UPSC GS Paper 1 – Complete Structured Notes

1. Indian Culture

Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times

Indian Art Forms

Indian Paintings

Dances in India

  • Classical Dance Forms
  • Folk Dance Forms
  • Modern Dance

Music

  • Classical Music
  • Folk Music

Puppetry

  • String Puppets
  • Shadow Puppets
  • Rod Puppets
  • Glove Puppets
  • Modern Puppetry
  • Tribal Puppetry

Pottery

  • Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP)
  • Black and Red Ware (BRW)
  • Painted Grey Ware (PGW)
  • Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW)
  • Glazed and Unglazed Pottery

Drama / Theatre

  • Classical Sanskrit Theatre
  • Regional Theatre
  • Modern Theatre

Martial Arts

  • Thang Ta
  • Gatka
  • Kalaripayattu
  • Mallakhamb
  • Silambam
  • Other Important Martial Arts

Visual Art

  • Sculptures of Harappan Civilization
  • Sculptures of the Mauryan Age
  • Post-Mauryan Period
  • Jain Sculptures
  • Buddhist Sculpture
  • Gupta Sculpture
  • Medieval School of Sculpture
  • Modern Indian Sculpture

Bhakti & Sufi Movements

  • Spread of Bhakti and Sufi Movements
  • Women Poets of Bhakti

Literature

Classical Sanskrit Literature

  • Vedas
  • Upanishads
  • Puranas
  • Works of Kalidasa
  • Works of Vishakhadatta

Religious Literature

  • Ancient Buddhist Literature
  • Ancient Jain Literature

Regional Literature

  • Early Dravidian Literature (Sangam Period)

Medieval Literature

  • Trends in Medieval Literature

Modern Indian Literature

Architecture

Ancient Architecture

  • Harappan Architecture
  • Mauryan Architecture
  • Post-Mauryan Period
  • Gupta Period Architecture

Temple Architecture

  • Nagara Style
  • Dravida Style
  • Vesara Style

Cave Architecture

  • Buddhist Caves
  • Jaina Caves
  • Gupta Period Caves

Medieval & Indo-Islamic Architecture

  • Imperial Style (Delhi Sultanate)
  • Provincial Style
  • Mughal Style
  • Sikh Style of Architecture
  • Rajput Architecture

Colonial & Modern Architecture

  • European Influence
  • Indo-Saracenic Architecture
  • Post-Independence Architecture

Rock Cut Architecture

  • South Indian
  • Western Indian
  • Eastern Indian

Contribution of Buddhism & Jainism to Indian Architecture

2. Ancient History

Prehistoric Period

  • Stone Age
  • Chalcolithic Age
  • Iron Age

Indus Valley Civilization

  • Town Planning
  • Harappan Society
  • Major Centers
  • Harappan Art & Architecture
  • Decline of Harappan Civilization

Vedic Age

  • Original Home of Aryans
  • Socio-economic Life
  • Vedic Literature
  • Varna System
  • Religion & Philosophy

Pre-Mauryan Period

  • Mahajanapadas
  • Haryanka Dynasty
  • Shishunaga Dynasty
  • Nanda Dynasty
  • Rise of Jainism & Buddhism
  • Gautam Buddha
  • Mahavira

Mauryan Empire

  • Chandragupta Maurya
  • Bindusara
  • Arthashastra – Kautilya
  • Megasthenes
  • Ashoka and His Successors
  • Ashokan Inscriptions
  • Ashoka’s Dhamma
  • Mauryan Administration
  • Decline of Mauryan Empire

Post-Mauryan Period

  • Indo-Greeks
  • Shakas
  • Parthians
  • Kushanas
  • Satavahanas
  • Schools of Art
    • Gandhara
    • Mathura
    • Amaravati

Gupta Period

  • Political History
  • Administration
  • Golden Age
  • Economic Conditions
  • Urban Centres

Harshavardhana

  • Sources
  • Administration
  • Economy
  • Huen Tsang
  • Society & Religion

Southern Dynasties

  • Satavahanas
  • Pallavas
  • Chalukyas
  • Pandyas
  • Cholas
  • Rashtrakutas

3. Medieval History

Delhi Sultanate

  • Mamluk Dynasty
  • Khilji Dynasty
  • Tughluq Dynasty
  • Sayyid Dynasty
  • Lodi Dynasty

Struggle for Empire

  • Afghans
  • Rajputs
  • Mughals

Mughal Empire

  • Babur
  • Humayun
  • Akbar
  • Jahangir
  • Shah Jahan
  • Aurangzeb
  • Later Mughals
  • Decline of Mughal Empire

Other Dynasties

  • Sur Dynasty
  • Maratha Empire

Deccan Sultanates

  • Ahmednagar
  • Bijapur
  • Berar
  • Golconda
  • Bidar

4. Modern Indian History

Early British Expansion

  • Carnatic Wars
  • Battle of Plassey
  • Battle of Buxar
  • Anglo-Mysore Wars
  • Anglo-Sikh Wars

Socio-Economic Conditions

  • European Penetration
  • British Conquest
  • British Policies & Impact

Revolt of 1857

  • Causes
  • Leaders
  • Nature of Revolt
  • Suppression
  • Consequences

Growth of Nationalism

  • Formation of INC
  • Era of Moderates

Militant Nationalism

  • Swadeshi Movement
  • Surat Split
  • Morley-Minto Reforms
  • Revolutionary Activities

Mass Nationalism

  • Gandhi’s Leadership
  • Non-Cooperation Movement
  • Civil Disobedience Movement
  • Khilafat Movement

Towards Independence

  • Cripps Mission
  • Quit India Movement
  • INA & Subhash Chandra Bose
  • Cabinet Mission
  • Partition & Independence

5. Post-Independence India

Nation Building

  • Partition & Aftermath
  • Integration of Princely States
  • Reorganisation of States

Foreign Policy

  • Non-Aligned Movement
  • Panchsheel
  • Wars with Pakistan & China
  • Nuclear Policy

Economy

  • Planned Development
  • Green Revolution
  • LPG Reforms

Politics

  • One-Party Dominance
  • Emergency
  • Rise of Regional Parties
  • Coalition Era

Social Issues

  • Women’s Movement
  • Naxalism
  • Popular Movements

6. World History (18th Century Onwards)

Major Movements

  • Renaissance
  • Reformation
  • Industrial Revolution

Revolutions

  • American Revolution
  • French Revolution
  • Russian Revolution

Rise of Nation States

  • Unification of Germany
  • Unification of Italy

Imperialism & Colonialism

  • Age of Imperialism

World Wars

  • World War I
  • World War II

Cold War Era

  • Korean War
  • Vietnam War
  • Cuban Missile Crisis
  • Collapse of Soviet Union

Political Philosophies

  • Communism
  • Capitalism
  • Socialism

7. Indian Society

Features of Indian Society

  • Diversity
  • Unity in Diversity
  • Pluralism
  • Inequality

Women & Society

  • Women’s Organizations
  • Women’s Movements

Population Issues

  • Demographic Dividend
  • Population Policy

Poverty

  • Causes
  • Measurement
  • Poverty Alleviation Programs

Urbanization

  • Urban Growth
  • Slums
  • Urban Governance

Globalization

  • Cultural Impact
  • Economic Impact

Social Issues

  • Communalism
  • Regionalism
  • Secularism
  • Social Empowerment

8. Geography

Physical Geography

Geomorphology

  • Interior of Earth
  • Plate Tectonics
  • Earthquakes
  • Volcanoes

Oceanography

  • Ocean Currents
  • Waves & Tides

Climatology

  • Atmosphere
  • Weather Systems

Soil Geography

  • Soil Formation
  • Soil Types

Natural Resources

  • Land Resources
  • Forest Resources
  • Water Resources
  • Mineral Resources
  • Energy Resources

Industrial Geography

  • Location Factors
  • Distribution of Industries

Geophysical Phenomena

  • Earthquakes
  • Tsunami
  • Cyclones
  • Volcanoes
  • Climate Change Effects

9. Geography of India

Physical Geography

  • Physiography
  • Drainage System
  • Climate
  • Soils
  • Natural Vegetation

Human Geography

  • Demography
  • Urbanization
  • Census

Economic Geography

  • Agriculture
  • Mineral Resources
  • Energy Resources
  • Industry
  • Transport & Communication