CDS History · Free notes
Modern India: CDS History
Modern India has 172 past-year questions in CDS General Knowledge, from 2016 (II) to 2026 (II), the most of any GK chapter, and 78 of them are HARD. A sitting asks between eight and nine on average, and CDS (II) 2025 asked 19. Nearly every question wants a name, a date or a true statement that a standard textbook gives plainly, so the pages are tables in time order. The HARD ones are hard because the names are little known, such as the Eka movement or a historian's book, not because they need reasoning. Learn each table with the traps beside it.
The handout has every subtopic, worked example, formula and trap with answers shown. The formula sheet is the chapter’s formulas and traps alone, on one page.
Subtopic notes
The Company Takes India
14 PYQsHow the European trading companies did business in India, how the English Company won Bengal at Plassey and Buxar, how it bound the Marathas and other rulers by treaty, and why it fought on the Nepal and Afghan frontiers.
Land Revenue and the Colonial Economy
13 PYQsHow the British collected land revenue in Bengal and the south, how debt and the cotton boom led to the Deccan riots, and how weaving declined while tea, railways and the telegraph arrived.
Early Revolts and 1857
12 PYQsThe sanyasi, peasant and tribal risings against Company rule, the annexation of Awadh that fed the great revolt, and the leaders and centres of 1857.
Acts and Administration
21 PYQsThe Acts that shaped British rule from the Regulating Act of 1773 to the Indian Independence Act of 1947, and the colleges, services, census and commissions through which India was run.
Religious Reform Movements
11 PYQsThe Brahmo tradition of Bengal and its orthodox rivals, the Arya Samaj, Vivekananda and the Theosophists, and the Aligarh and Ahmadiyya movements among Muslims.
Caste, Women and Social Service
16 PYQsThe movements against caste from Phule to Ambedkar, the women reformers and firsts, and the service societies, journals and Marathi writers of social reform.
Early Nationalism
12 PYQsThe regional associations that came before the Congress, the methods and newspapers of the Moderates, and the Swadeshi movement, the Ghadar Party and the events of 1916.
Gandhi and Non-Cooperation
14 PYQsGandhi's road from South Africa to the Rowlatt satyagraha, the programme of the Non-Cooperation Movement, and how it played out among the peasants, workers and students of each province.
Swarajists, Civil Disobedience and the Left
22 PYQsThe national movement from 1918 to the late 1930s: the Liberals, Swarajists and No-Changers, Purna Swaraj and Civil Disobedience, the trade unions and kisan sabhas, and the revolutionaries and socialists.
Independence and After
21 PYQsThe road to freedom from the 1937 elections through Cripps, Quit India and the INA to the Cabinet Mission and partition, and the events of independent India that CDS now asks.
Historians, Writers and Orientalists
16 PYQsThe orientalist scholars, museums and colonial buildings of British India, the books, poems and art of the national movement, and the modern historians whose books CDS matches with their authors.
Formula & revision sheet
0 formulas · 35 reference tables · 58 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Formula & revision sheet
0 formulas · 35 reference tables · 58 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
The Company Takes India
Reference tables (3)
From traders to rulers in Bengal and the south6 rows
| Term or event | When | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Dadni | 17th and 18th centuries | Advance paid to weavers for cloth delivered laterQ |
| Dastak | 18th century | Duty-free trade permit of the English CompanyQ |
| Battle of Colachel | 1741 | Travancore under Marthanda Varma defeated the DutchQ CDS 2022 (II) and CDS 2023 (I) both asked it. |
| Battle of Plassey | 1757 | Clive defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah |
| Battle of Buxar | 1764 | Company defeated Mir Qasim and the Nawab of Awadh |
| Treaty of Allahabad | 1765 | Diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa for an annual tribute |
The Maratha treaties and the Subsidiary Alliance5 rows
| Treaty | Year | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Treaty of Surat | 1775 | English backed Raghunath Rao; war began |
| Treaty of Purandar | 1776 | Calcutta council replaced the Surat treaty |
| Convention of Wadgaon | 1779 | Signed after a British defeat; rejected |
| Treaty of Salbai | 1782 | Ended the First Anglo-Maratha WarQ CDS 2023 (I): Salbai concluded the war. |
| Treaty of Bassein | 1802 | Baji Rao II accepted the Subsidiary AllianceQ |
Frontier wars and the fear of Russia3 rows
| Event | Years | Fact to remember |
|---|---|---|
| Anglo-Gurkha War | 1814 to 1816 | Simla founded to billet troops and guard the frontier |
| Lord Auckland Governor-General | 1836 to 1842 | Feared a Russian advance on India |
| First Anglo-Afghan War | 1839 to 1842 | Aim: Russia out, Afghanistan kept weakQ |
Watch out for (5)
- A dastak is a pass, not a tax→ From traders to rulers in Bengal and the south
- Colachel, not Wandiwash→ From traders to rulers in Bengal and the south
- Wadgaon did not end the war→ The Maratha treaties and the Subsidiary Alliance
- The ally paid, and lost its freedom→ The Maratha treaties and the Subsidiary Alliance
- Simla came from the Nepal war→ Frontier wars and the fear of Russia
Land Revenue and the Colonial Economy
Reference tables (3)
The Permanent Settlement, ryotwari and the famine of 17703 rows
| System | Where and when | Who paid the state |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent Settlement | Bengal, 1793 (Cornwallis) | The zamindar, a sum fixed for everQ CDS 2025 (II) asked four statements about the Bengal countryside under it. |
| Ryotwari | Madras and Bombay, early 19th century | The ryot (cultivator) directlyQ |
| Mahalwari | North-Western Provinces and Punjab, from 1822 | The village community as a whole |
Debt, the Deccan riots and the laws4 rows
| Event or law | Year | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Limitation Law | 1859 | Loan bonds valid for three years onlyQ |
| Cotton boom | 1861 to 1865 | American Civil War cut supply; Deccan ryots borrowed to grow cotton |
| Deccan riots | 1875 | Began at Supa; account books burnt; did not spread across MaharashtraQ |
| Deccan Agriculturists' Relief Act | 1879 | Restricted the sale of land for debtQ |
Deindustrialisation, tea, railways and the telegraph6 rows
| Change | Fact | Name or year |
|---|---|---|
| Deindustrialisation | Hardest hit: cotton textiles | 19th century |
| Evidence for deindustrialisation | Survey figures of Buchanan-Hamilton | Amiya Kumar BagchiQ |
| Tea growing in India | Plants, seed and workers brought from China | Robert FortuneQ |
| Railway guarantee system | Free land and a 5 per cent guaranteed return | From 1849Q CDS 2024 (I): two of its three statements were correct; joint management was the false one. |
| Europe to India telegraph | First working link | 1865Q |
| Davenport and Company | British firm taken over | Soorajmull-NagarmullQ |
Watch out for (5)
- Ryotwari weakened the zamindars→ The Permanent Settlement, ryotwari and the famine of 1770
- Adhiyar and bargadar are one group→ The Permanent Settlement, ryotwari and the famine of 1770
- Three years, not ten→ Debt, the Deccan riots and the laws
- The riots stayed local→ Debt, the Deccan riots and the laws
- Bagchi for, Roy against→ Deindustrialisation, tea, railways and the telegraph
Early Revolts and 1857
Reference tables (3)
Sanyasi, peasant and tribal risings8 rows
| Rising | Years | People and cause |
|---|---|---|
| Sanyasi and Faqir rebellion | From the 1770s | Naga sanyasis and Majnu Shah's faqirs, Bengal and BiharQ |
| Damin-i-Koh marked out | 1832 | Rajmahal hills land for the Santals |
| Santal hul | 1855 to 1856 | Santals against moneylenders and Company rule |
| Phulaguri Dhawa | 1861 | Assam peasants against the opium (poppy) ban and new taxesQ |
| Kherwar (Sapha Har) movement | 1870s | Santals: monotheism and social reformQ |
| Rampa rebellion | 1879 to 1880 | Koya and Konda Dora chiefs against the mansabdarQ |
| Birsa Munda's Ulgulan | 1899 to 1900 | Mundas of Chota Nagpur; loss of khuntkatti landQ |
| Rampa rising | 1922 to 1924 | Alluri Sitarama Raju against the forest laws |
Awadh annexed: the road to 18573 rows
| Event | Year | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| "A cherry that will drop into our mouth" | 1851 | Dalhousie's words about AwadhQ |
| Annexation of Awadh | 1856 | On the ground of misgovernment |
| Summary Settlement | 1856 | Talukdars treated as interlopers and pushed out |
Leaders and centres of 18576 rows
| Leader | Where | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Bahadur Shah Zafar | Delhi | Proclaimed leader by the sepoys |
| Nana Saheb | Kanpur | Led the revolt there, with Tantia Tope |
| Maulavi Ahmadullah Shah | Faizabad, Awadh | Called Danka Shah |
| Shah Mal | Baraut, Uttar Pradesh | Bungalow made a hall of justiceQ CDS 2025 (II) paired him with Gonoo, the Kol leader of Singhbhum. |
| Firoz Shah | Azamgarh | Azamgarh Proclamation, August 1857Q |
| (British held) | Agra | Not a rebel centre; Europeans in the fortQ |
Watch out for (5)
- Match each rising to its cause→ Sanyasi, peasant and tribal risings
- Two Rampa risings→ Sanyasi, peasant and tribal risings
- Interlopers, not owners→ Awadh annexed: the road to 1857
- Azamgarh is 1857, not 1942→ Leaders and centres of 1857
- Danka Shah is not Shah Mal→ Leaders and centres of 1857
Acts and Administration
Reference tables (3)
From the Regulating Act to the Councils Act of 18616 rows
| Act | Year | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Regulating Act | 1773 | Governor-General of Bengal; Warren Hastings the firstQ |
| Charter Act | 1813 | Ended the monopoly of Indian trade |
| Charter Act | 1833 | Ended the monopoly of the China trade |
| Act V | 1843 | Masters could not use the courts to claim slavesQ |
| Government of India Act | 1858 | Crown took over; no popular participationQ |
| Indian Councils Act | 1861 | Nominated non-officials added for law-making onlyQ |
From the Press Act to the Independence Act7 rows
| Act or code | Year | Fact CDS asks |
|---|---|---|
| Cornwallis Code | 1793 | Rules of Cornwallis's administration in BengalQ CDS 2019 (II) asked these four in order: 1793, 1878, 1881, 1909. |
| Vernacular Press Act | 1878 | Only Indian member present: Jotendra Mohan TagoreQ |
| First Indian Factory Act | 1881 | First law on factory labour |
| Morley-Minto Reforms | 1909 | Separate electorates for MuslimsQ |
| Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms | 1919 | Dyarchy in the provinces; centre not responsibleQ |
| Government of India Act | 1935 | Federal Court; seats for women within communal sharesQ |
| Indian Independence Act | 1947 | Two Dominions; did not frame the ConstitutionQ |
Colleges, services, census and commissions8 rows
| Step | Year | Who or what |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Medical Service begins | 1764 | First for the troops; Indians later admittedQ |
| College of Fort William | 1800 | Lord WellesleyQ |
| Wood's Despatch | 1854 | Plan for education in India |
| Simla made the summer seat | 1864 | John LawrenceQ |
| First census attempt | 1872 | Lord MayoQ CDS 2016 (II) and CDS 2024 (II) both asked 1872 and 1881. |
| Regular ten-yearly census | 1881 | Lord Ripon |
| Hunter Commission | 1882 | Primary education stressed |
| Free and compulsory education bill | 1911 | Gopal Krishna GokhaleQ |
Watch out for (6)
- 1813 for India, 1833 for China→ From the Regulating Act to the Councils Act of 1861
- 1861 did not weaken the Governor-General→ From the Regulating Act to the Councils Act of 1861
- Dyarchy was provincial only→ From the Press Act to the Independence Act
- The 1947 Act did not write the Constitution→ From the Press Act to the Independence Act
- The census is ten-yearly→ Colleges, services, census and commissions
- Indians did enter the IMS→ Colleges, services, census and commissions
Religious Reform Movements
Reference tables (3)
Arya Samaj, Vivekananda and the Theosophists6 rows
| Person or body | Year | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Arya Samaj | 1875 | Dayanand Saraswati; inspired by the VedasQ |
| Vivekananda at Chicago | 1893 | "Sisters and brothers of America"Q |
| Ramakrishna Mission | 1897 | Vivekananda |
| Central Hindu School, Benaras | 1898 | Annie Besant |
| Hindu Mahasabha | 1915 | Formed at the Haridwar Kumbh MelaQ |
| Banaras Hindu University | 1916 | Madan Mohan Malaviya |
Aligarh and the Ahmadiyya movement3 rows
| Movement | Year | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| MAO College, Aligarh | 1875 | Sir Syed; Muslim theology with European scienceQ |
| Ahmadiyya movement | 1889 | Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Qadian (Gurdaspur) |
| MAO Defence Association | 1893 | Aligarh; kept Muslims away from the Congress |
Watch out for (4)
- Two bodies, not four→ Ram Mohan Roy and the Brahmo tradition
- Dharma Sabha was the orthodox side→ Ram Mohan Roy and the Brahmo tradition
- Besant's school, Malaviya's university→ Arya Samaj, Vivekananda and the Theosophists
- Sir Syed was not close to the Congress→ Aligarh and the Ahmadiyya movement
Caste, Women and Social Service
Reference tables (3)
Movements against caste5 rows
| Movement | Year | Leader and region |
|---|---|---|
| Satyashodhak Samaj | 1873 | Jyotiba Phule, MaharashtraQ CDS 2025 (II) put it before the Bardoli Satyagraha (1928) and the Chipko Movement (1973). |
| SNDP Yogam | 1903 | Sri Narayana Guru, KeralaQ |
| Self-Respect Movement | Mid-1920s | Periyar, Tamil Nadu |
| Kalaram temple satyagraha | 1930 | B.R. Ambedkar, Nashik, MaharashtraQ |
| All India Scheduled Castes Federation | 1942 | B.R. AmbedkarQ |
Women reformers and firsts5 rows
| Person | Time | What she or he did |
|---|---|---|
| Raja Sawai Jai Singh of Amber | 18th century | Tried to promote widow remarriage |
| Parshuram Bhau | 18th century | Maratha general; tried to promote widow remarriageQ |
| Tarabai Shinde | 1882 | Wrote Stri Purush TulanaQ |
| Mataji Maharani Tapaswini | 1893 | Founded the Mahakali Pathshala, CalcuttaQ |
| Muthulakshmi Reddy | 1927 | First woman legislator in British India |
Service societies, journals and Marathi reformers6 rows
| Body or work | Year | Founder or writer |
|---|---|---|
| Shatapatre in Prabhakar | 1848 to 1850 | Gopal Hari Deshmukh (Lokahitwadi)Q |
| Indian Social Reformer | 1890 | Edited by K. NatarajanQ |
| Servants of India Society | 1905 | Gopal Krishna Gokhale |
| Seva Samiti, Allahabad | 1914 | Hriday Nath KunzruQ CDS 2020 (I) and CDS 2023 (I) both asked it. |
| Seva Samiti Boy Scouts Association | 1910s | Shri Ram Bajpai |
| Bhil Seva Mandal | 1922 | Thakkar Bapa (A.V. Thakkar)Q |
Watch out for (5)
- Self-Respect was Periyar's→ Movements against caste
- Kalaram is in Maharashtra→ Movements against caste
- Tarabai Shinde wrote the Comparison→ Women reformers and firsts
- Kunzru's Samiti, Bajpai's Scouts→ Service societies, journals and Marathi reformers
- Natarajan edited the Reformer→ Service societies, journals and Marathi reformers
Early Nationalism
Reference tables (3)
Associations before the Congress5 rows
| Association | Year | Leaders |
|---|---|---|
| Poona Sarvajanik Sabha | 1870 | M.G. Ranade and othersQ |
| Indian Association | 1876 | Surendranath Banerjea, Calcutta |
| Madras Mahajan Sabha | 1884 | G. Subramania Iyer, P. Ananda Charlu, M. Viraraghavachari |
| Bombay Presidency Association | 1885 | Pherozeshah Mehta, Badruddin Tyabji, K.T. TelangQ |
| Indian National Congress | 1885 | A.O. Hume; first president W.C. Bonnerjee |
The Moderates and the nationalist press9 rows
| Paper | Kind | Founder or editor |
|---|---|---|
| Kesari | Marathi weekly | Bal Gangadhar TilakQ |
| Mahratta | English weekly | Bal Gangadhar Tilak |
| Bengalee | English newspaper | Surendranath Banerjea |
| Voice of India | English journal | Dadabhai NaorojiQ |
| Bombay Chronicle | English daily | Pherozeshah Mehta |
| Navjivan | Gujarati weekly | Mahatma Gandhi |
| Kudi Arasu | Tamil weekly | PeriyarQ CDS 2025 (II) matched it with the Kisan Bulletin, the Bombay Chronicle and Bhawani Mandir. |
| Kisan Bulletin | Peasant bulletin | Indulal Yagnik |
| Bhawani Mandir | Revolutionary pamphlet | Aurobindo Ghosh |
Swadeshi, the Ghadar Party and 19165 rows
| Event | Year | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Partition of Bengal | 1905 | Lord Curzon |
| Swadeshi Movement | From 1905 | Grew from the anti-partition agitation; boycott of foreign goodsQ |
| Ghadar Party | 1913 | San Francisco; president Sohan Singh BhaknaQ |
| Home Rule Leagues | 1916 | Tilak (April) and Annie Besant (September) |
| Lucknow session and Lucknow Pact | 1916 | Congress and Muslim League agreeQ |
Watch out for (3)
- The Congress did not compete with them→ Associations before the Congress
- Voice of India was Naoroji's→ The Moderates and the nationalist press
- Three events, one year→ Swadeshi, the Ghadar Party and 1916
Gandhi and Non-Cooperation
Reference tables (3)
Gandhi from South Africa to 19198 rows
| Event | Date | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Settlement | 1904 | Founded by Gandhi near DurbanQ |
| Gokhale named his political guru | May 1915 | Not Tilak, not NaorojiQ |
| Speech at the opening of BHU | February 1916 | First major public appearance in IndiaQ |
| Champaran satyagraha | 1917 | Indigo peasants of Bihar |
| Ahmedabad mill strike | Early 1918 | Mill workers' wages |
| Kheda satyagraha | 1918 | Peasants seeking remission of revenue |
| Satyagraha Sabha | February 1919 | Against the Rowlatt Bills |
| Jallianwala Bagh massacre | 13 April 1919 | Amritsar |
The Non-Cooperation programme4 rows
| Step | When | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Programme adopted | 1920 | Titles surrendered; schools, courts, councils and foreign cloth boycottedQ |
| AICC at Bezwada | 1921 | Targets: a crore members, a crore rupees, 20 lakh charkhasQ |
| Gandhi adopts the loincloth | September 1921 | Madurai, on his South India tourQ |
| Chauri Chaura | February 1922 | Movement called off |
Non-Cooperation in the provinces6 rows
| Region | What happened | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Awadh, 1920 | Oudh Kisan Sabha: no tilling of bedakhli land, no hari or begar | Peasants led by Baba Ramchandra |
| Awadh, 1921 to 1922 | Eka movement | Peasants led by Madari PasiQ |
| Punjab, January 1921 | Student movement; Akali upsurge alongside | Students inspired by Lala Lajpat RaiQ |
| United Provinces | One of the strongest Congress bases | Kisan sabhas and Congress volunteersQ |
| Karnataka | Significant participation | PeasantsQ |
| Assam | Exodus from the plantations; railway strike | Tea-garden and railway workers |
Watch out for (6)
- BHU before Champaran→ Gandhi from South Africa to 1919
- Gokhale, not Tilak→ Gandhi from South Africa to 1919
- Withdrawal, not takeover→ The Non-Cooperation programme
- It stopped after Chauri Chaura→ The Non-Cooperation programme
- There was plenty of labour unrest→ Non-Cooperation in the provinces
- True, but not the reason→ Non-Cooperation in the provinces
Swarajists, Civil Disobedience and the Left
Reference tables (4)
Liberals, Swarajists and No-Changers4 rows
| Group | Year | Leaders |
|---|---|---|
| National Liberal Federation | 1918 | Moderates: Surendranath Banerjea, T.B. Sapru, Srinivasa SastriQ |
| Swaraj Party (Pro-Changers) | 1923 | C.R. Das, Motilal Nehru, Vithalbhai Patel |
| No-Changers | 1922 to 1923 | C. Rajagopalachari, M.A. Ansari, Kasturi Ranga Iyengar |
| First Swarajist minister | October 1925 | S.B. Tambe, Central ProvincesQ |
From Purna Swaraj to the Round Table8 rows
| Event | Date | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Lahore Congress | 31 December 1929 | Purna Swaraj; president Jawaharlal NehruQ |
| Dandi March | 12 March to 6 April 1930 | Salt law broken at DandiQ CDS 2025 (II) order: Dandi March, Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Second Round Table, Pakistan Resolution (1940). |
| Sanikatta salt satyagraha | 1930 | Ankola, Uttara Kannada, KarnatakaQ |
| Gandhi-Irwin Pact | 5 March 1931 | Movement suspended; Congress to go to London |
| Karachi Congress | 1931 | Fundamental Rights and Economic PolicyQ |
| Second Round Table Conference | Late 1931 | Demand for freedom refusedQ |
| Depressed Classes conference, Bombay | 1931 | Separate electorates demandedQ |
| Poona Pact | September 1932 | Reserved seats instead of separate electorates |
Workers' and peasants' organisations5 rows
| Organisation | Year | Founder or leader |
|---|---|---|
| Madras Labour Union | 1918 | B.P. Wadia |
| All India Trade Union Congress | 1920 | N.M. Joshi; first president Lala Lajpat RaiQ |
| Communists leave the AITUC | 1931 | Red Trade Union Congress formedQ |
| Triveni Sangh | 1930s | Ahirs, Kurmis and Koeris of BiharQ |
| All India Kisan Sabha | 1936 | Swami Sahajanand Saraswati |
Revolutionaries and socialists4 rows
| Group or text | Year | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Hindustan Socialist Republican Association | September 1928 | Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad and others, at Feroz Shah Kotla |
| The Philosophy of the Bomb | 1930 | Bhagwati Charan VohraQ |
| Congress Socialist Party | 1934 | Narendra Dev (president), Jayaprakash Narayan (secretary) |
| Dutt-Bradley thesis | 1936 | R. Palme Dutt and Ben Bradley, CommunistsQ |
Watch out for (7)
- C.R. Das was no Liberal→ Liberals, Swarajists and No-Changers
- Lahore for Purna Swaraj, Karachi for rights→ From Purna Swaraj to the Round Table
- No dominion status in 1932→ From Purna Swaraj to the Round Table
- Wadia for Madras, Joshi for the AITUC→ Workers' and peasants' organisations
- Sarala Devi was not a union leader→ Workers' and peasants' organisations
- Vohra wrote it, not Bhagat Singh→ Revolutionaries and socialists
- The thesis was Communist→ Revolutionaries and socialists
Independence and After
Reference tables (4)
From the 1937 elections to Quit India6 rows
| Event | Year | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Provincial elections | 1937 | Congress not the largest party in Punjab and SindQ |
| Holwell Monument satyagraha | 1940 | Bose allied with the Muslim LeagueQ |
| "Muslim Raj here, Hindu Raj elsewhere" rejected | 1941 | Sikandar Hayat Khan, PunjabQ |
| Cripps Mission | March 1942 | Elected Constituent Assembly; provinces could stay outQ |
| Quit India | August 1942 | Matangini Hazra and Lakshman Naik gave their lives |
| Satara parallel government | 1943 | Prati sarkar with seva dals and tufan dalsQ |
Subhas Bose and the INA4 rows
| Event | Year | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Bose returns to India | 1921 | After resigning from the ICSQ CDS 2024 (II) order: Lucknow Pact (1916), Bose's return, Cripps Mission (1942), naval mutiny (1946). |
| Azad Hind Radio | 1942 | Started by Bose in GermanyQ |
| Bose leads the INA | 1943 | Prisoners of war; Rani of Jhansi Regiment |
| Royal Indian Navy mutiny | February 1946 | Bombay |
From the Cabinet Mission to partition5 rows
| Event | Date | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Cabinet Mission | 1946 | Union centre for defence, foreign affairs, communications; provinces could groupQ |
| Muslim League accepts the plan | 6 June 1946 | Though it rejected a sovereign PakistanQ |
| Sylhet referendum | July 1947 | Sylhet joined East BengalQ |
| Partition boundaries | August 1947 | Drawn by commissions under Cyril Radcliffe |
| Lok Sevak Sangh proposal | January 1948 | Gandhi: dissolve the Congress as a political partyQ |
India after independence9 rows
| Event | Year | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Hyderabad joins India | 1948 | After the police action of September 1948Q |
| Khrushchev blames China | December 1962 | Soviet view of the Sino-Indian warQ |
| First woman Chief Minister | 1963 | Sucheta Kripalani, Uttar PradeshQ |
| Tashkent Declaration | January 1966 | India and Pakistan, after the 1965 war |
| Simla Agreement | 1972 | India and PakistanQ CDS 2025 (II) order: Simla (1972), Pokhran-I (1974), SAARC Charter (1985), Agra Summit (2001). |
| Pokhran-I | 1974 | India's first nuclear test |
| Morarji Desai Prime Minister | 1977 to 1979 | Charan Singh followed until 1980Q |
| SAARC Charter | 1985 | First SAARC Summit, Dhaka |
| Agra Summit | 2001 | Vajpayee and Musharraf |
Watch out for (6)
- Separate deal for those who stayed out→ From the 1937 elections to Quit India
- Punjab and Sind in 1937→ From the 1937 elections to Quit India
- Azad Hind Radio began in Germany→ Subhas Bose and the INA
- The League accepted first→ From the Cabinet Mission to partition
- Durand and McMahon are older lines→ From the Cabinet Mission to partition
- Morarji left in 1979→ India after independence
Historians, Writers and Orientalists
Reference tables (3)
Orientalists, museums and colonial buildings8 rows
| Name | Year | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Asiatic Society of Bengal | 1784 | Founded by William Jones; Hastings its patron |
| Bhagavad Gita in English | 1785 | Translated by Charles Wilkins |
| Henry Thomas Colebrooke | 1801 | Professor of Sanskrit, Fort William CollegeQ |
| Siyar-ul-Mutakherin | 1780s | Ghulam Husain TabatabaiQ |
| Indian Museum, Calcutta | 1814 | Oldest museum in India |
| Government Museum, Madras | 1851 | Museum founded at Madras |
| Bombay Secretariat | 1870s | Designed by H. St Clair WilkinsQ |
| Indian Treasure Trove Act | 1878 | Law on treasure found in the ground |
Books, poems and art of the national movement8 rows
| Work or body | Kind | By |
|---|---|---|
| Neel Darpan | Bengali play, 1860 | Dinabandhu Mitra; English by Michael Madhusudan DuttQ |
| Anandamath | Bengali novel, 1882 | Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay |
| Indian Society of Oriental Art | Art society, 1907 | Abanindranath Tagore and othersQ |
| Amar Katha | Autobiography, 1910 to 1913 | Binodini DasiQ |
| Bandi Jivan | Prison memoir | Sachindranath SanyalQ |
| Jhansi ki Rani | Hindi poem | Subhadra Kumari ChauhanQ |
| The Indian Struggle | History of the movement | Subhas Chandra BoseQ |
| Maze Vidyapeeth | Marathi poem | Narayan SurveQ |
Historians of modern India and their books9 rows
| Historian | Book or idea | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Sumit Sarkar | The Swadeshi Movement in Bengal | Swadeshi, 1903 to 1908Q CDS 2016 (II) matched these first four. |
| Shahid Amin | Event, Metaphor, Memory | Chauri Chaura |
| Ranajit Guha | A Rule of Property for Bengal | The Permanent Settlement |
| Bipan Chandra | The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism in India | Early Congress economics |
| Sekhar Bandyopadhyay | From Plassey to Partition | Survey of modern India |
| Sarvepalli Gopal | Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography | Nehru's life |
| David Hardiman | Gandhi in His Time and Ours | Gandhi's ideas |
| Gyanendra Pandey | The Ascendancy of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh | Congress in UP, 1926 to 1934 |
| Ashis Nandy | Homogenised Hinduism built by post-Enlightenment Europe | Religion and colonialismQ |
Watch out for (6)
- Two Wilkinses→ Orientalists, museums and colonial buildings
- Colebrooke taught; he did not found→ Orientalists, museums and colonial buildings
- Written by one, translated by another→ Books, poems and art of the national movement
- Abanindranath, not Rabindranath→ Books, poems and art of the national movement
- Amar Katha and Amar Jiban→ Books, poems and art of the national movement
- Sarkar wrote on Swadeshi→ Historians of modern India and their books
PYQ weightage by concept
35 concepts · 172 PYQs — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
PYQ weightage by concept
35 concepts · 172 PYQs — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
The Company Takes India14 PYQs · 8%
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| From traders to rulers in Bengal and the south | 6 | 3% |
| The Maratha treaties and the Subsidiary Alliance | 4 | 2% |
| Frontier wars and the fear of Russia | 4 | 2% |
Land Revenue and the Colonial Economy13 PYQs · 8%
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Deindustrialisation, tea, railways and the telegraph | 6 | 3% |
| Debt, the Deccan riots and the laws | 4 | 2% |
| The Permanent Settlement, ryotwari and the famine of 1770 | 3 | 2% |
Early Revolts and 185712 PYQs · 7%
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Sanyasi, peasant and tribal risings | 6 | 3% |
| Leaders and centres of 1857 | 4 | 2% |
| Awadh annexed: the road to 1857 | 2 | 1% |
Acts and Administration21 PYQs · 12%
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| From the Press Act to the Independence Act | 8 | 5% |
| Colleges, services, census and commissions | 8 | 5% |
| From the Regulating Act to the Councils Act of 1861 | 5 | 3% |
Religious Reform Movements11 PYQs · 6%
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Ram Mohan Roy and the Brahmo tradition | 4 | 2% |
| Arya Samaj, Vivekananda and the Theosophists | 4 | 2% |
| Aligarh and the Ahmadiyya movement | 3 | 2% |
Caste, Women and Social Service16 PYQs · 9%
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Service societies, journals and Marathi reformers | 7 | 4% |
| Movements against caste | 5 | 3% |
| Women reformers and firsts | 4 | 2% |
Early Nationalism12 PYQs · 7%
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| The Moderates and the nationalist press | 5 | 3% |
| Swadeshi, the Ghadar Party and 1916 | 4 | 2% |
| Associations before the Congress | 3 | 2% |
Gandhi and Non-Cooperation14 PYQs · 8%
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Gandhi from South Africa to 1919 | 5 | 3% |
| Non-Cooperation in the provinces | 5 | 3% |
| The Non-Cooperation programme | 4 | 2% |
Swarajists, Civil Disobedience and the Left22 PYQs · 13%
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| From Purna Swaraj to the Round Table | 9 | 5% |
| Workers' and peasants' organisations | 6 | 3% |
| Revolutionaries and socialists | 4 | 2% |
| Liberals, Swarajists and No-Changers | 3 | 2% |
Independence and After21 PYQs · 12%
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| India after independence | 7 | 4% |
| From the 1937 elections to Quit India | 6 | 3% |
| From the Cabinet Mission to partition | 5 | 3% |
| Subhas Bose and the INA | 3 | 2% |
Historians, Writers and Orientalists16 PYQs · 9%
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Books, poems and art of the national movement | 8 | 5% |
| Orientalists, museums and colonial buildings | 5 | 3% |
| Historians of modern India and their books | 3 | 2% |
Test yourself on Modern India
20 past CDS questions from this chapter, timed at 20 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.