Indian History GK Notes

Ancient, medieval and modern Indian history and the freedom struggle.

67 topics1733 MCQs1104 previous-year questions211 quizzesUpdated 27 October 2026

Indian History Questions Indian History Quizzes

Indian History is usually studied in three parts. Ancient history starts with the Indus Valley Civilisation and the Vedic Age, then Buddhism and Jainism, the Mauryan Empire, the Gupta Empire and the Chola Empire. Medieval history covers the Delhi Sultanate, the Vijayanagara and Bahmani Kingdoms, the Mughal Empire and the Bhakti and Sufi Movements. Modern history runs from the Advent of the Europeans and the Revolt of 1857 through the Gandhian Era and the Revolutionary Movement to Partition and Independence.

History is a regular part of SSC CGL, CHSL and MTS, Railway NTPC and Group D, UPSC Prelims and state PSC papers. The questions are mostly direct facts: who founded a dynasty, the year of a battle or a Congress session, which Governor-General introduced a policy, who started a reform movement, or the title given to a freedom fighter. Matching questions on rulers and their court poets, or on Harappan sites and their finds, are also common.

This GK24 page lists the topics in syllabus order, so you can move from ancient to medieval to modern history without gaps. Every topic has its own notes and practice MCQs, and its previous-year questions are tagged with the exam and year, showing which facts the exams keep returning to. Use the mixed quiz sets after each block of topics to revise dates, names and places together.

Topic-wise notes

1
Indus Valley Civilisation
Discovery, extent, major sites and their finds, town planning, seals, trade, script, religion and the decline theories of the Harappan civilisation, as exams ask them.
43 MCQs32 previous-year questions
2
Vedic Age
The four Vedas and later Vedic literature, Rigvedic rivers and tribes, the Battle of Ten Kings, early and later Vedic polity, society, economy and religion, with the facts exams ask.
25 MCQs13 previous-year questions
3
Buddhism and Jainism
The sixth century BCE religious movements: the life of Gautama Buddha and Mahavira, the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, the five vows, the Buddhist and Jain councils, sects and texts, with the facts exams ask.
43 MCQs31 previous-year questions
4
Mahajanapadas and the Rise of Magadha
The sixteen mahajanapadas and their capitals, the gana-sanghas, and how Magadha rose under the Haryanka, Shishunaga and Nanda dynasties, with the facts SSC, Railway and State exams ask.
23 MCQs13 previous-year questions
5
Mauryan Empire
Chandragupta Maurya and Chanakya, Bindusara, Ashoka and his edicts, Mauryan administration, art and the decline of India's first pan-Indian empire, with the facts SSC, Railway and State exams ask.
38 MCQs28 previous-year questions
6
Post-Mauryan Period: Kushanas and Satavahanas
Sungas and Kanvas, Indo-Greeks, Shakas and Parthians, Kanishka and the Kushanas, the Satavahanas of the Deccan, Gandhara and Mathura art and Roman trade, with the facts SSC, Railway and State exams ask.
25 MCQs20 previous-year questions
7
Gupta Empire
Rise of the Guptas, Samudragupta and the Prayag Prashasti, Chandragupta II, administration, Dinara coins, Aryabhata, temple art and the Huna invasions, with the facts SSC, Railway and State exams ask.
23 MCQs15 previous-year questions
8
Harsha and the South Indian Kingdoms
Harshavardhana of Thanesar and Kannauj, Hiuen Tsang, his defeat by Pulakeshin II, and the Chalukyas, Pallavas and Pandyas of the south, with the facts SSC, Railway and State exams ask.
26 MCQs18 previous-year questions
9
Delhi Sultanate
The five dynasties of Delhi from 1206 to 1526, their founders and reforms, Alauddin Khalji's market control, the Tughlaq experiments, taxes, iqta and architecture, with the facts SSC, Railway and State exams ask.
49 MCQs43 previous-year questions
10
Vijayanagara and Bahmani Kingdoms
Foundation of Vijayanagara in 1336 and the Bahmani kingdom in 1347, their rulers, capitals, Krishnadevaraya, Mahmud Gawan, the Battle of Talikota and Deccan architecture, with the facts SSC, Railway and State exams ask.
48 MCQs42 previous-year questions
11
Mughal Empire
Babur to Bahadur Shah Zafar: the battles for the throne, Akbar's reforms, the mansabdari and dahsala systems, Mughal buildings and books, and the decline, with the facts SSC, Railway and State exams ask.
43 MCQs38 previous-year questions
12
Bhakti and Sufi Movements
Alvars and Nayanars, the acharyas, nirguna and saguna saints, the Sufi silsilas and their great masters, and what the two movements changed in medieval India.
41 MCQs35 previous-year questions
13
Marathas and Sikhs
Shivaji and the Ashta Pradhan, chauth and sardeshmukhi, the Peshwas and the confederacy, the Sikh Gurus, the Khalsa, Ranjit Singh and the Anglo-Maratha and Anglo-Sikh wars.
24 MCQs18 previous-year questions
14
Advent of the Europeans
Portuguese, Dutch, English, Danish and French companies in India: their charters, first factories, governors, the Carnatic Wars and the rise of English power.
33 MCQs25 previous-year questions
15
British Expansion and the Governors-General
Plassey, Buxar and the Diwani, the Subsidiary Alliance and the Doctrine of Lapse, and the reforms of every Governor-General from Warren Hastings to Lord Canning.
43 MCQs32 previous-year questions
16
Revolt of 1857
Causes of the 1857 revolt, its centres and leaders, the British commanders who suppressed it, why it failed, and the changes the Act of 1858 brought.
28 MCQs17 previous-year questions
17
Socio-Religious Reform Movements
The reform societies of nineteenth century India, their founders, years and places, the anti-caste movements and the social laws from the abolition of sati to the Sharda Act.
53 MCQs42 previous-year questions
18
Indian National Congress: Moderates and Extremists
The founding of the Congress in 1885, the Moderate leaders and their methods, the rise of the Extremists, the Surat split of 1907 and the reunion at Lucknow in 1916, with the facts exams ask.
31 MCQs25 previous-year questions
19
Gandhian Era: Non-Cooperation to Quit India
The three mass movements led by Gandhi between 1917 and 1942, their causes, programmes and withdrawal, with the dates, pacts and personalities SSC, Railway and State exams ask.
72 MCQs64 previous-year questions
20
Revolutionary Movement
The armed stream of the freedom struggle: Anushilan Samiti, Abhinav Bharat, Ghadar Party, Kakori, the HSRA, Chittagong and the women revolutionaries, with the dates and pairs exams ask.
26 MCQs19 previous-year questions
21
Constitutional Developments 1858–1947
The Act of 1858, Indian Councils Acts of 1861, 1892 and 1909, the Government of India Acts of 1919 and 1935 and the Indian Independence Act of 1947, with the provisions SSC, Railway, State and UPSC exams ask.
47 MCQs43 previous-year questions
22
Partition and Independence
The Wavell Plan, the Cabinet Mission, Direct Action Day, the Mountbatten Plan, the Indian Independence Act of 1947 and the Radcliffe Line, with the facts SSC, Railway, State and UPSC exams ask.
28 MCQs22 previous-year questions
23
Integration of the Princely States
How around 565 princely states joined the Indian Union after 1947: the lapse of paramountcy, the Instrument of Accession, Junagadh, Hyderabad and Kashmir, and the later merger of Goa, Pondicherry and Sikkim.
14 MCQs4 previous-year questions
24
Ancient Indian Dynasties and Their Founders
Founders, capitals and greatest rulers of the dynasties of ancient India, from the Haryankas of Magadha to the Cholas, Palas and Pratiharas, in exam-ready tables.
20 MCQs13 previous-year questions
25
Ancient Literature and Inscriptions
Vedic, Buddhist, Jain and Sangam texts, the classical Sanskrit works and the inscriptions from the Ashokan edicts to the Aihole prashasti, with the author and ruler pairs exams ask.
42 MCQs30 previous-year questions
26
Sangam Age and the Early Tamil Kingdoms
The Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas, their capitals, ports and emblems, the three Sangams and their literature, Sangam society, Roman trade and the close of the age.
23 MCQs14 previous-year questions
27
Rajput Kingdoms and the Tripartite Struggle
The Pratihara, Pala and Rashtrakuta fight for Kannauj, and the Rajput houses of Ajmer, Malwa, Bundelkhand, Gujarat and Mewar up to the battles of Tarain.
19 MCQs11 previous-year questions
28
Chola Empire
The imperial Cholas from Vijayalaya to Rajendra III: Rajaraja I and Rajendra I, the navy and the Srivijaya expedition, village self-government, trade guilds, Dravida temples and Chola bronzes.
25 MCQs14 previous-year questions
29
Mughal Administration: Mansabdari and Revenue
Central and provincial officers of the Mughal state, the mansabdari and jagir systems, the dahsala settlement of Todar Mal, methods of assessment and the classes of land.
29 MCQs21 previous-year questions
30
Regional States of the 18th Century: Awadh, Bengal, Hyderabad and Mysore
The states that rose as the Mughal empire declined: Hyderabad, Bengal, Awadh and Mysore, their founders and capitals, Plassey and Buxar, the Anglo-Mysore wars and Tipu Sultan.
20 MCQs14 previous-year questions
31
Anglo-Mysore, Anglo-Maratha and Anglo-Sikh Wars
The four Anglo-Mysore wars, three Anglo-Maratha wars and two Anglo-Sikh wars with their battles, closing treaties and the Governor-General of each, as exams ask them.
17 MCQs5 previous-year questions
32
British Land Revenue Systems and Economic Impact
The Permanent Settlement, Ryotwari and Mahalwari systems, the commercialisation of agriculture, the decline of handicrafts, the drain of wealth and the famines of British India.
41 MCQs31 previous-year questions
33
Peasant and Tribal Movements
The Indigo Revolt, Pabna leagues, Deccan Riots, Champaran, Kheda and Bardoli, the Kisan Sabhas and Tebhaga, with the Santhal Hool, Munda Ulgulan and other tribal risings, their leaders, years and the Acts they forced.
30 MCQs18 previous-year questions
34
Education and the Press in British India
Charter Act 1813, Macaulay's Minute, Wood's Despatch, the Hunter, Sadler and Hartog reports, and the press laws from Hicky's Gazette to the Vernacular Press Act.
33 MCQs22 previous-year questions
35
Important Sessions of the Indian National Congress
Venue, president and decision of every important Congress session from Bombay in 1885 to Meerut in 1946, with the firsts, the Surat split, the Lucknow Pact and the Purna Swaraj resolution.
17 MCQs7 previous-year questions
36
Subhas Chandra Bose and the INA
Bose from the Civil Service to the Congress presidency, the Forward Bloc, the escape of 1941, the Azad Hind Government, the INA brigades, Moirang and the Red Fort trials.
20 MCQs13 previous-year questions
37
Women in the Freedom Struggle
Rani Lakshmibai to Aruna Asaf Ali: the women of 1857, the Gandhian movements, the revolutionaries, the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, women's organisations and the women of the Constituent Assembly.
20 MCQs9 previous-year questions
38
Caste Reform and Depressed Classes Movements
Phule and the Satyashodhak Samaj, Narayana Guru and the SNDP, Vaikom and Mahad satyagrahas, Periyar, Ambedkar and the Poona Pact, with the facts SSC, Railway and State exams ask.
27 MCQs19 previous-year questions
39
Important Battles of Indian History
Battles from Hydaspes and Kalinga to Tarain, the three battles of Panipat, Khanwa, Talikota, Haldighati, Plassey, Buxar and Wandiwash, with their years, sides, winners and the treaties that followed.
20 MCQs9 previous-year questions
40
Personalities of the Freedom Struggle and Their Titles
The leaders of India's freedom struggle with the titles they carried, who conferred them, their slogans, their newspapers and the firsts attached to their names, in the form exams ask.
21 MCQs11 previous-year questions
41
India after Independence: 1947 to 1964
Integration of the princely states, the reorganisation of states on the basis of language, the first general election, the Five Year Plans, Panchayati Raj and the foreign policy of the Nehru years.
31 MCQs19 previous-year questions
42
World History: Revolutions and the World Wars
The American, French, Industrial and Russian revolutions and the two World Wars, with the dates, treaties, leaders and slogans that SSC, Railway, Defence and State exams ask from world history.
50 MCQs40 previous-year questions
43
Viceroys of India (1858–1947) and Major Events
The Viceroys from Canning to Mountbatten and the event asked with each: the Acts of 1861 and 1892, the Vernacular Press Act, the partition of Bengal, the Delhi Durbars, Quit India and the transfer of power.
12 MCQs2 previous-year questions
44
Prehistoric India: Stone Age and Chalcolithic Cultures
Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic India: tools, sites, states, rock paintings, early farming and burials, with the site pairs that SSC, Railway and State exams ask.
24 MCQs19 previous-year questions
45
Important Treaties and Pacts in Indian History
Treaties and pacts from Purandar and Allahabad to Salbai, Bassein, Sugauli, the Lucknow Pact, Gandhi-Irwin, Poona Pact, Tashkent and Simla, with the year, the parties and the result each one settled.
13 MCQs3 previous-year questions
46
Acts of Company Rule: Regulating Act 1773 to Charter Act 1853
The Regulating Act, the Amending Act, Pitt's India Act and the Charter Acts of 1793 to 1853, with the offices, bodies and firsts each one created.
17 MCQs8 previous-year questions
47
Commissions and Committees of British India
Commissions and committees appointed in British India with their years, chairmen and outcomes: education, constitutional reform, services, famine, currency, labour and agriculture.
11 MCQs4 previous-year questions
48
Titles of Ancient and Medieval Indian Rulers
Titles of ancient and medieval Indian rulers from Ashoka and Samudragupta to the Delhi Sultans, the Mughals and the Cholas, with their meanings and the pairs exams ask.
17 MCQs5 previous-year questions
49
Arab and Turkish Invasions: Muhammad bin Qasim to Muhammad Ghori
The Arab conquest of Sindh in 712, the seventeen raids of Mahmud of Ghazni and the campaigns of Muhammad Ghori up to the second battle of Tarain, with the dates exams ask.
12 MCQs1 previous-year questions
50
India after Nehru: 1964 to 1991
Shastri and the 1965 war, Indira Gandhi, bank nationalisation, Bangladesh, Pokhran, the Emergency, the Janata government, Rajiv Gandhi, Mandal and the reforms of 1991.
11 MCQs
51
Science and Mathematics in Ancient India
Sulbasutras, zero and the decimal system, Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, Varahamihira and Bhaskara II, the Charaka and Sushruta Samhitas, Kanada's atomism and the metallurgy of the Mehrauli iron pillar.
19 MCQs7 previous-year questions
52
Ancient Universities: Takshashila, Nalanda and Vikramashila
The great centres of learning of ancient India: Takshashila in Gandhara, Nalanda founded by Kumaragupta I, Vikramashila of Dharmapala, their teachers, Chinese pilgrims and decline.
12 MCQs2 previous-year questions
53
Famous Queens and Women Rulers of Indian History
Rudramadevi, Didda, Razia Sultan, Rani Durgavati, Chand Bibi, Tarabai, Ahilyabai Holkar, Kittur Chennamma, Lakshmibai of Jhansi and Begum Hazrat Mahal, with the facts exams ask.
14 MCQs3 previous-year questions
54
Gandhi in South Africa and the Early Satyagrahas: Champaran, Kheda and Ahmedabad
Gandhi's twenty-one years in South Africa, the birth of satyagraha, his return in 1915, and the three early struggles at Champaran, Ahmedabad and Kheda with their leaders and results.
19 MCQs8 previous-year questions
55
Civil Uprisings and Military Mutinies before 1857
The risings against Company rule before 1857: the Sanyasi and Chuar rebellions, the Poligars, Paika, Kittur, the Kol and Santhal revolts, the Faraizi and Wahabi movements and the Vellore and Barrackpore mutinies.
13 MCQs1 previous-year questions
56
British Administration: Civil Services, Police, Army and Judiciary
The machinery of British rule for SSC, Railway and UPSC exams: the civil service from Cornwallis to the Lee Commission, the Police Act of 1861, the army after 1857, and the courts and codes.
20 MCQs10 previous-year questions
57
Political Associations before the Indian National Congress
Pre-Congress political associations from 1836 to 1885 for SSC, Railway, UPSC and State exams: the Landholders' Society, British Indian Association, East India Association, Poona Sarvajanik Sabha and Indian Association with years and founders.
20 MCQs8 previous-year questions
58
Cities and Capitals Founded by Indian Rulers
Founders of Indian cities and capitals for SSC, Railway, State and UPSC exams: Pataliputra to Jaipur, the seven cities of Delhi, Mughal and Rajput foundations, and the famous capital shifts.
11 MCQs
59
Provincial Kingdoms of Medieval India: Bengal, Jaunpur, Malwa, Gujarat and Kashmir
The regional kingdoms that broke away from the Delhi Sultanate: their founders, capitals, greatest rulers, architecture and the years in which the Mughals absorbed them.
12 MCQs2 previous-year questions
60
Coins and Currency in Indian History
Punch-marked coins, Indo-Greek and Kushana issues, Gupta dinara, the tanka, jital and token currency, Sher Shah's rupiya, Mughal coins and the decimal rupee.
13 MCQs3 previous-year questions
61
Ancient Ports and Maritime Trade of India
Harappan Lothal to Chola Nagapattinam: the ports of both coasts with their old Greek and Tamil names, the Roman trade, the monsoon route, exports and imports, and the merchant guilds, with the facts exams ask.
18 MCQs8 previous-year questions
62
Hoysalas, Kakatiyas, Yadavas and the Chalukyas of Kalyani
The four Deccan kingdoms of the tenth to fourteenth centuries: their capitals, rulers, temples, scholars and fall to the Delhi Sultanate, with the facts SSC, Railway, State and UPSC exams ask.
15 MCQs7 previous-year questions
63
Trade Unions and the Left Movement in British India
Early labour associations, the Madras Labour Union, AITUC, the Trade Unions Act of 1926, the Kanpur and Meerut conspiracy cases, the 1928 strikes and the socialists, with the facts SSC, Railway and State exams ask.
18 MCQs7 previous-year questions
64
The Ahom Kingdom and Medieval North-East India
Sukaphaa and the founding of 1228, the paik system and its officers, Suhungmung, the Ahom-Mughal wars and Saraighat, the Koch, Kachari, Jaintia, Tripura and Manipur kingdoms, and the Treaty of Yandabo.
13 MCQs2 previous-year questions
65
World History: Renaissance, Reformation and Geographical Discoveries
The rebirth of learning in Italy, humanism and the printing press, Luther and Calvin against the Church, the Counter-Reformation, and the voyages of Dias, Columbus, da Gama and Magellan, with the dates and pairs exams ask.
15 MCQs3 previous-year questions
66
World History: The Cold War, Decolonisation and the Non-Aligned Movement
The origin and flashpoints of the Cold War, the end of the European empires in Asia and Africa, Panchsheel, Bandung and the Non-Aligned Movement, with the dates exams ask.
16 MCQs6 previous-year questions
67
World History: Nationalism in Europe and the Unification of Italy and Germany
Nationalism in Europe after 1789 and the unification of Italy and Germany: Mazzini, Cavour, Garibaldi, Bismarck's three wars and the dates SSC, Railway and State exams ask.
11 MCQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Indian History topics are asked most in SSC CGL and CHSL?

Modern history gets the largest share in SSC exams, especially the Revolt of 1857, the Gandhian Era, the Indian National Congress sessions, the Governors-General and the Revolutionary Movement. From ancient history, the Indus Valley Civilisation, Buddhism and Jainism and the Mauryan and Gupta empires are frequent; from medieval history, the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire. Cover these first and then fill in the rest.

How should I prepare Indian History for Railway NTPC and Group D?

Railway exams ask short, direct history facts rather than analysis. Read the notes topic by topic, keep a running list of founders, capitals, battles and years, and revise it weekly. Then solve the practice MCQs and previous-year questions for each topic, because RRB papers repeat the same facts in slightly different wording. Modern history and the freedom struggle deserve the most time.

Is NCERT enough for History in competitive exams?

The NCERT History books from Class 6 to 12 build the base and cover most of what SSC, Railway and state exams ask. Supplement them with a fact-focused source for dynasties, founders, battles, Congress sessions and the titles of freedom fighters, since these details are what the questions test. For UPSC Prelims, add a standard book on modern India and one on art and culture.

How do I remember dates and dynasties in Indian History?

Build a timeline instead of memorising isolated dates. Place the events of each period in sequence on a single page, for example from the arrival of the East India Company to Independence, and read it every few days. Learn each dynasty with its founder, capital and best-known ruler together. Solving MCQs and previous-year questions right after reading a topic fixes the dates far better than rereading.

Which History topics matter for UPSC Prelims and state PSC exams?

UPSC Prelims and state PSC exams go deeper than SSC. Along with the freedom struggle, they ask about ancient literature and inscriptions, the Sangam Age, Bhakti and Sufi saints, Mughal administration, British land revenue systems, peasant and tribal movements, and constitutional developments between 1858 and 1947. State PSC papers also add the history of that state, so check the exam's own syllabus.