Is NCERT Enough for UPSC Ancient History?

It is a constant question, which book or books is enough to cover Ancient Indian History. Usually NCERT Books on History are enough to cover ancient Indian history. But then another question arises – which NCERT book is needed? The Old or New? 

Both have their own fair share of positives and drawbacks. What they are will be highlighted in this article so that candidates can come to an informed decision on which NCERT book will be enough to cover UPSC Ancient Indian History for the UPSC Exam. 

The candidates can read more related information from the links provided below:

• How to Prepare for History for IAS?
• 15 Day Strategy for Ancient and Medieval History

Difference Between Old and New NCERTs

Before highlighting the difference between old and new NCERT books, it should be noted that it lies in the learning method of each aspirant. With that being said we will proceed to highlight the difference between the old and new NCERT

• The Old NCERT books are written in a direct and factual way. Although they may be vast when it comes to the quantity of information it helps to memorise concepts and facts better.
• The New NCERT Books are more subjective in nature and are written with the objective to evoke the thoughts of the reader.
• Old NCERTs are more fact-based and have less diagrams and pictures as far as history is concerned. The ones that are there are black and white in nature.

• Old NCERTs are content-rich. Also, the chronological order of events is better maintained in old NCERTs. New NCERTs, when adopted a narrative style, sometimes complicate things.
  

• NCERT books act as a foundation base; aspirants should not see covering NCERT books as the last thing. E.g. for certain subjects like Geography, science & Technology or Word History and Indian History NCERT books are the best.

To know more about other Government Exams, visit the linked article. For more preparation materials they can refer to the links given in the table below:

Related Links