History & Culture study notes
Free History & Culture notes for UPSC, SSC, banking and railway exams: every topic with the key facts, exam traps and a practice quiz. About 84minutes in all: read them in order, then take each topic's quiz to lock it in.
Freedom Struggle 1857–1947: Notes for UPSC & SSC
India's freedom struggle from 1857 to 1947: a dated timeline, Congress sessions, Gandhian movements, key leaders, slogans and the road to Independence.
Prehistory & Indus Valley Civilisation: Notes for UPSC, SSC & Railway Exams
Stone Age cultures and the Harappan civilisation: dates, key sites with their finds, town planning, economy, religion and decline.
Vedic Age: Notes for UPSC, SSC & Railway Exams
The four Vedas and later texts, Rigvedic vs later Vedic polity, economy, society and religion, Rigvedic rivers and the six schools of philosophy.
Buddhism & Jainism: Notes for UPSC, SSC & Railway Exams
Lives of the Buddha and Mahavira, Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, triratna, five vows, Buddhist and Jain councils, sects and texts.
Mauryan & Post-Mauryan India: Notes for UPSC, SSC & Railway Exams
Chandragupta, Bindusara and Ashoka, the edicts and dhamma, Mauryan administration and art, and the kingdoms that followed up to the Kushanas.
Guptas & Early Medieval Kingdoms: Notes for UPSC, SSC & Railway Exams
Gupta rulers and culture, Harsha, the Deccan and southern dynasties, the tripartite struggle for Kannauj, Chola administration and early invasions.
Delhi Sultanate & Vijayanagara: Notes for UPSC, SSC & Railway Exams
The five Delhi Sultanate dynasties, key rulers and reforms, administration and buildings, plus the Vijayanagara and Bahmani kingdoms of the Deccan.
Mughal Empire: Notes for UPSC, SSC & Railway Exams
Babur to Aurangzeb and Sher Shah's interlude: battles, Akbar's policies, mansabdari and revenue, Mughal buildings, books and the decline after 1707.
Bhakti & Sufi Movements: Notes for UPSC, SSC & Railway Exams
Alvars and Nayanars, Shankara to Vallabha, regional Bhakti saints, nirguna and saguna devotion, and the Chishti, Suhrawardi and other Sufi orders.
Indian Art & Culture: Notes for UPSC, SSC & Railway Exams
Classical dances and their states, Hindustani and Carnatic music, folk paintings, theatre forms, temple architecture styles and classic books with authors.
Monuments & Heritage Sites of India: Notes for SSC, Railway & UPSC Exams
Famous Indian monuments with builder, dynasty and place, plus India's UNESCO World Heritage cultural sites and the year each was inscribed.
Advent of Europeans & British Expansion: Notes for UPSC, SSC & Railway Exams
European trading companies in India, Carnatic wars, Plassey and Buxar, wars with Mysore, Marathas and Sikhs, Subsidiary Alliance, Lapse and land revenue.
Revolt of 1857: Notes for UPSC, SSC & Railway Exams
Causes of the 1857 revolt, how it began, centres with their Indian leaders and British officers, why it failed, its results and how historians describe it.
Socio-Religious Reform Movements: Notes for UPSC, SSC & Railway Exams
Reformers, organisations, years and ideas from the Brahmo Samaj to the Self-Respect movement, plus key social laws on sati, widow remarriage and child marriage.