Maharashtra HSC History key terms

The Sanskrit term for traditional narrative history, combining myth, genealogy and moral instruction. Maharashtra textbooks use it to distinguish ancient Puranic storytelling from modern evidence-based historiography.

A class of Sanskrit texts recording dynastic genealogies, cosmologies and legends. They are treated as literary sources that must be checked against inscriptions and coins before being accepted as history.

Writing engraved on stone, metal or rock, such as Ashokan edicts and copper-plate grants. They are primary sources valued for dating rulers, donations and administrative decisions with reasonable precision.

The study of coins as historical evidence. Coin legends, metals and mint marks help date dynasties, trace trade contacts and reveal the titles and religious symbols chosen by rulers.

The Bronze Age urban culture of the Indus valley and adjoining regions, known for planned cities, standardised weights, seals and drainage systems. Its script remains undeciphered, so interpretation relies on archaeology.

A royal proclamation of Ashoka inscribed on rock and pillars, promoting dhamma, tolerance and welfare. Edicts are key evidence for Mauryan administration, missionary activity and the spread of Buddhism.

The first large empire of the subcontinent, founded by Chandragupta Maurya and expanded by Ashoka. It is studied for centralised administration, the Arthashastra tradition and the policy of dhamma.

A Sanskrit treatise on statecraft attributed to Kautilya, covering taxation, espionage, diplomacy and royal duty. Historians use it cautiously, since it describes norms and possibilities rather than a dated administration.

The sequence of Turko-Afghan dynasties ruling from Delhi between the thirteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Its history involves military slavery, iqta administration, Persian court culture and recurring Mongol pressure.

A revenue assignment granted to a military commander in return for service, common under the Delhi Sultanate. The holder collected taxes from the area but did not own the land permanently.

A Delhi Sultan remembered for market controls, price regulation, a large standing army and successful defence against Mongol invasions. His reforms are cited as an early attempt at state economic regulation.

A fourteenth-century Sultan known for ambitious experiments such as token currency and a proposed shift of the capital. His reign is debated for administrative vision versus practical failure.

Bronze or copper coins issued by Muhammad bin Tughlaq to circulate at the value of silver coins. Widespread forgery undermined public trust and forced withdrawal, making it a classic case of failed monetary policy.

A devotional trend emphasising personal love for a chosen deity and often rejecting ritual hierarchy. Poet-saints in regional languages, including Marathi traditions, shaped popular religion and vernacular literature.

Mystical Islam centred on inward devotion, the guidance of a pir and the khanqah community. Sufi shrines in the Deccan and north India became cultural meeting points across religious boundaries.

The Mughal ranking system assigning officers a zat and sawar grade that fixed status, salary and cavalry obligation. It linked military service to revenue resources and shaped Mughal nobility.

A revenue assignment granted to Mughal and later Maratha officers in lieu of cash salary. The holder collected revenue from the assigned area, and the system's excesses prompted reform debates.

The Mughal emperor who consolidated imperial administration, pursued Rajput alliances and promoted sulh-i kul, a policy of broad religious tolerance. His reign is central to debates on Mughal state-building.

A spiritual discipline proclaimed by Akbar, centred on loyalty to the emperor and ethical conduct. It attracted very few followers and is usually read as a political-religious gesture rather than a new religion.

The Mughal principle of universal peace or tolerance in matters of religion. It justified employing officers of different faiths and is often contrasted with narrower sectarian policies of later rulers.

The seventeenth-century Maratha founder who built forts, organised a cavalry-based army and established swarajya. His coronation in 1674 and administrative measures are central to Maharashtra's history syllabus.

The council of eight ministers in Shivaji's administration, including the Peshwa and the Amatya. It handled finance, military affairs, correspondence and foreign relations, giving the state a structured bureaucracy.

The royal title assumed by Shivaji at his 1674 coronation, asserting sovereign status. It signified independence from Mughal and Adilshahi overlordship and legitimised Maratha kingship.

A decisive clash in which Ahmad Shah Abdali defeated the Maratha army. It checked Maratha expansion in north India and reshaped the balance of power among regional states.

Originally the chief minister under the Maratha Chhatrapati, later the effective hereditary ruler of the Maratha state. Peshwas such as Balaji Vishwanath and Bajirao I expanded Maratha power.

The 1793 colonial revenue arrangement in Bengal fixing land revenue with zamindars as hereditary proprietors. It stabilised revenue but entrenched intermediaries and reshaped rural society.

A colonial land revenue system in which revenue was assessed directly on individual cultivators, notably in parts of Madras and Bombay. It aimed to remove intermediaries but exposed peasants to heavy assessments.

A colonial revenue settlement made with an entire village or estate as a unit, common in parts of north India. It combined elements of landlord and peasant settlements and required collective responsibility for payment.

A policy attributed to Lord Dalhousie by which states without a natural heir were annexed by the Company. It angered princely families and contributed to discontent before 1857.

A widespread uprising of sepoys, peasants and rulers against Company rule, beginning at Meerut and spreading across north India. It ended Company rule and led to Crown administration.

The British law transferring Company territories and authority to the Crown after the 1857 revolt. It created the office of Secretary of State for India and began direct Crown rule.

The political organisation founded in 1885 that became the main vehicle of the nationalist movement. Its history spans moderate petitioning, the Swadeshi turn and later mass mobilisation.

The boycott of foreign goods and promotion of indigenous industry and education, especially after the 1905 partition of Bengal. It marked a shift from petitioning to mass political action.

Gandhi's 1920-22 campaign of boycotting colonial institutions and titles, withdrawn after violence at Chauri Chaura. It transformed the Congress into a mass organisation.

The 1930-34 campaign launched with the Dandi Salt March to break colonial salt laws. It demonstrated mass defiance and led to the Gandhi-Irwin Pact and round table talks.

The 1942 mass campaign demanding immediate British withdrawal, launched by the Congress in Bombay. Its suppression and the war context accelerated the path to independence.

The British law ending colonial rule and creating independent India and Pakistan from 15 August 1947. It provided for partition, boundary commissions and the lapse of princely paramountcy.

The 1789 upheaval that ended absolute monarchy in France and proclaimed liberty, equality and fraternity. It reshaped European politics and inspired later nationalist and democratic movements.

The transition to machine production, factory labour and urban growth beginning in eighteenth-century Britain. It created new social classes and drove imperial competition for markets and raw materials.

An ideology holding that a people sharing language, history or culture should form a sovereign state. It powered nineteenth-century unifications and later anti-colonial movements worldwide.

The extension of political and economic control over other territories, prominent in late nineteenth-century rivalry for colonies. It generated both competition among European powers and resistance in colonised regions.

The international body formed after the First World War to preserve peace through collective action. Its weak enforcement powers and the absence of major powers limited its effectiveness.

The 1919 settlement imposing territorial losses, disarmament and reparations on Germany after the First World War. Its terms are widely linked to German resentment and later instability.

An authoritarian, ultra-nationalist ideology glorifying the state, leadership and violence, exemplified by Mussolini and Hitler. It rejected liberal democracy and suppressed opposition through party control.

A grouping of states, including India, that refused to join either Cold War bloc. It emphasised sovereignty, anti-colonialism and peaceful coexistence, with a founding summit at Belgrade in 1961.

The prolonged strategic rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, fought through alliances, aid, propaganda and proxy conflicts. It shaped global politics from the late 1940s to 1991.

The global organisation founded in 1945 to maintain peace, promote development and protect human rights. Its Security Council structure and peacekeeping role are central to post-war international relations.

The five principles of peaceful coexistence agreed between India and China in 1954, covering sovereignty, non-aggression and mutual benefit. They became a slogan of Indian foreign policy.

The 1947 division of British India into India and Pakistan, accompanied by large-scale migration and communal violence. It is central to understanding post-independence politics and refugee rehabilitation.

The redrawing of Indian state boundaries on linguistic lines, notably by the States Reorganisation Act of 1956. It followed movements such as the Samyukta Maharashtra struggle and reshaped federal politics.

The study of how history is written, including the theories, sources and assumptions historians use. It trains students to compare colonial, nationalist, Marxist and subaltern interpretations rather than accept one narrative.

Original material produced in the period under study, such as inscriptions, coins, letters, diaries and official records. It provides direct evidence but still requires contextual criticism.

An account written later that interprets primary evidence, such as textbooks and scholarly monographs. Its value depends on the author's methods, sources and perspective.

A school of historical writing focusing on peasants, workers, women and other marginal groups rather than elites. It asks whose voices are missing from conventional nationalist and colonial narratives.

Evidence gathered through interviews and remembered testimony, valuable for communities with few written records. It must be cross-checked because memory is selective and shaped by later events.

Physical remains such as tools, pottery, buildings and monuments studied through excavation and survey. They allow reconstruction of daily life and technology where texts are silent.

The systematic excavation and interpretation of material remains to reconstruct past societies. It supplies chronology and evidence for periods lacking written records.

The skill of locating historical places, routes, boundaries and sites on outline maps. Examiners test it to check spatial understanding of campaigns, trade routes and territorial changes.