Tamil Nadu HSE First Year History study plan

Sequence the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic phases of the Stone Ages in India and state one diagnostic tool or site type for each phase

Explain the transition from hunting-gathering to settled agriculture using at least three archaeological indicators such as ground stone tools, storage pits and domesticated plant remains

Identify the main categories of historical sources (archaeological, epigraphic, numismatic, literary) and match each category to one concrete example from early India

Distinguish BCE and CE reckoning and convert at least five given dates between centuries, decades and absolute years without error

Describe how historians evaluate a source for bias, authorship and date, using one inscription and one literary text as worked examples

Compare Mesopotamia and Egypt on writing systems, riverine agriculture, kingship ideology and monumental building, listing at least three similarities and three differences

Summarise the political and philosophical contributions of classical Greece and the administrative and legal legacy of Rome in note form

Locate the major Harappan sites on a hand-drawn outline map of the north-west subcontinent and label the river or region associated with each

Explain Harappan town planning, drainage, standardised weights and seals, and state what each feature suggests about urban administration

Assess the debated causes of Harappan decline by weighing at least two competing explanations against the evidence

Outline the Vedic corpus in chronological order (Rig, Sama, Yajur, Atharva) and describe one change in religious practice between the early and later Vedic periods

Explain the social and economic conditions that produced the heterodox movements, naming at least four specific causes

Compare the core teachings and organisational features of Buddhism and Jainism, including at least two points of difference

Trace the rise of Magadha and evaluate the significance of Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka's dhamma policy and the Mauryan administrative system

Describe the post-Mauryan sequence of Sunga, Kushana and Satavahana rule and identify one cultural contribution of each

Explain the Sangam corpus, its literary conventions and what it reveals about trade, warfare and social groups in early Tamilakam

Distinguish the territorial and economic bases of the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas and name one port or trade route linked to each

Describe Pallava contributions to temple architecture and administration, naming at least two specific structural innovations

Identify the major styles of ancient and medieval Indian art and architecture and match each style to one representative monument

Explain how religious patronage shaped temple building and literary production under the Pallavas and their contemporaries

Assess the Gupta period in administration, land grants, science, literature and temple architecture, separating genuine achievement from later idealisation

Explain the political fragmentation after the Guptas and identify the rise of regional powers in the north and the Deccan

Sequence the Delhi Sultanate dynasties and state one administrative or military innovation associated with each

Describe Sultanate architecture and the introduction of new building techniques, naming at least two representative structures

Evaluate the market reforms and administrative measures of the Khaljis and Tughlaqs using at least two specific examples

Outline the foundation and expansion of Mughal rule and explain the administrative structure of mansabdari and jagir

Compare the religious and revenue policies of Akbar and Aurangzeb using at least three specific measures each

Explain how the decline of Mughal authority created space for European trading companies, naming the Portuguese, Dutch, French and English in order of arrival

Describe the role of the Battle of Plassey and the subsequent grant of diwani in transforming the English East India Company from trader to territorial power

Summarise Mughal contributions to architecture, painting and literature with one named example per field

Re-test the Stone Ages, ancient world civilisations and Harappan material using spaced recall, correcting every error from week one and two notes

Answer at least thirty objective questions drawn from the three heaviest domains and record the error type for each mistake

Redraw the Harappan site map and the ancient civilisations comparison table from memory and check against the originals

Write one structured long answer on Harappan urbanism and one on the significance of the ancient river valley civilisations

Consolidate the Vedic, heterodox, Mauryan, Sangam, Gupta, Sultanate and Mughal material through rapid recall of dates, rulers and terms

Complete two full-length mock papers under timed conditions and mark them against the syllabus weighting

Identify the three weakest remaining areas from mock results and revise only those in the final days

Practise at least ten chronology and source-analysis items to secure the historiography and chronology domain