Paper 2 · History · Code 06

UGC NET Paper 2 — History (06)

History (subject code 06) is the subject paper (Paper 2) for candidates in this subject. It carries 100 questions for 200 marks (+2 per correct answer, no negative marking), attempted together with Paper 1 in the single 180-minute combined session. The syllabus below is the verified official syllabus, organised unit-wise; chapters and practice questions appear as they are published, and nothing is marked complete before it exists.

100 questions

200 marks · +2 per correct · No negative marking · Paper 2 within the 180-min combined session

10 units · 52 topics

Full syllabus below, with topic summaries

40 practice questions · 52 premium chapters

Easy 10 · Medium 20 · Hard 10 — all original practice; verified PYQs live separately in the PYQ Library

Syllabus

Complete syllabus — all units and topics

Topic summaries are the unit study material already published on NETSaathi. Weightage badges are platform estimates from past-question frequency — they are not NTA guarantees.

Unit 1: Negotiating the Sources

स्रोतों की व्याख्या · 4 bank questions · 6 premium chapters

Archaeological sources and dating — Archaeological sources: exploration, excavation, epigraphy and numismatics; dating of archaeological sites.High weightage
Literary and foreign sources — Literary sources: indigenous literature, primary and secondary, problem of dating, religious and secular literature, myths, legends; foreign accounts: Greek, Chinese and Arabic.High weightage
Pastoralism, Neolithic and Chalcolithic phases — Pastoralism and food production: Neolithic and Chalcolithic phase: settlement, distribution, tools and patterns of exchange.Medium
Indus/Harappa civilization — Indus/Harappa civilization: origin, extent, major sites, settlement pattern, craft specialisation, religion, society and polity, decline, internal and external trade, first urbanization in India.High weightage
Vedic and later Vedic periods — Vedic and later Vedic periods: Aryan debates, political and social institutions, state structure and theories of state, emergence of varnas and social stratification, religious and philosophical ideas, introduction of iron technology, megaliths of South India.High weightage
Mahajanapadas and second urbanization — Expansion of state system: Mahajanapadas, monarchical and republican states, economic and social developments, emergence of second urbanization in 6th century BCE, emergence of heterodox sects: Jainism, Buddhism and Ajivikas.Medium

Archaeological sources and dating → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Literary and foreign sources → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Pastoralism, Neolithic and Chalcolithic phases → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Indus/Harappa civilization → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Vedic and later Vedic periods → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Mahajanapadas and second urbanization → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Unit 2: From State to Empire

राज्य से साम्राज्य तक · 4 bank questions · 4 premium chapters

Rise of Magadha and Alexander’s invasion — Rise of Magadha, Greek invasion under Alexander and its effects.High weightage
Mauryan empire and Ashoka’s Dhamma — Mauryan expansion, Mauryan polity, society, economy, Ashoka’s Dhamma and its nature, decline and disintegration of the Mauryan empire, Mauryan art and architecture, Asokan edicts: language and script.High weightage
Post-Mauryan regional powers and Sangam age — Dissolution of empire and emergence of regional powers: Indo-Greeks, Sungas, Satavahanas, Kushanas and Saka-Ksatrapas; Sangam literature, polity and society in South India; trade and commerce from 2nd century BCE to 3rd century CE, trade with the Roman world, emergence of Mahayana Buddhism, Kharavela and Jainism, post-Mauryan art and architecture: Gandhara, Mathura and Amaravati schools.Medium
Gupta-Vakataka age and Harsha — Gupta-Vakataka age: polity and society, agrarian economy, land grants, land revenue and land rights, Gupta coins, beginning of temple architecture, emergence of Puranic Hinduism, development of Sanskrit language and literature, developments in science, technology, astronomy, mathematics and medicine; Harsha and his times: administration and religion; Salankayanas and Visnukundins in Andhradesa.High weightage

Rise of Magadha and Alexander's invasion → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Mauryan empire and Ashoka's Dhamma → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Post-Mauryan regional powers and Sangam age → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Gupta-Vakataka age and Harsha → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Unit 3: Emergence of Regional Kingdoms

क्षेत्रीय राज्यों का उदय · 4 bank questions · 6 premium chapters

Kingdoms in the Deccan — Kingdoms in Deccan: Gangas, Kadambas, Western and Eastern Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Kalyani Chalukyas, Kakatiyas, Hoysalas and Yadavas.Medium
Kingdoms in South India — Kingdoms in South India: Pallavas, Ceras, Colas and Pandyas; Bhaumakaras and Somavamsis of Odisha.Medium
Kingdoms in Eastern, Western and North India — Kingdoms in Eastern India: Palas and Senas of Bengal, Varmans of Kamarupa; kingdoms in Western India: Maitrakas of Vallabhi and Chalukyas of Gujarat; kingdoms in North India: Gurjara-Pratiharas, Kalacuri-Chedis, Gahadavalas and Paramaras.Medium
Characteristics of early medieval India — Characteristics of early medieval India: administration and political structure, legitimation of kingship; agrarian economy: land grants, changing production relations, graded land rights; trade and urbanization: patterns of trade, urban settlements, peasantry, water resources, taxation system, coins and currency system, trade routes, ports and trade merchandise and exchange, trade guilds, trade and colonisation in south-east Asia.High weightage
Religion, society and education — Growth of Brahminical religions: Vaisnavism and Saivism; temples, patronage and regional ramification, temple architecture and regional styles, dana, tirtha and bhakti, Tamil Bhakti movement: Shankara, Madhava and Ramanujacharya; society: varna, jati and proliferation of castes, position of women, gender, marriage and property relations, women in public life, tribes as peasants and their place in varna order, untouchability; education and educational institutions: agraharas, mathas and mahaviharas as centres of education; growth of regional languages.Medium
Debates on state formation and Arab contacts — Debates of state formation in early medieval India: feudal model, segmentary model, integrative model; Arab contacts: Suleiman, Ghaznavid conquests, Alberuni’s accounts.Medium

Kingdoms in the Deccan → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Kingdoms in South India → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Kingdoms in Eastern, Western and North India → premium chapter · free preview · ~14 min

Characteristics of early medieval India → premium chapter · free preview · ~14 min

Religion, society and education → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Debates on state formation and Arab contacts → premium chapter · free preview · ~14 min

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Unit 4: Source of Medieval Indian History

मध्यकालीन भारतीय इतिहास के स्रोत · 4 bank questions · 5 premium chapters

Sources of medieval Indian history — Archaeological, epigraphic and numismatic sources, material evidences and monuments; chronicles; literary sources: Persian, Sanskrit and regional languages; daftar khannas: firmans, bahis/pothis/akhbarat; foreign travellers’ accounts: Persian and Arabic.Medium
The Delhi Sultanate — Political developments: the Delhi Sultanate: the Ghorids, the Turks, the Khaljis, the Tughlaqs, the Sayyids and the Lodis; decline of Delhi Sultanate.High weightage
The Mughal empire — Foundation of the Mughal empire: Babur, Humayun and the Suris; expansion and consolidation from Akbar to Aurangzeb; decline of the Mughal empire; later Mughals and disintegration of the Mughal empire.High weightage
Vijayanagara and the Bahmanis — The Vijayanagara and the Bahmanis: Deccan Sultanate, Bijapur, Golkonda, Bidar, Berar and Ahmadnagar: rise, expansion and disintegration; Eastern Gangas and Suryavamshi Gajapatis.Medium
Rise of the Marathas — Rise of the Marathas and the foundation of Swaraj by Shivaji, its expansion under the Peshwas, Mughal-Maratha relations, Maratha confederacy, causes of decline.Medium

Sources of medieval Indian history → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

The Delhi Sultanate → premium chapter · free preview · ~14 min

The Mughal empire → premium chapter · free preview · ~14 min

Vijayanagara and the Bahmanis → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Rise of the Marathas → premium chapter · free preview · ~14 min

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Unit 5: Administration and Economy

प्रशासन और अर्थव्यवस्था · 4 bank questions · 5 premium chapters

Sultanate and Mughal administration — Administration under the Sultanate: nature of state, theocratic and theocentric, central, provincial and local administration, law of succession; Sher Shah’s administrative reforms; Mughal administration: central, provincial and local, mansabdari and jagirdari systems.High weightage
Deccan and Maratha administration — Administrative system in the Deccan: the Vijayanagara state and polity, Bahmani administrative system; Maratha administration: Asta Pradhan.Medium
Frontier policies and inter-state relations — Frontier policies under Delhi Sultanate and Mughals; inter-state relations during the Sultanate and the Mughals.Medium
Agricultural production and village economy — Agricultural production and irrigation system, village economy, peasantry, grants and agricultural loans, urbanization and demographic structure.Medium
Industries, trade and commerce — Industries: cotton textiles, handicrafts, agro-based industries, organisation, factories and technology; trade and commerce: state policies, internal and external trade, European trade, trade centres and ports, transport and communication; hundi (bills of exchange) and insurance, state income and expenditure, currency, mint system; famines and peasant revolts.Medium

Sultanate and Mughal administration → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Deccan and Maratha administration → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Frontier policies and inter-state relations → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Agricultural production and village economy → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Industries, trade and commerce → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Unit 6: Society and Culture

समाज और संस्कृति · 4 bank questions · 5 premium chapters

Social organisation and social structure — Social organisation and social structure.Medium
Sufis and the Bhakti movement — The Sufis: their orders, beliefs and practices, the leading Sufi saints, social synchronization; Bhakti movement: Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism; the saints of the medieval period, north and south: their impact on socio-political and religious life; women saints of medieval India.High weightage
The Sikh movement — The Sikh movement: Guru Nanak Dev, his teachings and practices, Adi Granth, the Khalsa.Medium
Social classification and rural society — Social classification: ruling class, major religious groups, the ulemas, village officials, cultivators, mercantile and professional classes, Rajput society; rural society: petty chieftains, non-cultivating classes, artisans; position of women: zanana system, devadasi system.Medium
Education, fine arts and architecture — Development of education, centres of education and curriculum, madarasa education; fine arts: major schools of painting: Mughal, Rajasthani, Pahari, Garhwali; development of music; art and architecture: Indo-Islamic architecture, Mughal architecture, regional styles, Indo-Arabic architecture, Mughal gardens, Maratha forts, shrines and temples.Medium

Social organisation and social structure → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Sufis and the Bhakti movement → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

The Sikh movement → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Social classification and rural society → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Education, fine arts and architecture → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Unit 7: Sources of Modern Indian History

आधुनिक भारतीय इतिहास के स्रोत · 4 bank questions · 5 premium chapters

Sources of modern Indian history — Archival materials, biographies and memoirs, newspapers, oral evidence, creative literature and painting, monuments, coins.Medium
Rise of British power — Rise of British power: European traders in India in the 16th to 18th centuries: Portuguese, Dutch, French and the British; establishment and expansion of British dominion in India; British relations with principal Indian states: Bengal, Oudh, Hyderabad, Mysore, Carnatic and Punjab.High weightage
Revolt of 1857 — Revolt of 1857: causes, nature and impact.High weightage
Administration of the Company and the Crown — Administration of the Company and the Crown; evolution of central and provincial structure under the East India Company; paramountcy, civil service, judiciary, police and the army under the Company; British policy and paramountcy in the princely states under the Crown; local self-government.High weightage
Constitutional changes, 1909–1935 — Constitutional changes, 1909–1935.Medium

Sources of modern Indian history → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Rise of British power → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Revolt of 1857 → premium chapter · free preview · ~14 min

Administration of the Company and the Crown → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Constitutional changes, 1909–1935 → premium chapter · free preview · ~14 min

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Unit 8: Colonial Economy

औपनिवेशिक अर्थव्यवस्था · 4 bank questions · 6 premium chapters

Colonial trade and agriculture — Colonial economy: changing composition, volume and direction of trade; expansion and commercialization of agriculture, land rights, land settlements, rural indebtedness, landless labour, irrigation and canal system.High weightage
Decline of industries and de-urbanisation — Decline of industries: changing socio-economic conditions of artisans; de-urbanisation; economic drain; world wars and economy; British industrial policy; major modern industries; nature of factory legislation; labour and trade union movements.Medium
Monetary policy, banking and transport — Monetary policy, banking, currency and exchange, railways and road transport, communications: post and telegraph.Medium
Urbanisation, famines and movements — Growth of new urban centres, new features of town planning and architecture, urban society and urban problems; famines, epidemics and the government policy; tribal and peasant movements.Medium
Indian society in transition — Indian society in transition: contact with Christianity: the missions and missionaries; critique of Indian social and economic practices and religious beliefs; educational and other activities; the new education: government policy, levels and contents, English language, development of science, technology, public health and medicine towards modernism; Indian renaissance: socio-religious reforms, emergence of middle class, caste associations and caste mobility.High weightage
Women’s question, press and arts — Women’s question: nationalist discourse, women’s organisations, British legislation concerning women, gender identity and constitutional position; the printing press: journalistic activity and public opinion; modernisation of Indian languages and literary forms, reorientation in painting, music and performing arts.Medium

Colonial trade and agriculture → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Decline of industries and de-urbanisation → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Monetary policy, banking and transport → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Urbanisation, famines and movements → premium chapter · free preview · ~14 min

Indian society in transition → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Women's question, press and arts → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Unit 9: Rise of Indian Nationalism

भारतीय राष्ट्रवाद का उदय · 4 bank questions · 5 premium chapters

Rise of nationalism and the Congress — Rise of Indian nationalism: social and economic basis of nationalism; birth of Indian National Congress; ideologies and programmes of the Indian National Congress, 1885–1920: early nationalists, assertive nationalists and revolutionaries.High weightage
Swadeshi, Swaraj and Gandhian movements — Swadeshi and Swaraj; Gandhian mass movements; Subhas Chandra Bose and INA; role of middle class in national movement; women participation in national movement.High weightage
Left, depressed class and communal politics — Left wing politics, depressed class movement, communal politics, Muslim League and genesis of Pakistan.Medium
Towards independence and partition — Towards independence and partition.High weightage
India after independence — India after independence: challenges of partition, integration of the Indian princely states: Kashmir, Hyderabad and Junagarh; B.R. Ambedkar: the making of the Indian Constitution, its features; the structure of bureaucracy; new education policy; economic policies and the planning process; development, displacement and tribal issues; linguistic reorganisation of states; centre-state relations; foreign policy initiatives: Panchsheel; dynamics of Indian politics: Emergency; liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation of the Indian economy.High weightage

Rise of nationalism and the Congress → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Swadeshi, Swaraj and Gandhian movements → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Left, depressed class and communal politics → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Towards independence and partition → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

India after independence → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Unit 10: Historical Method, Research Methodology and Historiography

ऐतिहासिक विधि, शोध पद्धति और इतिहास-लेखन · 4 bank questions · 5 premium chapters

Historical method and objectivity — Historical method, research methodology and historiography: scope and importance of history, objectivity and bias in history.High weightage
Heuristics, criticism and synthesis — Heuristics operation, criticism in history, synthesis and presentation.Medium
History and its auxiliary sciences — History and its auxiliary sciences; history: a science, arts or a social science; causation and imagination in history; significance of regional history; recent trends of Indian history.Medium
Research methodology — Research methodology: hypothesis in history, area of proposed research, sources: data collection, primary/secondary, original and transit sources, trends in historical research, recent Indian historiography, selection of topic in history, notes taking, references, footnotes and bibliography, thesis and assignment writing, plagiarism, intellectual dishonesty and history writing.High weightage
Beginnings and schools of historiography — Beginnings of historical writings: Greek, Roman and Church historiography; Renaissance and its impact on history writing; negative and positive schools of historical writing; Berlin revolution in history writing: Von Ranke; Marxist philosophy of history: scientific materialism; cyclical theory of history: Oswald Spengler; challenge and response theory: Arnold Joseph Toynbee; post-modernism in history.High weightage

Historical method and objectivity → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Heuristics, criticism and synthesis → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

History and its auxiliary sciences → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Research methodology → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

Beginnings and schools of historiography → premium chapter · free preview · ~13 min

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Study material