Tamil Nadu History Books for UPSC Exam

History is an integral part of the UPSC exam, both prelims and mains exams. Among all the books, the NCERT textbooks are considered essential for a good understanding of the basics of the subject. Off late, however, a lot of candidates are resorting to reading the Tamil Nadu board textbooks instead of some, if not all the NCERT textbooks. In this article, you will read about the various Tamil Nadu board textbooks required for the UPSC civil services exam.

List of Tamil Nadu Board History Books:

1. Class XII Textbook: For world history (Imperialism, French and American Revolutions, Nazism, Fascism, World Wars, Cold War, United Nations) and freedom struggle.
2. Class XI Textbook: For ancient and medieval India, especially for art, culture, religion and architecture.
3. Class IX Textbook: The last chapter on the Industrial Revolution is useful.

The Tamil Nadu textbooks are written in a simple and lucid language. For beginners of history, they make a good read and will help you understand the fundamental concepts of the subject. The Tamil Nadu textbooks are sometimes more useful than the new NCERT textbooks. These books are more akin to the old NCERT textbooks, which were more chronological. It covers the kings one after the other in a linear manner. This is excellent for history novices who are clueless about the kings and kingdoms. Also, the NCERT books do not cover details about the East India Company’s Governors-General like Dalhousie, Hastings, etc. The Tamil Nadu textbooks cover these topics better. You can even select topics and read both the Tamil Nadu and NCERT textbooks since they complement each other.

These textbooks can be downloaded for free from the official website of the Tamil Nadu state education board.

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