CUET History Syllabus| Check The Major Topics And Download the PDF for free!

Candidates applying for the CUET Examination 2022 can check out the topics and units included in the syllabus of history given below. 

Unit I: The Story of the First Cities Harappan Archaeology Broad overview: Early urban centres. Story of discovery: Harappan civilization. Excerpt: Archaeological report on a major site. Discussion: how it has been utilized by archaeologists/ historians. 

Unit II: 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 and Gupta period land grant. Discussion: Interpretation of inscriptions by historians.

 Unit III: Social Histories using the Mahabharata Broad overview: Issues in social history, including caste, class, kinship and gender. Story of discovery: Transmission and publications of the Mahabharata. Excerpt: From the Mahabharata, illustrating how it has been used by historians.

 Unit IV: A History of Buddhism: Sanchi Stupa Broad overview: (a) A brief review of religious histories of Vedic religion, Jainism, Vaisnavism, Saivism. (b) 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 V: Agrarian Relations The Ain-i- Akbari Broad overview: (a) Structure of agrarian relations in the 16th and 17thcenturies. (b) 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 VI: The Mughal Court: Reconstructing Histories through Chronicles Broad Overview: (a) Outline of political history c. 15th-17th centuries. (b) Discussion of the Mughal court and politics. Story of Discovery: Account of the production of court chronicles, and their subsequent translation and transmission. Note: There will be one Question Paper that will have 50 questions out of which 40 questions need to be attempted. 3 Excerpts: from the Akbarnama and Padshahnama. Discussion: Ways in which historians have used the texts to reconstruct political histories. 

Unit VII: New Architecture: Hampi Broad Overview: (a)Outline of new buildings during the Vijayanagarperiod — temples, forts, irrigation facilities. (b)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 analysed and interpreted these structures. 

Unit VIII: Religious Histories: The Bhakti-Sufi Tradition Broad Overview: (a) Outline of religious developments during this period. (b) 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 IX: Medieval Society through Travellers’ Accounts Broad Overview: Outline of social and cultural life as they appear in travellers’ 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 X: Colonialism and Rural Society: Evidence from Official Reports Broad overview: (a) Life of zamindars, peasants and artisans in the late18th century. (b) East India Company, revenue settlements and surveys. (c) Changes over the nineteenth century. Story of official records: An account of why official investigations into rural societies have been undertaken and the types of records and reports produced. Excerpts: From Firminger’s Fifth Report, Accounts of Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, and Deccan Riots Report. Discussion: What do the official records tell and do not tell, and how they have been used by historians. 

Unit XI: Representations of 1857 Broad Overview: (a) The events of 1857-58. (b) How these events were recorded and narrated. Focus: Lucknow. Excerpts: Pictures of 1857. Extracts from contemporary accounts. Discussion: How the pictures of 1857 shaped Britishopinion of what had happened. 

Unit XII: Colonialism and Indian Towns: Town Plans and Municipal Reports Broad Overview: The growth of Mumbai, Chennai, hill stations and cantonments in the 18th and 19th 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 XIII: Mahatma Gandhi through Contemporary Eyes Broad Overview: (a) The nationalist movement 1918-48, (b) 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 XIV: Partition through Oral Sources Broad Overview: (a) The history of the 1940s; (b) Nationalism, Communalism and Partition. Focus: Punjab and Bengal. Excerpts: Oral testimonies of those who experienced partition. Discussion: Ways in which these have been analysed to reconstruct the history of the event. 

Unit XV: The Making of the Constitution Broad Overview: (a) Independence and the new nation-state. (b) The making of the Constitution. Focus: The Constitutional Assembly debates. Excerpts: From the debates. Discussion: What do such debates reveal and how they can be analyzed.

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