History Master - Quick Revision
History Master - Quick Revision
One-Liners
- Harappan civilization ⇒ “Town-planning & drainage” = Indus Valley gift.
- Rig-Veda ⇒ oldest text, 1028 hymns, compiled c.1500 BCE.
- 6th-c. BC ⇒ birth of Buddhism, Jainism & 16 Mahajanapadas.
- Maurya empire ⇒ first pan-India empire; Kautilya wrote Arthashastra.
- Ashoka’s 13th rock edict ⇒ earliest royal reference to “Dhamma-vijaya”.
- Gupta era ⇒ “Golden Age”–Nalanda, Kalidasa, Aryabhatta zero.
- Harshavardhan ⇒ moved capital Kanyakubja (Kannauj); Chinese pilgrim Hiuen-Tsang.
- Tripartite struggle ⇒ Gurjara-Pratihara, Rashtrakuta, Pala for Kannauj.
- Rajput age ⇒ Prithviraj Chauhan lost 2nd Tarain (1192) to Muhammad Ghori.
- Qutub Minar ⇒ started by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, finished Iltutmish.
- Raziyya Sultan ⇒ only woman ruler of Delhi Sultanate.
- Dīwan-i-riyāsat & shahna-i-mandi ⇒ Alauddin Khalji’s market-control.
- Amir Khusrau ⇒ “Parrot of India”, tarana & khayal pioneer.
- Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq ⇒ token currency & capital shift (Delhi-Daulatabad).
- Battle of Plassey (1757) ⇒ British political rule begins in India.
- Regulating Act 1773 ⇒ first Parliamentary control over Company.
- 1857 revolt ⇒ began 29 May Meerut; ended 1858 Gwalior.
- Dadabhai Naoroji ⇒ “Drain Theory” in Poverty & Un-British Rule.
- Gandhi ⇒ Rowlatt Satyagraha 1919, Non-Coop 1920, Dandi 1930, Quit India 1942.
- 15 Aug 1947 ⇒ Indian Independence; 26 Jan 1950 Republic.
| Formula |
Use |
| “M.G.R.S.V.D.M.” |
Mughal sequence—M.Babur, Humayun, Sher Shah, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, Aurangzeb |
| “V-P-S” for Delhi Sultan dynasties |
Mamluk (Slave), Khilji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, Lodi |
| “1858-1905-1919-1935” |
Key Govt. Acts—Crown takeover (1858), Partition (1905), Mont-Ford reforms (1919), Provincial autonomy (1935) |
| “Quit-1942, Mount-1946, Freedom-1947” |
Cripps → Quit India → Cabinet Mission → Independence |
| “G-B-N-P-T” for Governor-Generals |
Hastings → Wellesley → Bentinck → Dalhousie → Canning |
| “V-I-T-T-J-S-N” |
Ancient foreign travellers—Megasthenes, Fa-Hien, Hiuen-Tsang, Itsing, Al-Biruni, Ibn Battuta, Nicolo Conti |
| “3-6-9-12” |
Buddhist councils—Rajgriha 3c BC, Vaishali 4c BC, Pataliputra 3c BC, Kashmir/Kundalavana 1c AD |
| “L-D-D-L-D” |
Five-year plans—1st Light (1951), 2nd Heavy (56), 3rd Agriculture (61), 3-yr holiday, 4th Growth (69) |
| “CRIPPS-QUIT-CABINET” |
1942 Cripps offer → rejected → Aug 42 Quit India → 46 Cabinet Mission |
Memory Tricks
- SULTANATE ⇒ S-lave, K-hilji, T-ughlaq, S-ayyid, L-odi dynasties (first letters).
- “Akbar’s NAV-RATNA” ⇒ Todal-Tansen-Birbal-Man Singh-Abul Fazl etc. (count 9 on fingers).
- “G-2-B-3” ⇒ Great Britain got 3 Presidencies—Bombay, Bengal, Madras.
- “VSC” for 1930-34 movements—V: Civil Disobedience, S: Salt, C: Round Table Conferences.
- “RIP-PNS” for modern governors of RBI, Planning Commission, Finance Commission—Rao-Iyengar-Patel-Nehru-Sukumar.
Common Errors
| Error |
Correct |
| Mahavira was founder of Jainism |
24th Tirthankar; first Rishabhanath |
| Ashoka fought Kalinga war in 261 AD |
261 BC |
| First Battle of Panipat 1526 – Babur vs Hemu |
Babur vs Ibrahim Lodi |
| Simon Commission came in 1927; Congress supported |
Congress boycotted |
| Indian National Congress founded by Gandhi |
A.O.Hume, 1885 |
5 Quick MCQs
1. Who among the following composed ‘Ain-i-Akbari’?
Abul Fazl
2. The city of Jaunpur was founded by which Sultan?
Firoz Shah Tughlaq
3. Which act allowed separate electorates for Muslims for the first time?
Indian Councils Act 1909 (Morley-Minto)
4. The Dandi March covered how many miles?
240 miles (390 km)
5. Who was the Viceroy at the time of Jallianwala Bagh massacre?
Lord Chelmsford