Modern Indian History
🔒 Log in to trackFrom Vasco da Gama to 1947: British expansion and the Governor-Generals, the Revolt of 1857, reform movements, early Congress, the Gandhian movements, revolutionaries, and the newspapers and books of the freedom struggle. It is the most-asked history block in SSC CGL. Expect 1–2 questions per shift, mostly event–year, reform–Governor-General and founder–organisation pairs.
One page per subtopic: detailed notes, every question type, formulas, tricks and practice sets.
Every formula on one printable page, grouped by subtopic.
4 exam-level questions worked step by step.
90 questions — untimed practice or a timed test with analysis.
Track record in the exam
Questions per shift in recent SSC CGL papers.
Test difficulty mix (90 questions)
Question patterns exams keep repeating
Taken from previous-year papers. If a pattern is marked "very common", expect to see it in your exam.
Event ↔ year chronology
very commonArrange 3–4 events in order, or 'which happened first/last'. The single most repeated modern-history ask, from Plassey to independence.
How to solve: Fix anchor years once (1757, 1857, 1885, 1905, 1919, 1930, 1942, 1947) and slot each event against them; never rely on 'feel' — place the two events you are sure of and the order falls out.
Example: Arrange: (1) Jallianwala Bagh (2) Chauri Chaura (3) Dandi March (4) Quit India.
1919 → 1922 → 1930 → 1942, so the order is 1, 2, 3, 4.
Governor-General/Viceroy ↔ event or reform
very common'Who was the Governor-General when…', 'the Doctrine of Lapse was applied by', or a match-the-column of Viceroys and events.
How to solve: Memorise the spine: Cornwallis (judicial), Bentinck (social reforms, sati), Dalhousie (annexations, railways), Lytton (press gag), Ripon (local self-government), Curzon (partition of Bengal), Minto (Morley-Minto). Each Viceroy owns 1–2 tag facts.
Example: Under which Governor-General was the Doctrine of Lapse used to annex princely states?
Dalhousie (1848–56) — Satara, Jhansi, Nagpur and others annexed by refusing adopted heirs.
1857 revolt centre ↔ leader
commonA centre (Kanpur, Lucknow, Jhansi, Bareilly…) is named and its leader asked, often as match-the-column.
How to solve: Six pairs settle it: Delhi–Bahadur Shah II, Kanpur–Nana Saheb, Lucknow–Begum Hazrat Mahal, Jhansi–Rani Lakshmibai, Bareilly–Khan Bahadur Khan, Bihar (Jagdishpur)–Kunwar Singh.
Example: Who led the 1857 revolt at Kanpur?
Nana Saheb — with Tantia Tope as his commander and the seized treasury; Lucknow belongs to Begum Hazrat Mahal, not him.
Congress session ↔ president / resolution
very common'The Lahore session of 1929 was presided over by', 'Purna Swaraj was declared at…', or the session where a famous word entered the resolution.
How to solve: Pin the famous sessions: 1885 Bombay (Bonnerjee), 1906 Calcutta (Naoroji — 'Swaraj'), 1907 Surat (split), 1916 Lucknow (reunion), 1929 Lahore (Jawaharlal — Purna Swaraj), 1931 Karachi (Fundamental Rights), 1942 (Quit India, AICC).
Example: At which session did the Congress resolve to strive for 'Swaraj' (1906)?
The Calcutta session of 1906, with Dadabhai Naoroji in the chair.
Newspaper / book ↔ editor / author
very common'Kesari was edited by', 'Discovery of India was written by', and match-the-column sets mixing papers and books in one question.
How to solve: Cluster by person: Tilak (Kesari, Mahratta, Geeta Rahasya), Gandhi (Young India, Navajivan, Harijan, Hind Swaraj, Experiments), Nehru (Toward Freedom, Glimpses, Discovery), Naoroji vs R.C. Dutt for the two economics books.
Example: The author of India Wins Freedom is —
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad — Rajendra Prasad wrote India Divided; don't swap the pair.
Movement ↔ its features
very commonStatements about a movement (its trigger, methods, where it spread, why it ended) with 'which is/are correct'.
How to solve: For each movement fix four anchors — trigger event, signature method, geographic spread, end event. Example, Civil Disobedience: salt law broken at Dandi, no-revenue/no-tax, spread widest in Gujarat and Tamil belt, ended by the Gandhi-Irwin Pact.
Example: The Civil Disobedience Movement was launched in 1930 by —
Breaking the salt law at Dandi (6 April 1930), after the 12 March march from Sabarmati.
Slogan / quote ↔ person
common'Swaraj is my birthright' — who said it, 'Do or Die', 'Give me blood', 'Dilli Chalo', and other one-line attributions.
How to solve: Attribute by decade and method: Tilak (birthright), Gandhi (Do or Die, the three monkeys), Bose (Dilli Chalo, Give me blood), Bhagat Singh (Inquilab Zindabad popularised), Nehru (the tryst with destiny, 1947).
Example: 'Give me blood, I will give you freedom' was said by —
Subhas Chandra Bose, to the INA in 1944.
19th-century reform ↔ reformer and society
common'The Brahmo Samaj was founded by', statements on widow remarriage, sati abolition, Aligarh movement, and their year-provision mix.
How to solve: Track reformer → society → year: Ram Mohan Roy (Brahmo Sabha 1828, sati abolished 1829 with Bentinck), Dayananda (Arya Samaj 1875), Ramakrishna–Vivekananda (Mission 1897), Syed Ahmad Khan (MAO College 1875), Phule (Satyashodhak Samaj 1873).
Example: The practice of sati was legally abolished in 1829 through the efforts of —
Raja Ram Mohan Roy, whose campaign persuaded Lord William Bentinck to pass the regulation.