CBSE 12th Class History Syllabus

Course Structure

Units	Topics	Marks
Unit 1 – 4	Themes in Indian History Part – I	25
Unit 5- 9	Themes in Indian History Part – II	25
Unit 10 – 15	Themes in Indian History Part – III	25
Unit 16	Map Work	5
	Project Work	20
Total		100

Unit 1: The Story of the First Cities: Harappan Archaeology

Unit 2: Political and Economic History: How Inscriptions tell a story

Broad overview −
- Political and economic history from the Mauryan to the Gupta period
Story of discovery −
- Inscriptions and the decipherment of the script
- Shifts in the understanding of political and economic history
Excerpt −
- Asokan inscription
- Gupta period land grant
Discussion −
- Interpretation of inscriptions by historians

Unit 3: Social Histories: Using the Mahabharata

Unit 4: A History of Buddhism: Sanchi Stupa

Broad overview −
- A brief review of religious histories of Vedic religion, Jainism, Vaisnavism, Saivism
- Focus on Buddhism
Story of discovery − Sanchi stupa
Excerpt − Reproduction of sculptures from Sanchi
Discussion − Ways in which sculpture has been interpreted by historians, other sources for reconstructing the history of Buddhism

Unit 5: Agrarian Relations: The Ain-i- Akbari

Broad overview −
- Structure of agrarian relations in the 16^th and 17^th centuries
- Patterns of change over the period
Story of Discovery: Account of the compilation and translation of Ain-i-Akbari
Excerpt − From the Ain-i-Akbari
Discussion − Ways in which historians have used the text to reconstruct history

Unit 6: The Mughal Court: Reconstructing Histories through Chronicles

Broad overview −
- Outline of political history 15th-17th centuries
- Discussion of the Mughal court and politics
Story of Discovery: Account of the production of court chronicles, and their subsequent translation and transmission
Excerpts: From the Akbarnama and Padshahnama
Discussion: Ways in which historians have used the texts to reconstruct political histories

Unit 7: New Architecture: Hampi

Broad overview −
- Outline of new buildings during Vijayanagar period-temples, forts, irrigation facilities.
- Relationship between architecture and the political system
Story of Discovery − Account of how Hampi was found
Excerpt − Visuals of buildings at Hampi
Discussion − Ways in which historians have analyzed and interpreted these structures

Unit 8: Religious Histories: The Bhakti-Sufi Tradition

Broad overview −
- Outline of religious developments during this period
- Ideas and practices of the Bhakti-Sufi saints
Story of Transmission − How Bhakti-Sufi compositions have been preserved
Excerpt − Extracts from selected Bhakti-Sufi works
Discussion − Ways in which these have been interpreted by historians

Unit 9: Medieval Society through Travelers’ Accounts

Broad overview −
- Outline of social and cultural life as they appear in travelers’ accounts
Story of their writings − A discussion of where they travelled, why they travelled, what they wrote, and for whom they wrote
Excerpts − From Alberuni, Ibn Batuta, Bernier
Discussion − What these travel accounts can tell us and how they have been interpreted by historians

Unit 10: Colonialism and Rural Society: Evidence from Official Reports

Broad overview −
- Life of zamindars, peasants and artisans in the late 18^th century
- East India Company, revenue settlements and surveys
- Changes over the nineteenth century
Story of official records − An account of why official investigations into rural societies were undertaken and the types of records and reports produced
Excerpts − From Firminger’s Fifth Report, Accounts of Frances BuchananHamilton, and Deccan Riots Report
Discussion − What the official records tell and do not tell, and how they have been used by historians

Unit 11: Representations of 1857

Broad overview −
- The events of 1857-58.
- How these events were recorded and narrated?
Focus: Lucknow
Excerpts −
- Pictures of 1857
- Extracts from contemporary accounts
Discussion − How the pictures of 1857 shaped British opinion of what had happened

Unit 12: Colonialism and Indian Towns: Town Plans and Municipal Reports

Broad overview −
- The growth of Mumbai, Chennai, hill stations and cantonments in the 18^th and 19^th centuries
Excerpts −
- Photographs and paintings
- Plans of cities
- Extract from town plan reports
- Focus on Kolkata town planning
Discussion − How the above sources can be used to reconstruct the history of towns. What these sources do not reveal

Unit 13: Mahatma Gandhi through Contemporary Eyes

Broad overview −
- The Nationalist Movement 1918 – 1948
- The nature of Gandhian politics and leadership
Focus − Mahatma Gandhi in 1931
Excerpts − Reports from English and Indian language newspapers and other contemporary writings
Discussion − How newspapers can be a source of history

Unit 14: Partition through Oral Sources

Broad overview −
- The history of the 1940s
- Nationalism, Communalism and Partition
Focus − Punjab and Bengal
Excerpts − Oral testimonies of those who experienced partition
Discussion − Ways in which these have been analyzed to reconstruct the history of the event

Unit 15: The Making of the Constitution

Broad overview −
- Independence and the new nation state
- The making of the Constitution
Focus − The Constitutional Assembly debates
Excerpts − From the debates
Discussion − What such debates reveal and how they can be analyzed

Unit 16: Map Works