Dr.

Shambhu Singh Yadav

Assistant Professor (Deptt of History)
Shaheed Bhagat Singh Evening College
Centre of Capacity Building, University of Delhi

General Studies (for Civil Services

Preliminary Examination)
GS Paper I: History of India and Indian National
Movement
•The English word ‘history’ is derived from the Greek word
historia meaning inquiry, research, exploration or
information.
•History is the study of past events and people.
•History is based on sources and historiography (history of
historical writings)
•Clio: Greek goddess for history
•Herodotus (C.484-430 BC): Father of History
Periods in Indian History
Palaeolithic Age: Old Stone Age from 600,000 BC i.e. from
the time man had started living in India, to 10,000 BC.
It is divided into three phases according to the nature of the
stone tools used by the people and also according to the
nature of changes in climate. They are: (i) the Lower or Early
Palaeolithic age (600, 000 – 15,000 BC (ii) the Middle
Palaeolithic age (150,000-35,000 BC), and (iii) the Upper
Palaeolithic age (35,000-10,000 BC).
Mesolithic Age: It is the intermediate or transitional stage
between the Palaeolithic and Neolithic ages and covers the
period from 9000-4000 BC.
The tools of this age are called microliths (very small or tiny
tools).
Neolithic Age: the New Stone age covers the period from 7000 BC -1000
BC. This age was marked by the use of polished stone tools.

Chalcolithic Age: The Stone-Copper Age covers the period from 2800 BC to
700 BC. In this age, apart from stone, copper (the first metal to be used in
India) was also used.
History is divided into three parts – (i) pre-history, (ii) proto-history and (iii)
history
History is the recorded happenings of the past.
Pre-history is all those happenings of the past which are not recorded.
Proto-history is all those happenings of the past which have been recorded or
written down but which have not been understood or explained. For instance,
Indus Civilization falls in the proto-history. For though the Indus people knew
the art of writing and had written records, we have not yet been able to
decipher their script.
Culture simply means a way of life, whereas civilization means a particular
advanced stage or period of a culture.
.
SOME IMPORTANT TERMS
Archaeology: the science which enables us to dig the old mounds in a systematic manner, in
successive layers, and to form an idea of the material life of the people.
Radio-carbon method: the method according to which the dates of the excavated material
remains are fixed.
Numismatics: the study of coins
Epigraphy: the study of inscriptions
Palaeography: the study of old writing used in inscriptions and other old records.
Brahmi Script: written from left to right; used in most parts of India for Ashokan inscriptions;
considered to be the precursor of all the Indian scripts, except the Indus script.
Kharosthi Script: written from right to left; used only in northwestern India for Ashokan
inscriptions.
Historian: a person who studies or writes about history; an expert in history.
Artefact: Something made and used by earlier people like tools, pottery, etc.
Four earliest civilizations of the world: Bronze Age Civilizations
Located in broad river valleys:
the Tigris and Euphrates in Mesopotamia (Iraq)
the Nile in Egypt
the Indus in India
the Hwang-Ho in China
•The Urban Revolution of the 4th millennium BC marks the beginning of a new phase in
world history.
Introduction- Indus Valley Civilization (2600 BC -1900 BC): Bronze Age Urbanization (Proto –
Historic)
The name ‘India’, is derived from the river ‘Indus’, for India means the country of
Indus. The earliest literary evidence, however, shows that the first Aryan settlers in
India called the Indus, the ‘Sindhu’ (a huge sheet of water).
The Aryans in their long trek through Iran into India could never before have
encountered a river of such magnitude as the Indus.
In 518 BC Darius I, the Persian emperor, conquered the country around the Indus and
converted it into a Persian Satrapy (province). The Persians, because of their own
difficulty in pronouncing the initial ‘S’ turned ‘Sindhu’ into ‘Hindu’. Later, passing
through the hands of the Greeks, ‘Hindu’ became ‘Indus’.
Against this backdrop, to the Greeks and Romans, India came to mean the country of
the Indus. With the Arab conquest of Sind, however, the old Persian name returned in
the form of ‘Hindustan’ (Land of the Hindu); the people who inhabited the land came to
be called ‘Hindus’, and their religion was described as ‘Hinduism’.
Furthermore, the name ‘India’, goes back to the earliest civilization in India, the Indus
civilization, though no one had heard of such a civilization till the third decade of the
20th century.
In the 1920s, two ancient sites in the Indus Valley – Harappa and Mohenjodaro – were
excavated. These cities brought to light a civilization, which was at first called the
‘Indus Valley Civilization’, but later termed as the ‘Indus Civilization’ due to the
discovery of more and more sites far away from the actual river valley. Alternatively it
has also come to be called the ‘Harappan Civilization after the first sited discovered.
Some scholar call it Indus – Saraswati civilization, and a few prefer the nomenclature
Authors of Indus Civilization
The identification of racial composition of the
Harappan population is uncertain. The only definite
material available with regard to the authorship of
the Indus Valley Civilization are the human
skeletons and skulls found among the ruins, which
show that the population of Mohenjodaro was
heterogenous and comprised at least four different
racial types, viz. Proto-Australoid, Mediterranean,
Alpinoid (Armenoid branch), and Mongoloid.
The Mohenjodaro population is, however, generally believed
to have mainly consisted of the Mediterranean type. The
chornological evidence speaks not only of the diverse racial
elements but also of free racial mixture.
EXTENT
Harappan Civilization belongs to the Bronze Age. It
is older and more developed than the Chalcolithic
cultures in the sub-continent.
It is the largest cultural zone of the period, the area
covered by it about 12,99,600 million sq.km being
much greater than that of either Mesopotamian
civilization of Egyptian civilization.
Over 2800 sites discovered
This civilization extends from Manda (Jammu) in the
north to Bhagatrav (Gujarat) in the south (1100 km)
and from Sutkagendor (Pakistan-Iran border) in the
west to Alamgirpur (U.P.) in the east (1600 km).
MAJOR CITIES AND THEIR CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES
Major cities
Mohenjodaro in Sind (situated on the right bank of the Indus).
Harappa in west Punjab or Pakistani Punjab (on the left bank
of the Ravi).
Chanbudaro in Sind (on the left bank of the Indus, about 130
km south of Mohenjodaro).
Kalibangan in northern Rajasthan (on the banks of the river
Gbaggar which bad dried up centuries ago).
Lothal in Gujarat (at the head of the Gulf of Cambay).
Banwali in Haryana (on the banks of the now extinct
Sarasawati river).
Surkotada in Gujarat (at the head of the Rann of Kutch).
Dholavira in Gujarat (Kutch district).
Common Characteristic Features
Systematic town planning on the lines of the ‘grid system’, i.e. streets and
lanes cutting across one another almost at right angles, thus dividing the
city into several rectangular blocks (unknown in Egypt and Mesopotamia).
Large-scale use of standardized burnt bricks in almost all kinds of
constructions and total absence of stone buildings. The width of each brick
was twice as much as the height, and its length twice as large as its width
(7.5 x 15 x 30 cm or 10 x 20 x 40 cm).
Remarkable underground drainage system connecting all houses to the
street drains which were covered with either bricks or stone slabs and
equipped with manholes. This feature of Indus civilization is really unique.
The presence of an impressive fortified citadel which housed public
buildings such as the religious buildings, granaries, residences of the
members of the ruling class, etc. Below the ciatadel is the lower town
consisting of the houses of the commoners. Houses generally had side-
entrances and there were no windows even facing the main streets. It
emphasis on privacy.
Special Features
Mohenjodaro
The largest of all the Indus cities having all the above mentioned common features.
Great Bath was the most important public place, measuring 11.88x7.01 m and
2.43m deep; located at the centre of the citadel; remarkable for beautiful brick work;
its floor is made of burnt bricks in gypsum and mortar. It must have served as a
ritual bathing site.
Great Granary was the largest building, measuring 45.71m long and 15.23m wide. It
was located within the citadel and next to the Great Bath. Its presence implied the
existence of a centralised tax collecting agency.
There was an oblong multi-pillared assembly hall and a big rectangular building
which must have served administrative purposes.
Another building, identified by Wheeler as the temple, has a monumental entrance
and twin stair-ways leading to a raised platform on which was found one of the rare
stone sculptures of a seated figure.
Evidence of use of horse comes from a superficial level.
A fragment of a woven cloth was also discovered.
Harappa
The first Indus site to be discovered and excavated in 1921.
The Indus Civilisation was originally called Harappan
Civilisation after this site.
Granaries - located outside the citadel, but immediately next to
it in the west, were a series of brick platforms forming the basis
of two rows of six granaries, each measuring 15.23 x 6.09m
feet These were the nearest buildings to the rivet and thus
could easily be supplied by river transport.
Working floors – consisting of rows of circular brick platforms
lay to the south of the granaries and were meant for threshing
grain.
Barracks – rows of two roomed barracks, situated just below
the walls of the citadel; housed labourers.
Chanhudaro
The only Indus city without a citadel.
Like Mohenjodaro it was also flooded more than once.
Discovery of a small port which which was probably an
ink-pot, but no conclusive proof.
Discovery of metal-workers’; shell-ornament makers’ and
bead-makers’ shops (Metals used were gold, silver, tin,
copper, etc.).
Kalibangan
It had both proto-Harappan and Harappan cultural phases.
In its proto-Harappan phase the fields were ploughed. But
in the Harappan phase, they were not ploughed, but dug
up.
Discovery of two platforms (within the citadel) with fire
altars suggesting the practice of the cult of sacrifice
Lothal
The only Indus site with an artificial brick dockyard; must have
served as the main seaport of the Indus people.
Evidence of the earliest use of rice (1800 BC); the only other
Indus site where rice husk has been found is Rangpur near
Ahmedabad.
Discovery of metal-workers, shell-ornament makers and bead-
maker’s shops. .
Discovery of fire altars indicating the probable existence of a
fife cult
Evidence of the use of horse from a doubtful terracotta figurine
of a horse.
Impressions of cloth were noticeable on some of the seatings
found here (Impressions of cloth on a trough comes from
another site, Alamgirpur).
Banwali
Shows evidence of both proto-Harappan and
Harappan cultural phases.
Shares almost all the common features of Indus
cities, such as town planning, grid system,
drainage system, etc.
Surkotada
The remains of a horse are reported from
surkotada, situated in West Gujarat and relate to
around 2000 BC but the identity is doubtful.
Must have been another port-city, though no
docking facilities as at Lothal have been found.
Dholavira
Situated in Gujart, one of the largest sites of the Indus
civilisation.
Though it was first discovered by Dr J P Joshi, extensive
excavation work at the site was conducted by R. S. Bisht and
his team in 1990-91.
It shares almost all the common features of the Indus cities,
such as town planning, grid pattern, drainage system,
elaborate fortification, etc.
The most unique feature of the site is its division into, not two
parts as in other cities, but three sections. Two of these parts
.were protected by strong rectangular fortifications.
Existence of two inner enclosures-the first one hemmed in
the citadel (which probably housed the highest authority) and
the second one protected the middle town (meant for the
close relations of the ruler(s) and the other officials. The
existence of this middle town, apart from the lower town, is
the real exclusive feature of this city.
ECONOMY
Agriculture
Main crops: Wheat and barley; evidence of the cultivation of
rice in Lothal and Rangpur (Gujarat) only.
Other crops: Dates, mustard, sesamum, cotton and varieties
of leguminous plants such as field peas, etc. (Indus people
were the first to produce cotton in the world).
Method of cultivation: The main crops (wheat and barley)
cultivated as rabi (winter) crops, i.e. sown at the end of the
inundation of land by the rivers and reaped in March or April;
other crops cultivated as kharif (summer) crops, i.e. sown at
the beginning of inundation and harvested at its close. Fields
were not ploughed but dug up with a light-toothed instrument.
Domesticated and wild animals: Sheep, goats, humped
cattle, buffaloes, boars, dogs, cats, pigs, fowls, several
varieties of deer and tortoise, elephants, camels, rhinoceros,
tigers, etc.
Craft Production
There is enough evidence to suggest the presence of specialised
groups of artisans such as bronzesmiths, goldsmiths, brick-
makers, stone-cutters, weavers (of both cotton and wool cloth),
boat-builders, terracotta manufacturers, etc. Some of these crafts
such as brick-making must have been state-controlled crafts.
Trade and Commerce
Inter-regional trade: With Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Maharashtra,
South India, parts of western Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Foreign trade: With Mesopotamia or Sumeria (modem Iraq),
Bahrain, etc.
Main imports: Consisted of precious metals like gold (from
Afghanistan, Persia and South India), copper (Rajasthan,
Baluchistan and Arabia) and tin (from Afghanistan and Bihar) and
several semi-precious stones like lapis lazuli (Afghanistan),
turquoise (Persia), amethyst (Maharashtra), agate (Saurashtra)
jade (Central Asia) and conch-shells (Saurashtra and Deccan).
Main exports: Consisted of agricultural products such as
wheat, barley, peas, oil seeds, etc., and a variety of finished
products such as cotton goods, pottery, carnelian beads, shell
and bone inlays, terracotta statues, ivory products, etc.
Literary as well as archaeological evidence: There is ample
literary as well as archaeological evidence of trade links
between the Sumerian and Indus people.
The Sumerian texts refer to trade relations with ‘Meluha’
which was the ancient name given to the Indus region,
and they also speak of two intermediate stations called
‘Dilmun’ (identified with Bahrain) and Makan (Makran
coast).
Discovery of many Indus seals in Mesopotamia and
evidence of imitation by the Harappans of some cosmetics
used by the Sumerians suggest that some of the Harappan
merchants must have resided in Mesopotamia.
Discovery of about two dozen Indus type seals from different cities of
Mesopotamia like Ur, Kish, Susa, Lagash and Tell Asmar; existence of
reciprocal evidence from the Indus cities also-discovery of three cylinder
seals of Mesopotamian type, a number of metal objects of
Mesopotamian origin and the pot-stone fragment of a hut-pot at
Mohenjodaro; discovery of a circular button seal (which belongs to a
class of ‘Persian Gulf seals’) several bun-shaped copper ingots of
Mesopotamian origin and the ‘reserved slip ware’ of the 3
Mesopotamian type at Lothal; discovery of the ‘reserved slip ware’ at
Harappa also - all these provide conclusive proof of trade links between
the two people.
Form of exchange: Absolutely no idea about their currency; all
exchanges were probably carried on through barter.
Mode of transport: Both land and water (sea and river) transport
used; land transport by bullock carts (evident from terracotta
models) and pack oxen; evidence of sea and river transport by ship
and boats in several seals and terracotta models, and the dockyard
at Lothal.
Polity
No clear-cut evidence about the nature of the
polity.
According to D. D. Kosambi–priest rulers but
according to R. S. Sharma–merchant rulers.
Whatever might have been the nature of
political organisation, it is evident that the
Harappans had a very efficient and well-
organised administrative machinery
Religion
The chief male deity was the Pasupati Mahadeva (proto-
Siva) represented on a seal as sitting in a yogic posture.
This god has three – horned heads.
He is surrounded by four animals (elephant, tiger, rhino and
buffalo, each facing a different direction) and two deer
appear at his feet.
The chief female deity was Mother Goddess (Goddess of
Earth) represented in terracotta figurines Prevalence of
Phallic (Lingam) worship which carne to be closely
associated with Siva in later times.
Discovery of numerous stone symbols of female sex organs
(yoni worship) besides those of the phallus; worship of gods
in the form of trees (pipal, etc) and animals (humped bull,
etc), belief in ghosts and evil forces and use of amulets as
protection against them.
Script and Language
Evidence of pictographic script, found mainly on
seals; totally there are about 400 pictographs.
The script has not yet been deciphered
satisfactorily; no conclusive proof about its
connection with either the Dravidian language or
Sanskrit or the foreign languages such as
Mesopotamian or Egyptian languages.
The Harappan script was written in the
boustrophedon style.
Mesopotamia: Cuniform Script
Egypt: Hieroglyphic script
A Harappan burial
 Saddle quern

Reservoir at Dholavira
 A tool and beads

Pottery
Some of these can be seen in the National
Museum, Delhi or in the site museum at Lothal.
A terracotta figurine

Copper and bronze vessels

inhumation, the body lying on its back, with
the head generally to the north. A number
of graves took the form of brick chambers
or cists as in the case of those found at
Kalibangan.
At Lothal, in one case, the pit was lined
with mud-bricks, which suggests that
shrouds, coffins or built-in chest- like
constribances were probably in vogue.
At Harappa traces of a wooden coffin and
bodies covered by a reed-shroud were
found. From Surkotada comes the
evidence of the practice of pot-burial.
From the Lothal cemetery comes evidence
of another burial type with several
examples of pairs of skeletons, one male
and one female in each case, interred in a
single grave. Though these may not
necessarily indicate the practice of ‘Sati’,
they do suggest some sort of ceremonial
burial of the wife or servant or dependents
with the husband or the master.
A rare couple’s grave – the skeletal
remains of a young man and woman,
interred with his face turned towards her –