ISC Class 12 History Syllabus 2025-2026: Download PDFs Here!

Overview

Details

Subject:

History

Subject Code: 

851

Total Marks:

100 

Theory Marks:

80

Project Marks: 

20

Exam Duration:

3 Hours

ISC Class 12 History Language Syllabus 2025- 26

SECTION A INDIAN HISTORY 

1. Towards Independence and Partition: The Last Phase (1939-1947) 

(i) National Movement during the Second World War: Reasons behind the August Offer and the Cripps Mission. The proposals and the reasons for their rejection leading directly to the Quit India Resolution. A compact account of the movement, its suppression and a brief analysis of its significance. 

(ii) Subhash Chandra Bose and the INA. Bose’s organisation of the INA, a brief account of its operations, eventual defeat and significance. 

(iii)Transfer of power (1945-1947): Reasons for change in the attitude of the British government after World War II. 

Cabinet Mission: its aims and major provisions. 

1947: Attlee’s Declaration of 20th February 1947; 

Mountbatten Plan – main features: reasons for acceptance of the Plan by major political parties. 

Modifications in the Indian Independence Act. 

2. Establishment of Indian democracy (1947 – 1966) The following should be discussed: 

(i) The role of Sardar Patel in the reorganization and integration of princely states. 

(ii) Problems of integrating Junagarh, Hyderabad and Kashmir. 

(iii)First general election (1952): problems of preparation and their solutions, process, result and impact of the elections. 

(iv) The linguistic reorganization of states: Features of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 with particular reference to Andhra, Bombay and Punjab. 

3. Development of Indian Democracy (1964 – 1977) The following to be discussed: 

(i) Lal Bahadur Shastri – his contributions as Prime Minister 

(ii) Importance of the election of 1967 

(iii) Main Opposition political parties and their ideologies – Socialist Party (SP); Communist Party of India (CPI); Communist Party of India (Marxist (CPI(M)); Bharatiya Jan Sangh; Shiromani Akali Dal. 

(iv) Naxal Movement: factors of its rise; main leaders (Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal); areas where they operated (West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh) and the struggle carried out by peasants and students.; government measures against it; reasons for its decline in the 1970s and its impact. 

(v) JP Movement (1974-75): Origin: Jai Prakash Narayan’s disputes with Mrs. Gandhi; main features of its course. Assessment of its significance. 

(vi) Emergency (1975-76): reasons for imposition; main features of the suspension of democratic rights. Assessment of its impact (positive and negative aspects).

4. Changing face of the Indian Democracy (1977 – 1986) 

(i) The Janata Government (1977 – 1979). Elections of 1977: establishment of the Janata Government; its policies and their implementation; reasons for its downfall. 

(ii) Centre-State relations 

(a) Punjab: Demands of the Akali Dal; Anandpur Sahib Resolution; 1977 elections; formation of Akali government; rise of Bhindranwale – his demands and methods. Centre’s response: Operation Bluestar – its results and impact. Punjab Accord, 1985. 

(b) Assam: Reasons for Assamese discontent; course of Assam’s agitation; the Centre’s response: Assam Accord, 1985. 

(c) Nagaland: The Nagas’ separatist demands; birth of Nagaland state; course of the agitation; Shillong Accord, 1975. 

(d) Mizoram: Mizoram Movement (1959-1986): course and resolution.

5. India’s Foreign Policy 

(i) Pakistan (1947-49, 1965, 1971) Indo-Pak wars: causes, course and consequences of each to be done separately. 

(ii) Sino-Indian War (1962) Disputes with the People' s Republic of China over 

(a) Tibet issue: Chinese takeover and asylum of the Dalai Lama in India; 

(b) Border issues. Sino-Indian War (1962): immediate causes and consequences. 

6. Movements for Women’s Rights 

• Towards Equality Report (1974) - aims, significance and recommendations. 
• Developments in the anti-dowry movement and struggle against domestic violence in the 1970s and 1980s. 
• Measures undertaken by the government in response. 

SECTION B WORLD HISTORY

7. World War II 

(i) Factors leading to the War: aggressive foreign policies of Germany, Italy and Japan. Should be discussed to show how these aggressive policies made war more likely and worldwide in scope. 

(ii) Anglo-French appeasement policies. Appeasement: why Britain and France chose to follow this policy and how it was carried out. 

(iii) Axis invasions in Europe and Asia (1939- 1941). 

(iv) Course of the War in Europe, Africa and Far East (1942-45). 

(v) Reasons for the defeat of the Axis Powers

8. De-colonisation – in Asia (China) and Africa (Ghana & Kenya) 

(i) China: A short background of the problems facing the Communists in 1949: in agriculture, the gradual process from land distribution to collective farms should be outlined; in industry, the Five Year Plan and Soviet help. 

The Great Leap Forward should be covered in more detail, particularly the development of commune and assessment of the GLF. 

(ii) Ghana: democracy and dictatorship (1957- 66). 

Brief background to independence, Nkrumah’s role, reasons for his overthrow. 

(iii) Kenya: conflict and independence (1947 – 1964). Conflict with whites over independence and role of Kenyatta

9. Cold War (1945-91)– origin, end and impact 

(i) Origins of the Cold War: End of wartime unity; Yalta and Potsdam Conferences; Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan; Molotov Plan, COMECON and Cominform. 

(ii) The rift widens - Soviet expansion in Eastern Europe (1945-1948) including the communist coup in Czechoslovakia. 

(iii) Cold War Crises - Berlin Blockade – NATO – division of Germany. Cuban Missile Crisis – causes and effects. 

(iv) Détente – reasons for it and effects on Eastern Europe. 

(v) Downfall of Communism in Poland and East Germany. 

(vi) Breakup of the USSR Reasons for collapse of USSR Political changes; Coup of 1991; Demand for independence by the Soviet republics leading to the breakup of USSR. 

10. Protest Movements: Civil Rights Movement, anti-Apartheid Movement; Feminist Movement. 

(i) Racial problems and civil rights in the USA in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s: Racial discrimination, change in the government’s attitude, campaign for equal rights (Dr. Martin Luther King’s role). 

(ii) Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa (1948-1994): main features of Apartheid, opposition to Apartheid (Dr Nelson Mandela’s role), transition to black majority rule and the end of Apartheid. 

(iii) Second Wave Feminist Movement in USA (early 1960s – early 1980’s): reasons for its origin (the impact of the Presidential Commission, Betty Friedan’s book and the Civil Rights Movement; Equal Pay Act of 1963 – its implications for American women, Measures taken by Johnson (Civil Rights Act of 1964), Role of National Organisation for Women (NOW) and its campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). 

11. Middle East: Israeli-Palestine conflict (1916-1993) 

(i) Post War conflict in Palestine after World War I, till the formation of the state of Israel.

Aims of Arab nationalism and Zionism. Impact of World War I: the conflicting promises made by the British to the Arabs and the Jews: Husain-MacMahon correspondence, the Sykes-Picot Agreement and the Balfour Declaration. 

(ii) The Arab-Israeli Wars from 1948 to Camp David Accord (1979). The following conflicts should be studied – First Arab- Israeli Conflict (1948-1949), the Suez Crisis (1956), the Six Day War (1967), the Yom Kippur War (1973), Sadat and the Camp David Accord (1979). For each of these events, the causes and results should be studied in detail. The origin and formation of the PLO. 

(iii) Oslo Peace Accords (1993 & 1995). Intifada and the change in attitude of Israel and the PLO leading to the Oslo Peace Accords I (1993) and II (1995). Assessment of the main features of each. Why it failed to bring peace.  

1. Theory Paper

80 marks

2. Project Work

20 marks

Internal Assessment by the Teacher                                                                                

10 Marks

Assessment Criteria

Candidates should be able to:

Process

The candidate should be able to: Identify the topic. Plan and detail a research project.

3 Marks

Understanding, application of knowledge and Analysis

Candidates should be able to: Explain issues and themes clearly and in context. Interpret, analyse and evaluate critically the topic.

4 marks

Presentation

Overall format and referencing, title page and bibliography.

3 Marks

External Evaluation by the Visiting Examiner

10 Marks

Choice of Technique/ Detailed procedure & Presentation

Overall format, referencing, title page and bibliography. 

4

Analysis and evaluation 

Candidates should be able to: Interpret, analyze and evaluate critically a range of evidence. 

3

Viva

Range of questions based on the project only. 

3

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