NDA Examination History and Freedom Movement (General Ability Test) Syllabus

History and Freedom Movement (General Ability Test) syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for History and Freedom Movement (General Ability Test) in NDA Examination, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Ancient and Medieval India

   4 topics

   • Indus Valley Civilization
     • Town planning and features
   • Vedic Age and Religious Movements
     • Buddhism and Jainism
   • Major Empires
     • Mauryan and Gupta empires
     • Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire
   • Bhakti and Sufi Movements
2. 2

   Modern India and the Freedom Struggle

   4 topics

   • Advent of Europeans and British Expansion
     • Establishment of British rule
   • Revolt of 1857
     • Causes and consequences
   • Indian National Movement
     • Formation of the Indian National Congress
     • Moderates and Extremists
     • Gandhian movements
   • Partition and Independence
     • Quit India Movement
     • Independence and integration of states
3. 3

   World History and Major Movements

   5 topics

   • Renaissance and Reformation
   • American War of Independence and French Revolution
   • Industrial Revolution
     • Impact on society and economy
   • World Wars and Russian Revolution
   • Rise of Nationalism and Decolonization
4. 4

   Indian Polity, Constitution and Society

   4 topics

   • Making of the Indian Constitution
     • Constituent Assembly and salient features
   • Fundamental Rights and Duties
     • Directive Principles of State Policy
   • Union and State Governments
     • Parliament, Executive and Judiciary
     • Panchayati Raj
   • Five-Year Plans and Panchsheel
     • Community development and national integration

History and Freedom Movement (General Ability Test) flashcards for NDA Examination

25 of 51 cards from the History and Freedom Movement (General Ability Test) deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. Which two cities were the major urban centres of the Indus Valley (Harappan) Civilization?

   Harappa (on the Ravi) and Mohenjo-daro (on the Indus), the first sites excavated in the 1920s.

2. What was the time span and chief characteristic of the Mature Harappan Civilization?

   Roughly 2600–1900 BCE; characterized by planned cities with grid streets, advanced drainage, standardized burnt-brick construction, and the Great Bath.

3. Why is the Harappan script significant and what is its current status?

   It is the earliest Indian writing, written mostly right-to-left (boustrophedon), but remains undeciphered.

4. What were the four Vedas of the Vedic Age, in order of antiquity?

   Rigveda (oldest), Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda.

5. How did Early (Rigvedic) Vedic society differ from Later Vedic society?

   Early Vedic society was pastoral, tribal, and largely egalitarian; Later Vedic society became agricultural, territorial (janapadas), with a rigid varna/caste system and powerful priesthood.

6. Who founded Buddhism and Jainism, and around what period?

   Buddhism was founded by Gautama Buddha and Jainism propagated by Mahavira (24th Tirthankara), both in the 6th century BCE.

7. What are the core teachings of Buddhism known as the Four Noble Truths and the path to end suffering?

   Life is suffering; suffering has a cause (desire); suffering can be ended; the way to end it is the Eightfold Path (Ashtangika Marga).

8. Who founded the Mauryan Empire and in what year?

   Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the empire around 321 BCE with the help of Chanakya (Kautilya).

9. Which Mauryan emperor embraced Buddhism after the Kalinga War, and when was that war?

   Ashoka the Great, after the Kalinga War of c. 261 BCE, adopted Buddhism and spread Dhamma through rock and pillar edicts.

10. Why is the Gupta period (c. 320–550 CE) called the 'Golden Age of India'?

    It saw great achievements in science, mathematics (decimal system, concept of zero by Aryabhata), astronomy, art, and literature (Kalidasa).

11. What did the Bhakti movement emphasize and who were two of its prominent saints?

    It emphasized personal devotion (bhakti) to a personal God, rejecting caste and ritualism; saints included Kabir, Guru Nanak, Mirabai, Tulsidas, and Ramanuja.

12. What is Sufism and what is the term for its mystic orders and saints?

    Sufism is the mystical, devotional dimension of Islam stressing love of God; its orders are called silsilas and saints are called pirs (e.g., Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti).

13. Which European trading company arrived first in India and which one ultimately dominated?

    The Portuguese (Vasco da Gama, 1498) arrived first; the British East India Company ultimately dominated.

14. Which 1757 battle marked the beginning of British political control in India?

    The Battle of Plassey (1757), where Robert Clive defeated Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula of Bengal.

15. What did the Battle of Buxar (1764) achieve for the British?

    It gave the East India Company the Diwani (revenue collection rights) of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa in 1765, establishing firm financial control.

16. In which year did the Revolt of 1857 begin and where did it spark?

    It began in May 1857 at Meerut, sparked by the greased cartridge controversy of the Enfield rifle.

17. Who were three leading figures of the Revolt of 1857?

    Mangal Pandey (Barrackpore), Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, Nana Sahib (Kanpur), Tantia Tope, and Bahadur Shah Zafar (proclaimed nominal leader).

18. What were the major consequences of the Revolt of 1857?

    End of East India Company rule; India came under direct British Crown rule (1858); the Mughal dynasty ended; the army was reorganized.

19. In what year and city was the Indian National Congress founded, and by whom?

    Founded in 1885 in Bombay, with A.O. Hume as the principal founder; first president was W.C. Bonnerjee.

20. What was the Partition of Bengal (1905) and what movement did it trigger?

    Lord Curzon's 1905 division of Bengal on communal lines triggered the Swadeshi and Boycott movement.

21. What was the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and when did it occur?

    On 13 April 1919 in Amritsar, General Dyer ordered firing on an unarmed crowd, killing hundreds; it intensified the freedom struggle.

22. Which three major mass movements did Mahatma Gandhi lead, and in which years?

    Non-Cooperation Movement (1920–22), Civil Disobedience Movement / Dandi Salt March (1930), and Quit India Movement (1942).

23. What was the significance of the Dandi March of 1930?

    Gandhi's 240-mile march to make salt defied the British salt law, launching the Civil Disobedience Movement and mass non-violent defiance.

24. Who founded the Indian National Army (INA) and what was its slogan?

    Subhas Chandra Bose revived and led the INA (Azad Hind Fauj); its slogan was 'Dilli Chalo' and the greeting 'Jai Hind'.

25. Which 1947 plan provided for the partition of India, and who proposed it?

    The Mountbatten Plan (3 June 1947), proposed by Viceroy Lord Mountbatten, leading to the Indian Independence Act 1947.

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