Description

PLUS TWO HISTORY | EXCEL : PREFACE We are pleased to present before the students and teachers this book titled History II (Themes in Indian History and Themes in Kerala History). It has been diligently prepared on the basis of the revised NCERT Syllabus and Text. We had in our minds mainly the students of Higher Secondary, State Open School and CBSE courses while preparing this book. It is well-nigh impossible to study all aspects of Indian history within an academic year. Hence choice is inevitable. Instead of describing all incidents in Indian history, an in-depth study of some events has been resorted to in this book. Students already have a general knowledge of Indian history from their school classes. Here, we have made an honest attempt to explain in detail a few aspects of history. Due care has been given to include among important topics various economic, social, cultural, political and religious sectors. Some themes try to present candidly the politics of a particular period and the salient features of the authorities of the time. Other themes throw light on how society was formed, how it functions and how it undergoes changes. Yet other themes delineate a summarised picture of the religious activities of the time. Along with it, they highlight the religious rites and rituals of the time. Every theme in this book gives you details regarding the art of history making. It provides clues as to how historians find enough evidence to historical facts, and how proper analysis of these evidences leads to the right assumptions or conclusions. The first theme on Harappan civilisation points out the characteristic features of Harappan civilisation. It also subjects to a special study of the development of Mohenjedaro, one of the cities that emerged during the Harappan period. From this theme you get details regarding mining explorations conducted by well-known archaeologists and researchers. Two chapters based on Kerala History have been included in the syllabus of Indian History - Pre Modern Kerala and Kerala Towards Modernity. These two chapters point out the historical events that occurred during the three periods Ancient period, Medieval period and Modern period in the history of Kerala. As you move along the different themes what strikes you most is that, this book does not just narrate historical events chronologically, but more than that, it is a minute research on how social development occurs through a series of historical events. They extend not only to the study of various events, but also to the economic, social, political and cultural reasons that led to such events. This book reveals to you how great men create history, and at the time, how history creates great men. Going through each of these themes carefully gives you a more or less complete picture of the evolutionary development of Indian/Kerala history. Each chapter ends with model questions prepared as per the new grading pattern. In addition, we have included the new NCERT syllabus and a model question paper.