WBCHSE HS History key terms

The Middle Stone Age, roughly 10000–6000 BCE in South Asia, marked by small microlithic tools and the beginnings of hunting-gathering adaptation to changing post-glacial environments. Key sites include Bagor and Bhimbetka.

A very small stone tool, often a blade or flake, typically under a few centimetres, used in composite tools such as arrowheads. Microliths characterise Mesolithic industries across India.

An undeciphered set of symbols found on seals, pottery and tablets of the Indus Valley Civilisation. Most inscriptions are short, and no bilingual key exists, so the language remains unknown.

A small usually square steatite object carved with script and animal motifs, used to stamp clay for trade and administrative purposes. Seals are the richest source for Indus script and iconography.

A Bronze Age urban culture of the north-west subcontinent, roughly 2600–1900 BCE, known for planned cities, drainage systems, standardised weights and long-distance trade. Major sites are Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Dholavira and Lothal.

The body of Sanskrit hymns and ritual texts comprising the Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda, with later Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads. It is the main textual source for early Vedic religion and society.

The oldest Vedic collection, containing about 1028 hymns in ten mandalas addressed to deities such as Indra and Agni. It provides evidence for early Vedic pastoral society and the geography of the sapta-sindhu region.

One of the sixteen large territorial states of the sixth century BCE in northern India, including Magadha, Kosala and Vatsa. Their rivalry and Magadha's eventual dominance shaped the rise of empire.

A clan-based, non-monarchical polity of the sixth century BCE such as the Vajji confederacy or the Mallas, where decisions were taken in assemblies. These polities are often contrasted with the emerging territorial monarchies.

A kingdom in the middle Ganga plain centred on Rajagriha and later Pataliputra, whose control of iron, fertile land and river routes made it the base of the Mauryan empire.

A Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, economy and military policy attributed to Kautilya, minister of Chandragupta Maurya. It describes taxation, espionage, diplomacy and the ideal seven-limbed state.

An inscription of Emperor Ashoka carved on rock surfaces and pillars, mostly in Prakrit using Brahmi or Kharoshthi script. Edicts record dhamma policy, welfare measures and the aftermath of the Kalinga war.

The moral and social code promoted by Ashoka, emphasising respect for elders, tolerance between sects, non-violence and welfare. It is distinct from the Buddhist doctrine of the same name, though influenced by it.

A dynasty of Central Asian origin ruling north-western India and the Ganga plain from about the first to third centuries CE, famous for coinage and for patronising Buddhism. Kanishka was its best-known ruler.

A sculptural style of the north-west, blending Hellenistic realism with Buddhist subject matter, produced under Kushana patronage. It is known for schist reliefs showing the Buddha with wavy hair and drapery.

A historiographical label for the cultural and literary flourishing under the Gupta dynasty from the fourth to sixth centuries CE, seen in Sanskrit poetry, mathematics, temple architecture and sculpture. Historians debate how far it benefited society beyond elite circles.

The eulogy of Samudragupta composed by Harisena and inscribed on an Ashokan pillar, listing his conquests and tributary rulers. It is a key source for Gupta military expansion and political geography.

The sequence of Turkic and Afghan dynasties ruling from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, comprising the Slave, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid and Lodi lines. Their administration, land revenue and urban culture shaped medieval India.

A unit of land revenue assignment granted by a Sultan to an officer, who collected revenue from it in lieu of salary and maintained troops. The system shaped the administrative structure of the Delhi Sultanate.

A Mughal officer holding a rank (mansab) that fixed his salary and the number of troops he was expected to maintain. The system integrated nobles, cavalry and revenue assignments into one hierarchy.

A revenue assignment granted to a Mughal noble or official in lieu of cash salary, usually for a limited period. Jagirs tied military service to land revenue and were central to Mughal administration.

The Mughal land revenue system associated with Raja Todar Mal, under which cultivated land was measured and taxed at a fixed rate on estimated produce. It standardised assessment in the core provinces.

A south Indian empire (1336–1646) centred on the Tungabhadra valley, known for its capital Hampi, temple patronage and trade in horses and spices. It was a major rival of the Bahmani Sultanate.

A military chief under the Vijayanagara empire who held and governed a territory in return for military service and tribute. The system later contributed to the empire's fragmentation.

A Muslim kingdom founded in 1347 in the Deccan with its capital at Gulbarga and later Bidar, which warred with Vijayanagara and broke into five successor states around 1500.

A devotional current emphasising personal love for a chosen deity and often rejecting ritual hierarchy and priestly mediation. Its poet-saints, from Alvars to Kabir, composed in regional languages and reshaped popular religion.

The mystical tradition of Islam centred on inner experience, love and the guidance of a pir, organised through khanqahs and silsilas. Sufi shrines became major centres of social and cultural life in medieval India.

The 1793 Bengal land revenue arrangement under which zamindars became hereditary proprietors of land in return for a fixed annual payment to the Company. It reshaped agrarian relations and created a new rentier class.

A land revenue system introduced in Madras and Bombay under which revenue was settled directly with individual cultivators (ryots) after survey of their land. It avoided intermediaries but demanded regular cash payment.

A landholder or revenue intermediary who collected rent from cultivators and paid revenue to the state. Under colonial rule zamindars gained strengthened proprietary rights in some regions.

A policy applied by Lord Dalhousie from the late 1840s whereby a princely state without a natural heir was annexed rather than allowed to pass to an adopted son. It fuelled resentment before 1857.

A large-scale uprising beginning among sepoys at Meerut and spreading across north and central India, involving soldiers, peasants and princes. It ended Company rule and led to direct Crown administration.

British legislation abolishing the East India Company's governing role and transferring India to the Crown, creating the office of Secretary of State for India. It marked the beginning of the Raj.

A reform society founded in Calcutta in 1828 by Rammohan Roy, promoting monotheism, rational worship and social reform such as opposition to sati. It pioneered organised socio-religious reform in Bengal.

A radical group of students at Hindu College, Calcutta, in the 1820s–30s inspired by teacher Henry Louis Vivian Derozio, who championed reason, free thought and social criticism.

The boycott of British goods and promotion of indigenous industry and education launched in Bengal after the 1905 partition of Bengal. It marked a shift from petitioning to mass political agitation.

The division of Bengal by Lord Curzon into a Muslim-majority eastern province and a western province, officially for administrative efficiency. It provoked the Swadeshi movement and was annulled in 1911.

Gandhi's 1920–22 campaign of boycotting British schools, courts and goods and surrendering titles, aiming at self-rule through non-violent mass action. It was withdrawn after the Chauri Chaura violence.

The 1930–34 campaign launched with the Dandi salt march, involving deliberate breach of colonial laws to assert Indian rights. It produced the Gandhi–Irwin Pact and participated in Round Table negotiations.

The August 1942 demand for immediate British withdrawal, launched by Gandhi with the slogan 'Do or Die'. The government arrested leaders en masse and suppressed the movement, but it signalled the end of British authority.

The upheaval in France from 1789 that overthrew the monarchy, abolished feudal privileges and proclaimed liberty, equality and fraternity. It reshaped European politics and inspired later nationalist movements.

The transition from handicraft to machine production in Britain from the late eighteenth century, driven by steam power, factories and new transport. It transformed social classes, urban life and global trade.

The 1919 settlement ending the First World War, imposing territorial losses, disarmament and reparations on Germany. Its terms fuelled German resentment and are often linked to the rise of fascism.

An international organisation created in 1920 to preserve peace through collective security and arbitration. It lacked enforcement power and failed to stop aggression in the 1930s.

A nationalist and authoritarian ideology of the interwar period that glorified the state, rejected liberal democracy and used paramilitary violence and propaganda. Mussolini's Italy and Hitler's Germany are its main examples.

The post-1945 strategic rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, conducted through alliances, arms races, propaganda and proxy conflicts rather than direct war. It ended with the Soviet collapse in 1991.

A grouping of states formed from the 1955 Bandung conference and formally established in 1961, seeking independence from both Cold War blocs. India under Nehru was a leading founder.

The process by which Asian and African colonies gained political independence after the Second World War, often through nationalist movements and sometimes through armed struggle. It redrew the map of world politics.

A nineteenth-century cultural and intellectual awakening in Calcutta marked by reform, literature, journalism and science, associated with figures such as Rammohan Roy, Vidyasagar and Bankim Chandra. It combined Western learning with Indian traditions.

The 1793 revenue system that fixed zamindari payments in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, creating a class of landed proprietors dependent on the colonial state. Its social and economic effects are much debated by historians.

The zamindari family of Bardhaman in Bengal, prominent from the eighteenth century as revenue payers, patrons of temples and cultural institutions, and later as supporters of colonial administration.

Evidence produced at or near the time under study, such as inscriptions, coins, chronicles, letters, official records or oral testimony. Historians interpret primary sources critically rather than accepting them at face value.

A later work that interprets and synthesises primary evidence, such as a scholarly book or article. Its reliability depends on the author's methods, sources and argument.

The study of how history has been written, including changing methods, sources, interpretations and schools of thought. It examines why accounts of the past differ across periods and perspectives.

A school of historical writing, associated with Ranajit Guha from the 1980s, that focuses on peasants, workers and other marginal groups rather than elites. It critiques colonial and nationalist narratives.

Writing carved or engraved on stone, metal or other durable material, often recording donations, royal orders or eulogies. Inscriptions are a primary source for political and religious history.

The study of coins, including their weight, metal, inscriptions and imagery, used to reconstruct chronology, economy, trade and political authority. Coins are especially valuable where texts are scarce.