Most of the UPSC aspirants choose history as an optional because it is easy to start with and is one subject least dependent on coaching for the IAS Exam. Additionally, it helps the aspirants to deal with Prelims as well as the essay. UPSC Exam is conducted in three phases- Prelims, Mains and Interview.
History Optional For UPSC IAS Mains
History is a standout subject among the other optional subjects for UPSC IAS Exam. It is a fascinating subject which gives us the data about our past. It is mixed with culture and tradition. It has great importance in IAS Prelims and UPSC Mains exam. Taking history as an optional subject will help the candidates to tackle the questions in Prelims and general studies paper.
Here is the complete book list for History optional subject. This will help your UPSC IAS Mains preparation.
UPSC History Optional Booklist:-Download PDF Here
For history optional strategy for IAS, click on the link below:
Strategy for History Optional for UPSC
Books For History Optional For Civil Services Exam
List Of Ancient Indian History Books For UPSC
| Ancient India – Upinder Singh | History of India ( Volume-I) – Romila Thapar |
| Ancient India (NCERT) -Prof. R.S. Sharma | The Wonder That Was India -A.L. Basham |
Candidates can go through UPSC 2021 article to align their IAS preparation accordingly.
List Of Medieval Indian History Books For UPSC
| A History of South India -K.A. Nilkantha Sastri | The Agrarian System of Mughal India 1556-1707 -Irfan Habib |
| Ashoka & Decline of the Maurya -Romila Thapar | The Mughal Empire -J.F. Richards |
| Indian Feudalism -R.S. Sharma | The Wonder That was India (Volume.2) -S.A.A. Rizvi |
| Material culture & Social Formation in Ancient India -R.S. Sharma | Urban Dynamics -H.C. Verma |
| Medieval India (Macmillan) -Satish Chandra | Medieval India (NCERT) -Satish Chandra |
List Of Modern Indian History Books For UPSC
| Anatomy of the Raj (PPH) -Suhash Chakravarty | Peasant Movements in India -D.N. Dhanagare |
| Freedom Struggle (NbT) -Bipan Chandra & others | The Raj Syndrome (Penguins) -Suhash Chakravarty |
| Gandhi -B.R. Nanda | VAID’s Fundamentals of History Series |
| Gandhi -Judith Brown | Constitutional History -Pravin Kumar |
| India’s Struggle for Independence -Bipan Chandra | Freedom Struggle -Pravin Kumar |
| Modern India (Macmillan) -Sumit Sarkar | Administrative History -Pravin Kumar |
| Modern India (NCERT) -Bipan Chandra | Social History -Pravin Kumar |
List Of World history books For UPSC
| Age of Capital -E.J. Hobsbawm | Age of Empires -E.J. Hobsbawm |
| Age of Revolution- E.J. Hobsbawm | Contemporary World History (NCERT) -Arjun Dev – |
| Europe Since 1815 -W.C. Craig | Europe Since 1870 -James Joll |
| Europe Since Napoleon -David Thompson | Industry & Empire -E.J. Hobsbawm |
| The social basis of Democracy & Dictatorship -B.J. Moore | The story of Civilization, Vol. 2 (NCERT) -Arjun Dev |
UPSC History Optional Booklist:-Download PDF Here
For other UPSC Optional Subjects Syllabus, check the linked article.
Aspirants can check the linked articles related to UPSC history Optional and IAS exam in the table below:
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