RBSE Class 12th History Syllabus 2025-26; Download FREE PDF

Themes in Indian History Part I 

Part I- Theme 1- 4

1. Bricks, Beads and Bones : The Harappan Civilisation Beginnings, Subsistence Strategies –Agricultural technologies, Mohenjodaro-A Planned Urban Centre, Laying out drains, Domestic architecture, The Citadel,Tracking Social Differences-Burials, Looking for Luxuries, Finding Out About Craft-Production-Identifying centres of production, Strategies for Procuring Materials - Materials from the subcontinent and beyond,Contact with distant lands, Seals, Script, Weights- Seals and sealings, An enigmatic script, Weights, Ancient AuthorityPalaces and kings, The End of the Civilisation, Discovering the Harappan Civilisation- Cunningham's confusion, A new old civilisation, New techniques and Questions, Problems of Piecing Together the Past- Classifying finds, Problems of interperetation. 

2. Kings, Farmers and Towns : Early States and Economies (C. 600 BCE-600 CE)

 Prinsep and Piyadassi, The Earliest States –The sixteen mahajanapadas, First amongst the sixteen : Magadha , An Early Empire- Finding out about the mauryas, Administering the empire , Importance of Maurya Empire, New Notions of Kingship- Chiefs and Kings in the south , Divine kings , A Changing Countryside, Popular perceptions of kings , Strategies for increasing production, Differences in rural society, Land grants and new rural elites, Towns and Trade – New cities, Urban populations : Elites and Craftspersons, Trade in the subcontinent and beyond,Coins and kings, Back to basics: inscriptions deciphered, Deciphering Brahmi, Kharosthi Script, Historical evidence from inscriptions, The Limitations of Inscriptional Evidence.

3. Kinship, Caste and Class : Early Societies (C. 600 BCE-600 CE) The Critical Edition of the Mahabharata , Kinship and Marriage ; Many Rules and Varied Practices – Finding out about families, The ideal of patriliny, Rules of marriage, The gotra of women, Importance of Mothers, Social Differences: Within and Beyond the Framework of Caste- The right occupation, Non-kshatriya kings, Jatis and social mobility, Beyond the four varnas : Integration, Beyond the four varnas : Subordination and conflict , Beyond Birth : Resources and status- Gendered access to property, Varna and access to property, An alternative social scenario : Sharing wealth, Explaining Social Differences: A Social Contract, Handling Texts : Historians and the Mahabharata – Language and content, Author and dates, The search for convergence, A Dynamic Text.

4. Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings : Cultural Developments (C. 600 BCE-600 C.E) A Glimpse of Sanchi,The Background: Sacrifices and Debates- The sacrificial tradition, New questions, Debates and discussions, Beyond Worldly Pleasures : The Message of Mahavira – The spread of jainism , The Buddha and the Quest for Enlightenment, The Teachings of the Buddha, Followers of the Buddha, Stupas – Construction of stupas, The structure of the stupa, Discovering Stupas : The Fate of Amaravati and Sanchi, Sculpture – Stories in stone, symbols of worship, Popular traditions, New Religious Traditions – The development of mahayana Buddhism, The growth of puranic Hinduism, Building temples, rich visual traditions of the past, Grappling with the unfamiliar, Text and image do not match.

Themes in Indian History Part-II 

Part –II- Theme 5 - 8

5. Through the Eyes of Travellers : Perceptions of Society (C.Tenth to Seventeenth Century) Al-Biruni and the Kitab-ul-Hind – From Khwarizm to the Punjab, The Kitab-ul-Hind, Ibn Battuta’s Rihla – An early globe-trotter, The "enjoyment of curiosities", François Bernier : A Doctor with a Difference –Comparing "East"and "West" , Making Sense of an Alien World : Al-Biruni and the SanskriticTradition – Overcoming barriers to understanding, Al-Biruni's description of the caste system , Ibn-Battuta and the excitement of the Unfamiliar – The coconut and the paan, Ibn Battuta and Indian cities, A unique system of communication,. Bernier and the Degenerate East - landownership, A more complex social reality, Women : Slaves, Sati and Labourers. 

6. Bhakti-Sufi Traditions : Changes in Religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts (C. Eighth to Eighteenth Century) A Mosaic of Religious Beliefs and Practices – The integration of cults, Difference and conflict, Poems of Prayer Early Traditions of Bhakti – The alvars and Nayanars of Tamil Nadu, Attitudes towards caste, Women devotees, Relastions with the state, The Virashaiva Tradition in Karnataka, Religious Ferment in North India, New Strands in the Fabric- Islamic Traditions – Faiths of rulers and subjects, The popular practice of Islam, Names for communities, The Growth of Sufism – Khanqahs and silsilas, Outside the Khanqah, The Chishtis in the Subcontinent – Life in the chishti khanqah, Chishti devotionalism : Ziyarat and qawwali, Languages and communication, Sufis and the state, New Devotional Paths Dialogue and Dissent in Northern India – Weaving a divine fabric : Kabir, Baba Guru Nanak and the sacred Word, Mirabai , the devotee princess, Reconstructing Histories of Religious Traditions.

7. An Imperial Capital : Vijayanagara (c. Fourteenth to Sixteenth Century) The Discovery of Hampi, Rayas, Nayakas and Sultans – Kings and traders, The apogee and decline of the empire, The rayas and the nayakas, Vijayanagara The Capital and its Environs - Water resoures, Fortifications and roads, The urban core , The Royal Centre- The mahanavami dibba, Other buildings in the royal centre, The Sacred Centre – Choosing a capital, Gopurams and mandapas, Plotting Palaces, Temples and Bazaars, Study fo protected buildings.

8. Peasants, Zamindars and the State : Agrarian Society and the Mughal Empire (c. SixteenthSeventeenth Centuries) Peasants and Agricultural Production – Looking for sources, Peasants and their lands, Irrigation and technology,An abundance of crops, The Village Community – Caste and the rural milieu, Panchayats and headmen, Village artisans, A little rpublic, Women in Agrarian Society, Forests and Tribes - Beyond settled villages, Inroads into forests, The Zamindars, Land Revenue System, The Flow of Silver, The Ain-i Akbari of Abu’l Fazl Allami.

Themes in Indian History Part-III 

Part –III- Theme 9 - 12

9. Colonialism and the Countryside : Exploring Official Archives Bengal and the Zamindars – An auction in Burdwan,The problem of unpaid revenue, Inability of zamindars to payments, The rise of the Jotedars, The zamindars resist, The Fifth Report, The Hoe and the Plough- In the hills of Rajmahal, The Santnals : Poineer settlers, The accounts of Buchanan, A Revolt in the Countryside : The Bombay Deccan – Account books are burnt,A new revenue system, Revenue demand and peasant debt, Cotton boom, Credit dries up, The experience of injustice, The Deccan Riots Commission. 

10. Rebels and the Raj : The Revolt of 1857 and Its Representations. Pattern of the Rebellion –The mutinies, Lines of communication, Leaders and followers, Rumours and porphecies, Poople believing in rumours, Awadh in Revolt- Firangi raj and the end of a world, The desire of the rebels - The vision of unity, Against the symbols of opperession, The search for alternative power, Repression, Images of the Revolt-Celebrating the saviours, English women and the honour of Britain, Vegeance and retribution, The performance of terror , No time for clemency, Nationalist imageries. 

11. Mahatma Gandhi and the Nationalist Movement : Civil Disobedience and Beyond A Leader Announces Himself , The Making and Unmaking of Non-cooperation – Knitting a popular movement,A people's leader, The Salt Satyagraha : A Case Study – Dandi, Dialogues, Quit India, The Last Heroic Days , Knowing Gandhi – Public voice and private scripts, Framing a picture, Through police eyes, From newspapers.

12. Framing the Constitution : The Beginning of a New Era A Tumultuous Time - The making of the constituent Assembly, The dominant voices , The Vision of the Constitution – The will of the people, Defining Rights - The problem with separate electorates, The Powers of the State- The Language of the Nation – A plea for hindi, The fear of domination . 

Particulars

Marks 

Theory

80

Practical

20

Total

100