{"id":843,"date":"2019-01-17T11:07:19","date_gmt":"2019-01-17T05:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/knowledgekart.in\/blog\/?p=843"},"modified":"2020-02-19T00:31:25","modified_gmt":"2020-02-18T19:01:25","slug":"how-to-prepare-history-for-upsc-ias-2019-pre-and-mains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/knowledgekart.in\/blog\/how-to-prepare-history-for-upsc-ias-2019-pre-and-mains\/","title":{"rendered":"How to prepare history for UPSC"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Our perspective on state, society and life can be made better through analyzing past events in history. This is one of the main reasons why history has become an important and compulsory subject in primary and higher secondary educationas well as for general studies not just in India but around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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It is believed that after acquiring \nhistorical knowledge, one can make better decisions in life as history \nmakes one familiar with the past and contemporaryevents. Thisalso \nexplains why history is one of the main subjects in civil services exam,\n the other three being political science, geography and economics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A person appearing for the UPSC exam is \nperhaps striving to become one of the topmost administrators of the \ncountry, who has to take decisions for the common good of all. However, \nthere is no direct link between my statement above and the preparation \nfor history as a subject for civil services. My motive is only to make \nyou aware about the truth, draw you towards the subject on a \npsychological level and help you develop interest in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If I succeed in attracting you towards \nhistory, you will enjoy preparing for the subject, which I consider as \nthe first essential step towards preparation for civil services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, we come to the number of questions \nasked on the subject in the exam. The questions based on history \n(including art and culture) in paper I (general studies) of the prelims \nis nearly 15% on an average every year, which may vary from a minimum of\n 12% to a maximum of 19%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The subject is divided further in the \nmain exam. For example, Indian independence movement, events \npost-independence, world history, as well as art and culture. The \nmaximum number of questions areasked from the independence movement. In \nother words, only a few questions are asked about history \npost-independence and seldom one gets questions on world history. Hence,\n out of 250 marks in the paper, 125 marks on an average (nearly 50%) are\n for the four topics mentioned above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The division of marks will give you a \nglimpse of the importance of history in civil services. You should also \nbe able to determine how well you need to prepare the subject in order \nto clear the exam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Level of preparation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
TheUnion Public Service Commission has \nstated in its notification that \u2018the nature and standard of questions in\n the general studies paper will be such that a well-educated person will\n be able to answer them without any specialized study\u2019. If we were to \ninterpret these words in the context of NCERT books, then it would sum \nup to the syllabus of class 12. But is it really true?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite it being true literally and \nlogically, it\u2019s not a matter of fact. This can easily be established by \ngoing through the previous years\u2019 unsolved question papers. The standard\n of questions is clearly above the class 12 level. Then why did UPSC \nmention it? According to my understanding, a thorough preparation of \ngeneral studies paper can help aspirants prepare and understand other \nsubjects better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, a person should have a \ncomprehensive outlook. The aspirants should not go just by the literal \nmeaning of the statement. The words can further be interpretedin the \nfollowing manner:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You need to at least be a graduate to qualify the civil services \nexam. This means that the books may be of class 12 level, but the \naspirant\u2019s brain should be developed to the level of a graduate. This \nmental development helps a person understand, comprehend and express \nthings and topics better.<\/li>
In its notification, the commission further mentions about \u2018general \nability and intelligence\u2019 as well as \u2018ability of analyze and put forth \none\u2019s point of view\u2019.Here, \u2018the ability to have a perspective on things\u2019\n is somewhere related to \u2018having original ideas\u2019 and analyzing \nsituations through one\u2019s own reasoning. The concept of applying your own\n mind into questions makes the UPSC paper completely different from \nregular college exams. Hence, \u2018analysis\u2019 and \u2018logical reasoning\u2019 become \ntwo of the most challenging words in the civil services exam.<\/li>
The questions on current affairs give a new dimension to the \npreparation of the exam. However, this aspect does not play a great role\n while preparing for history. But for other subjects (even for \npreparation of geography), the current affairs become an important \nfeature since certain questions have a link with the current happenings \nin the world.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
The above points will mainly determine \nthe level of preparation (not only for the mains but also for prelims)an\n aspirant requires for the UPSC exams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is obvious that the source of your \npreparation should be such that it fulfils your basic necessities and \nleads toa positive outcome. Therefore, I am mentioning some sources as a\n \u2018suggestion\u2019. It is just an \u2018indicative\u2019 source of preparation and \nshould not be considered as carved in stone. According to one\u2019s need, \naspirants can add, remove or replace the study materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NCERT history books till class 12th<\/sup>, both old and new editions.<\/li>
Modern India: Especially a good graduation-level book, which focuses\n on Indian Independence movement. Renowned historian Bipin Chandra\u2019s \nbook \u2018History of Modern India\u2019 is considered one of the best sources for\n the preparation of civil services.<\/li>
One must also be thorough with ancient and medieval Indian history \non art, literature and culture. Also, one must have an in-depth \nknowledge on the philosophy of these periods.<\/li>
A few important events post-Independence should be prepared. Bipin Chandra\u2019s book will also be helpful for this.<\/li>
The world history in itself is quite extensive. However, you should \nsave yourself from getting lost into the abysmal depth of the subject. \nFor example, a question on\u2018decolonization process in Malay Peninsula\u2019 \nwas asked in the 2017 question paper. The purpose of such questions is \nto encourage aspirants to read as much as possible and be aware of the \nhappenings around the world. Hence, one must remember that there\u2019s \nalways scope for exceptions.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Besides these, one must also know about \nthe Renaissance period, revolution of America, France, Russia and China,\n World War I & II, dictatorship and fascismin Germany and Italy, \nindustrial revolution, capitalism, Marxism and socialism, colonialism in\n African countries, end of colonialism, and Japanese imperialism among \nothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NCERT book will be a good source for \npreparation of world history. One must go through it in detail. You will\n get a glimpse of world history through this book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It will be better if you also go through\n a graduation-level book for world history in the later stages of \npreparation. This will strengthen your understanding on the topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Method of preparation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I will now state some general important \npoints which will give a concrete shape to your preparation for history \nand help you precede systematically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I would advise you to not let your preparation and topics muddle up.\n Save yourself from reading too many authors. Just go through one book \nthoroughly on a topic or if need be, then two (that too only for the \nmost important topic).<\/li>
Do not be in a hurry or sit down to mug up topics. Move \nsystematically and focus on strengthening your basics. Start with \nreading the entire history. This will help you understand the past \nevents, even if vaguely. Following this, concentrate on the most \nimportant topics; topics that are often discussed.<\/li>
As far as memorizing is concerned, your focus should not be on the \nincidents, period and place. Your emphasis should be on the reason \nbehind the incident and the beginning of the historical event. Period \nand place mostly work as references in the events.<\/li>
From the point of view of the main exam, it is extremely important \nto give yourself time to think about the topic after reading it. It \nimplies that one must try to use their thinking and reasoning to \ninterpret and understand an event. This will not only help you analyze a\n topic, but also in understanding and forming an opinion on the subject.\n This attempt to think logically will help you in both prelims and \nmains.<\/li>
If a historical event finds its way into national or international \ndiscussions, then go through it more carefully and try to connect the \ndots with the contemporary happenings. It is advisable that aspirants \nnote down the points of the topics which have resurfaced through \ndiscussions.<\/li>
Do not be under the misconception that history for UPSC exams is \nmainly about preparing the Indian independence movement. You should have\n a stronghold on the topic but do not solely depend on it for success in\n civils.<\/li>
After 2013, the difficulty level of the main paper has gradually \ndecreased. The questions asked in the history paper of UPSC in 2017 were\n relatively easy and mostly pertained to the important topics. It seems \nthat this trend will be prevalent next year as well. Hence, do not let \nyourself get tangled up with too many theories and concentrate more on \nthe important topics. Instead of learning too many chapters vaguely, try\n to have a thorough knowledge of the most important ones. This way you \nwill be more confident about your answers and it will help you excel.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
If you follow these points, you will be able to prepare the subject well and will pass the UPSC exams with flying colours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Article By Dr. Vijay Kumar Aggarwal IAS<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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