India is known for its rich cultural legacy. Performing arts like classical dances are integral parts of Indian culture. This is a mega-post which cover the details of all classical dances in India. Origin of classical dances Most of the classical dance forms originated in temples. Worshipping was the main …
During the first half of the eighteenth century, the boundaries of the Mughal Empire were reshaped by the emergence of a number of independent kingdoms. In this post, we will read about the emergence of new political groups in the subcontinent during the first half of the eighteenth century – roughly …
The frontiers separating regions have evolved over time are still changing. What we understand as regional cultures today are often the product of complex processes of intermixing of local traditions with ideas from other parts of the subcontinent. In this post, let us quickly go through some of the regional cultures …
We have already posted about the major kingdoms and tribals societies in Medieval India. In this post let’s see in detail the devotional paths followed by people during the medieval period – Bhakitsm, Sufism, and Sikhism. Brahminism vs Buddhism/Jainism vs Devotional Paths (Bhakitsm, Sufism, and Sikhism) Brahminism based on caste-system …
In this article on Medieval India, we plan to cover the topic ‘Tribes, Nomads, and Settled Communities’. One of the major reference material for this post is NCERT History text for Class 7 (Our past -1). The main points from the chapters are compiled below. These points might come quite …
Indian culture and heritage is a hot topic for UPSC Civil Services Prelims as well as Mains. Once you get a basic idea regarding what to study and what not to study in Indian culture, this topic would be very easy. In this post, we not only provide guidance regarding priority …
In this article on Medieval India, we plan to cover the topic ‘Towns, Traders and Craftpersons in the medieval India’. We have noticed more and more questions being asked in Prelims from this topic, hence the write-up on the same. One of the major reference material for this post is …
In India, the Mughal Empire was one of the greatest empires ever. The Mughal Empire ruled hundreds of millions of people. India became united under one rule, and had very prosperous cultural and political years during the Mughal rule. Departments under the Mughal Empire Important Departments Functions Diwan-i-Wazarat Department of revenue & …
Delhi Sultante were the Persian-speaking dynasties of Turkic and Afghan origin, which were controlling India from 1210 to 1526. Many of these dynasties ruled from Delhi. This includes the Slave dynasty (1206-90), the Khilji dynasty (1290-1320), the Tughlaq dynasty (1320-1413), the Sayyid dynasty (1414-51), and the Lodi dynasty (1451-1526). Later …
In Gupta empire (320 AD to 550 AD), there was a hierarchy of administrative divisions from top to bottom. The empire was divided into 26 provinces. Provinces were also divided into Vishayas and put under the control of the Vishayapatis. Officers of the Gupta Empire A Vishayapati administered the Vishaya …
The Mauryan Empire was founded by Chandragupta Maurya but reached its zenith under Ashoka. The Mauryan empire (322 BC – 185 BC) was the largest to have ever existed in the Indian subcontinent, spanning over 5 million square kilometres. In this post, we are compiling the names and functions of …
During early Vedic period (BC 1500-BC 1000), Aryans were organised into tribes rather than kingdoms. The chief of a tribe was called a rajan. The autonomy of the rajan was restricted by the tribal councils called sabha and samiti. The two bodies were, in part, responsible for the governance of …
The contemporary India experiences an almost unrestricted exploitation of resources because of the lure of new consumerist lifestyles. The balance of nature is disrupted. This has led to many conflicts in the society. In this article, we discuss the major environmental movements in India. What is an Environmental Movement? An environmental …
Following the death of the Gauthama Buddha, several assemblies were convened to settle doctrinal disputes and to recite Buddhist texts. These Assemblies were known as Buddhist Councils. This post will help readers to memorize the details of each Buddhist Council, much faster. Buddhism Founded by Gautama Buddha (Sakyamuni) known originally …
The Indus Valley Civilization covered parts of Sind, Baluchistan, Afganistan, West Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Maharashtra. Over 1000 Indus Valley Civilization sites have been discovered. It’s not easy to connect the archaeological finds with their respective Harappan cities. But in exams questions are repeatedly asked …
World Heritage is the designation for places on Earth that are of outstanding universal value to humanity. Pyramids of Egypt, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Galápagos Islands in Ecuador, the Taj Mahal in India, the Grand Canyon in the USA, or the Acropolis in Greece are examples of the …
Have you heard of Aranmula Kannadi which is a unique handicraft from Kerala? You might have heard of Kanchipuram Sarees of Tamil Nadu and Madhubani Paintings of Bihar. All these are unique products from a particular location. Such products now bear an additional tag – Geographical Indication. What is a …
In this article, we discuss the Indo-Islamic architecture, which is also known as Indo-Saracenic architecture. This is the last chapter (8th) of the NCERT text book ‘An Introduction to Indian Art’ – Part 1. This post finish our task of covering the highlights of the book in an exam-friendly manner, but …
In this article we discuss about the Indian Bronze Sculptures. The post deals with bronze casting technique, bronze sculptures in North and South India, and some of the important examples of bronze sculptures like Nataraja. As you rightly guessed, this article too is a part of the Indian Culture series based …
In this mega-article, we shall discuss about the Indian temple architecture and sculpture in detail. This post is a part of the Indian Culture compilation based on the NCERT text book ‘An Introduction to Indian Art’ – Part 1. In the previous articles we have discussed about the Later Mural Traditions, Post Mauryan …
In this article titled ‘Later Mural Traditions’, we discuss about the mural traditions developed in India after the initial mural traditions of Ajanta, Ellora, and other such sites. This article is a part of the Indian Culture series based on the NCERT text book ‘An Introduction to Indian Art’ – Part 1. …
In this article, we are dealing with the trends in the post-Mauryan art and architecture as a part of the Indian Culture series based on the NCERT textbook ‘An Introduction to Indian Art’- Part 1. We have already discussed the arts of the Mauryan period in the previous article. This post …
In this post, we bring you the important aspects of the arts of the Mauryan Period. The Mauryan period represents the third major period in the Indian cultural history after the prehistoric times and Indus valley period. The compilation is based on the NCERT textbook ‘An Introduction to Indian Art’ – Part …
In this post, let’s see the features of Indus Valley Civilisation arts as part of the Indian Culture notes based on the NCERT text ‘An Introduction to Indian Art’ – Part 1. A detailed note about the features, sites, society, religion etc. of Indus Valley Civilisation is already published in this …
Indian Culture is a vast subject in which there are many sub-areas like art, architecture, sculpture, philosophy, science etc. Not all books on Indian culture and heritage in the market are reader-friendly. Then how can an aspirant study culture topics? We suggest aspirants start from the book published by NCERT on Indian …
In this article on Medieval India, we plan to cover the topic ‘Rulers and Buildings – Medieval India’. The reference material for this post is NCERT History text for Class 7 (Our past -1). Only main points from the chapters are compiled below. These points might come quite handy during …
Back after a short break! Our team members have been working on Clear IAS Prelims Mock Tests – timed test series with performance analysis, the only one of its kind – which will be launched soon! Also, a detailed analysis of Budget is in the making. As of now, let’s focus back to our free …
Well, Indian History continues 🙂 In this article on Medieval India, we plan to cover the Delhi Sultanate. The reference material for this post is NCERT History text for Class 7 (Our past -1). Only main points from the chapters are compiled below. These points might come quite handy during preparation of …
Well, we have covered the main points from NCERT text for Standard 6 History in our last 5 posts. All the 5 parts dealt with ‘Ancient India’. From today, we shall see part-by-part the main points from Standard 7 NCERT History text. The objective of the next set of articles would be …
This article on ancient India covers Gupta and post-Gupta rulers. The compilation based on NCERT texts will also help you learn the cultural history of India. NCERT History Text: Standard 6 The reference material for this post is NCERT History text for Class 6 (Our past -1). Only main points …
NCERT texts are a must read for every UPSC aspirant and are available for free download from ncert.nic.in website. Almost every UPSC topper has repeated the importance of reading NCERT school texts. These are texts which help to build the fundamentals. In this article, we will be dealing with the important points filtered out …
NCERT texts are a must read for every UPSC aspirant and are available for free download from ncert.nic.in website. Almost every UPSC topper has repeated the importance of reading NCERT school texts. These are texts which help to build the fundamentals. In this article, we will be dealing with the important points filtered out …
NCERT texts are a must read for every UPSC aspirant and are available for free download from ncert.nic.in website. Almost every UPSC topper has repeated the importance of reading NCERT school texts. These are texts which help to build the fundamentals. In this article, we will be dealing with the important points filtered out …
NCERT texts are a must read for every UPSC aspirant and are available for free download from ncert.nic.in website. Almost every UPSC topper has repeated the importance of reading NCERT school texts. These are texts which help to build the fundamentals. In this article, we will be dealing with the important points filtered out …