Quick Theory Capsule

Indian History for Railway exams is broadly the story of three eras: Ancient, Medieval and Modern.
Ancient (Harappan→Gupta) gives you the world’s first planned cities, Vedic culture, rise of Jainism-Buddhism, Mauryan administration and the classical Gupta age whose texts, temples & coins are still asked every year.
Medieval (Turko-Afghan→Mughal) is dominated by Delhi Sultanate’s iqta & coin reforms, Vijayanagar-Bahmani rivalry, Bhakti-Sufi movements and the grand Mughal polity whose land-revenue, Mansabdari and art styles are favourite RRB traps.
Modern (1757→1947) is the heavyweight: from Plassey & Buxar to Permanent Settlement, 1857 revolt, Congress sessions, Gandhian mass movements (NCM, CDM, Quit India) and the constitutional milestones ending with Mountbatten Plan. Roughly 60 % of history questions in Railway papers come from the Modern segment, 25 % from Ancient and 15 % from Medieval—so always revise Modern first.

A smart way to retain dates is to club them in “colour-coded” chunks:

• Red chunk (Battle years: 1526, 1757, 1857, 1942)
• Blue chunk (Congress sessions: 1885, 1907, 1919, 1929, 1942)
• Green chunk (Viceroys with landmark acts).
  One glance at any question and the colour triggers the memory—saves 30 seconds in the 90-second-per-question CBT.

Practice MCQs

1. Easy – The Indus Valley people worshipped which god most commonly?
   a) Vishnu
   b) Pashupati (proto-Shiva)
   c) Indra
   d) Brahma

2. Easy – Who composed the Ain-i-Akbari?
   a) Abul Fazl
   b) Faizi
   c) Birbal
   d) Al-Biruni

3. Easy – The first session of the Indian National Congress was held at
   a) Calcutta
   b) Bombay
   c) Lahore
   d) Poona

4. Easy – The slogan “Do or Die” is associated with
   a) Non-Cooperation Movement
   b) Civil Disobedience Movement
   c) Quit India Movement
   d) Swadeshi Movement

5. Easy – Which dynasty built the famous Kailashnath temple at Ellora?
   a) Chalukya
   b) Pallava
   c) Rashtrakuta
   d) Chola

6. Medium – The “Double Dome” technique in Mughal architecture was first used in
   a) Humayun’s Tomb
   b) Taj Mahal
   c) Itimad-ud-Daulah
   d) Akbar’s Tomb

7. Medium – Which among the following was NOT a reason for the failure of 1857 Revolt?
   a) Limited territorial spread
   b) No unified leadership
   c) Support from majority of Indian princes
   d) Superior British military technology

8. Medium – The term “Anuvrata” is related to
   a) Buddhism
   b) Jainism
   c) Ajivikas
   d) Charvakas

9. Medium – Which viceroy followed the policy of “Masterly Inactivity” towards Afghanistan?
   a) Lord Mayo
   b) Lord Lytton
   c) Lord Lawrence
   d) Lord Ripon

10. Medium – The famous “Gandhara” school of art developed during the reign of
    a) Ashoka
    b) Kanishka
    c) Harsha
    d) Samudragupta

11. Medium – Which of the following pairs is incorrectly matched?
    a) Ryotwari Settlement – Madras
    b) Mahalwari Settlement – Punjab
    c) Permanent Settlement – Bengal
    d) Taluqdari Settlement – Bombay

12. Medium – Who among the following founded the “Forward Bloc”?
    a) C. R. Das
    b) Motilal Nehru
    c) Subhas Chandra Bose
    d) Acharya Narendra Dev

13. Hard – The “Din-i-Ilahi” had the maximum number of disciples from
    a) Hindu nobles
    b) Jain merchants
    c) Muslim ulema
    d) Portuguese Jesuits

14. Hard – Which inscription mentions the construction of a dam during Chandragupta Maurya’s time?
    a) Maski
    b) Hathigumpha
    c) Junagadh (Girnar)
    d) Sohgaura

15. Hard – The “Poona Pact” was signed in
    a) Sept 1931
    b) Sept 1932
    c) Aug 1933
    d) Jan 1934

16. Medium – The “Doctrine of Lapse” was last applied to
    a) Jhansi
    b) Nagpur
    c) Oudh
    d) Satara

17. Medium – Which session of Congress first demanded “Poorna Swaraj”?
    a) Lahore 1929
    b) Karachi 1931
    c) Tripuri 1939
    d) Ramgarh 1940

18. Easy – The fortification of Calcutta by Siraj-ud-Daulah was the immediate cause of
    a) Battle of Plassey
    b) Battle of Buxar
    c) Battle of Wandiwash
    d) Third Carnatic War

19. Easy – The term “Sufi” is derived from
    a) Safa (purity)
    b) Suf (wool)
    c) Safar (journey)
    d) Sofia (wisdom)

20. Medium – Who among the following introduced the “Chauth” and “Sardeshmukhi”?
    a) Shivaji
    b) Balaji Vishwanath
    c) Mahadji Scindia
    d) Baji Rao-II

21. Hard – The “Wood’s Despatch” (1854) is associated with
    a) Army recruitment
    b) Railways expansion
    c) Educational reforms
    d) Forest policy

22. Hard – Which portfolio was held by Dr. Rajendra Prasad in the Interim Government of 1946?
    a) Home
    b) Defence
    c) Food & Agriculture
    d) Finance

23. Medium – The “Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company” was started by
    a) V. O. Chidambaram Pillai
    b) G. Subramania Iyer
    c) Annie Besant
    d) Chittaranjan Das

24. Hard – The “Sarvodaya” ideal was propounded by
    a) Gandhi
    b) Vinoba Bhave
    c) Jaya Prakash Narayan
    d) Both a & b

25. Medium – Which among the following dynasties issued the largest number of gold coins in South India?
    a) Cholas
    b) Pandyas
    c) Chalukyas
    d) Vijayanagara

Quick-Solve Shortcuts & Tips

1. Date-Tree method: Write 3 columns on last page—A (Ancient), M (Medieval), D (Modern). Keep adding odd years you miss while solving mocks; revise the column before every shift.
2. Viceroy → Act chain: Create 8-box table—Viceroy name in left, Act in right. Visual chain helps eliminate 2 options instantly.
3. “First/Only” tag: RRB loves superlatives. Highlight every FIRST woman, LAST Nawab, ONLY princely state etc. in notes.
4. Eliminate Christian years: If options carry 1600/1700 etc., they usually point to Medieval; 1800+ = Modern; BC/AD Ancient—cuts 30 % time.
5. 30-30 revision: 30 minutes before bedtime, revise 30 facts—names of journals, founder-year-place. Sleep anchors memory better than morning cramming.

Attempt, analyse, annotate—history will turn into your highest-scoring section in the next CBT.