes

BATTLE DATES: Plassey 1757 | Buxar 1764 | Panipat 1 (1526) | Panipat 2 (1556) | Panipat 3 (1761)

MUGHAL ORDER: Babur→Humayun→Akbar→Jehangir→Shah Jahan→Aurangzeb
Akbar: Din-i-Ilahi, Fatehpur Sikri, Navratnas, Todar Mal (revenue)
Shah Jahan: Taj Mahal, Red Fort

FREEDOM STRUGGLE DATES:
1885 INC | 1905 Bengal Partition+Swadeshi | 1919 Rowlatt+Jallianwala
1920 NCM | 1930 CDM+Dandi | 1942 Quit India | 1947 Independence

CONSTITUTION:
Borrowed: UK(PM) | US(FR,JR) | Ireland(DPSP) | Canada(strong centre)
Preamble: Socialist+Secular added by 42nd Amendment (1976)
Art 21: Life and Liberty (most expanded FR)
Art 32: Habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, quo warranto

DPSP: Non-justiciable (Part IV, Art 36-51)
Fundamental Duties: 11 (Art 51A, Part IVA) — non-justiciable

Indian History and Indian Polity