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.
Put events in order
very commonArrange 3-4 events in order, or "which happened first?"
Learn anchor years: 1757, 1857, 1885, 1905, 1919, 1930, 1942, 1947.
Place each event near an anchor year.
Arrange: (1) Jallianwala Bagh (2) Chauri Chaura (3) Dandi March (4) Quit India.
Jallianwala Bagh: 1919
Chauri Chaura: 1922
Dandi March: 1930, Quit India: 1942
The order is 1, 2, 3, 4
Governor-General or Viceroy and his work
very common"Who was Governor-General when...?" or "the Doctrine of Lapse was used by..."
Bentinck = ended sati. Dalhousie = Doctrine of Lapse and railways.
Lytton = Vernacular Press Act. Ripon = local self-government. Curzon = partition of Bengal.
Under which Governor-General was the Doctrine of Lapse used to annex states?
Under the Doctrine of Lapse, a state without a natural heir was annexed
It was used between 1848 and 1856
The Governor-General then was Dalhousie
Dalhousie
1857 revolt: centre and leader
commonA city (Kanpur, Lucknow, Jhansi) is named, and its leader is asked.
Learn the pairs.
Delhi = Bahadur Shah II, Kanpur = Nana Saheb, Lucknow = Begum Hazrat Mahal, Jhansi = Rani Lakshmibai.
Who led the 1857 revolt at Kanpur?
Kanpur's leader was the adopted son of Baji Rao II
Tantia Tope was his commander
Lucknow was led by Begum Hazrat Mahal instead
Nana Saheb
Congress session and its president
very common"The Lahore session of 1929 was led by..." or "where was Purna Swaraj declared?"
1885 Bombay = W.C. Bonnerjee. 1906 Calcutta = Naoroji (Swaraj). 1907 Surat = split.
1929 Lahore = Nehru (Purna Swaraj).
Who presided over the 1929 Lahore session that declared Purna Swaraj?
The Lahore session was held in 1929
It demanded complete independence (Purna Swaraj)
The president was Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Newspaper or book and its writer
very common"Kesari was edited by..." or "who wrote The Discovery of India?"
Tilak = Kesari and Mahratta. Gandhi = Young India, Navajivan, Harijan, Hind Swaraj.
Nehru = Discovery of India, Glimpses of World History.
Who wrote India Wins Freedom?
India Wins Freedom is an autobiography
It was written by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Rajendra Prasad wrote India Divided (do not mix them)
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Movements: cause, method and end
very commonStatements about a movement are given, and the correct ones are picked.
For each movement note four things: what started it, its main method, where it spread, how it ended.
Civil Disobedience: salt march to Dandi, ended (paused) by the Gandhi-Irwin Pact.
How did the Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930 begin?
Gandhi marched from Sabarmati on 12 March 1930
He reached Dandi on the coast
On 6 April he broke the salt law
By breaking the salt law at Dandi
Slogan and who said it
common"Swaraj is my birthright" or "Give me blood" — who said it?
Tilak = "Swaraj is my birthright". Gandhi = "Do or Die".
Bose = "Give me blood" and "Dilli Chalo". Nehru = "Tryst with Destiny".
Who said "Give me blood, I will give you freedom"?
The words were said to the Indian National Army
The leader of the INA was Netaji
He also gave the call "Dilli Chalo"
Subhas Chandra Bose
Reformer and his society
common"The Brahmo Samaj was founded by..." or "sati was abolished in..."
Ram Mohan Roy = Brahmo Sabha (1828). Dayananda = Arya Samaj (1875).
Vivekananda = Ramakrishna Mission (1897). Syed Ahmad Khan = Aligarh (MAO College).
Whose campaign led to the legal ban on sati in 1829?
Sati was banned in 1829
The law was passed by Governor-General Bentinck
The campaign behind it was led by Raja Ram Mohan Roy
Raja Ram Mohan Roy