CBSE 12th Class Political Science Syllabus

Course Structure

Part/Unit	Topics	Marks
Part A	Contemporary World-Politics	50
Unit 1	Cold War Era	14
Unit 2	The End of bipolarity
Unit 3	US Hegemony in World Politics	16
Unit 4	Alternative centers of Power
Unit 5	Contemporary South Asia
Unit 6	International Organizations	10
Unit 7	Security in Contemporary World
Unit 8	Environment and Natural Resources	10
Unit 9	Globalisation
Part B	Politics in India since Independence	50
Unit 10	Challenges of Nation-Building	16
Unit 11	Era of One-Party Dominance
Unit 12	Politics of Planned Development
Unit 13	India’s External Relations	6
Unit 14	Challenges to the Congress System	12
Unit 15	Crisis of the Democratic order
Unit 16	Rise of Popular Movements	16
Unit 17	Regional Aspirations
Unit 18	Recent Developments in Indian Politics
Total		100

Course Syllabus

Part A: Contemporary World Politics

Unit 1: Cold War Era

• Emergence of two power blocs after the second world war
• Arenas of the cold war
• Challenges to Bipolarity −
  • Non Aligned Movement
  • Quest for new international economic order
• India and the cold war

Unit 2: The End of Bipolarity

• New entities in world politics −
  • Russia
  • Balkan states
  • Central Asian states
• Introduction of democratic politics and capitalism in post-communist regimes
• India’s relations with Russia and other post-communist countries

Unit 3: US Hegemony in World Politics

• Growth of unilateralism −
  • Afghanistan
  • First Gulf War
  • Response to 9/11 and attack on Iraq
• Dominance and challenge to the US in economy and ideology
• India’s renegotiation of its relationship with the USA

Unit 4: Alternative Centers of Power

• Rise of China as an economic power in post-Maoera, creation and expansion of European Union, ASEAN
• India’s changing relations with China

Unit 5: Contemporary South Asia in the Post-Cold War Era

• Democratisation in Pakistan and Nepal
• Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka
• Impact of economic globalization on the region
• Conflicts and efforts for peace in South Asia
• India’s relations with its neighbours

Unit 6: International Organizations

• Restructuring and the future of the UN
• India’s position in the restructured UN
• Rise of new international actors −
  • New international economic organisations
  • NGOs
• How democratic and accountable are the new institutions of global governance?

Unit 7: Security in Contemporary World

• Traditional concerns of security and politics of disarmament
• Non-traditional or human security −
  • Global poverty
  • Health
  • Education
• Issues of human rights and migration

Unit 8: Environment and Natural Resources

• Environment movement and evolution of global environmental norms
• Conflicts over traditional and common property resources
• Rights of indigenous people
• India’s stand in global environmental debates

Unit 9: Globalisation

• Economic, cultural and political manifestations
• Debates on the nature of consequences of globalization
• Anti-globalisation movements
• India as an arena of globalization and struggle against it

Part B: Politics in India since Independence

Unit 10: Challenges of Nation-Building

• Nehru’s approach to nation-building
• Legacy of partition −
  • Challenge of ‘refugee’ resettlement
  • The kashmir problem
• Organisation and reorganization of states −
  • Political conflicts over language

Unit 11: Era of One-Party Dominance

• First three general elections −
  • Nature of Congress dominance at the national level
  • Uneven dominance at the state level
  • Coalitional nature of Congress
• Major opposition parties

Unit 12: Politics of Planned Development

• Five year plans, expansion of state sector and the rise of new economic interests
• Famine and suspension of five year plans
• Green revolution and its political fallouts

Unit 13: India’s External Relations

• Nehru’s foreign policy
• Sino-Indian war of 1962
• Indo-Pak war of 1965 and 1971
• India’s nuclear programme
• Shifting alliance in world politics

Unit 14: Challenges to the Congress System

• Political succession after Nehru
• Non-Congressism and electoral upset of 1967
• Congress split and reconstitution
• Congress’ victory in 1971 elections
• Politics of ‘garibi hatao’

Unit 15: Crisis of the Democratic Order

• Search for ‘committed’ bureaucracy and judiciary
• Navnirman movement in Gujarat and the Bihar movement
• Emergency −
  • Context
  • Constitutional and extra-constitutional dimensions
  • Resistance to emergency
• 1977 elections and the formation of Janata Party
• Rise of civil liberties organisations

Unit 16: Popular Movements in India

• Farmers’ movements
• Women’s movement
• Environment and Development-affected people’s movements
• Implementation of Mandal Commission report and its aftermath

Unit 17: Regional Aspirations

• Rise of regional parties
• Punjab crisis and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984
• The Kashmir situation
• Challenges and responses in the North East

Unit 18: Recent Developments in Indian Politics

• Participatory upsurge in1990s
• Rise of the JD and the BJP
• Increasing role of regional parties and coalition politics
• Coalition governments −
  • NDA (1998 – 2004)
  • UPA (2004 – 2014)
  • NDA (2014 onwards)