History as an Optional subject can be very handy and the recent results in the UPSC CSE Examination is clear cut evidence of the same. One of the other key things that recent results in the History Optional that has happened is that it has broken the myth that this subject does not allow a candidate to unleash their knowledge in the best possible manner and score high during the CSE Mains Examinations.
Hence, it is known that it is really a “GO” to select History as an Optional subject. But merely selecting and finding the right “History Optional Coaching“ will not solve the purpose. At the end of the day, it is your hard work, will power to succeed every day, and right intent that will help you to become the future civil service officer.
To answer such questions, a candidate needs to find those crucial materials and aspects that are necessary during the preparatory phase. And, those crucial attributes of a candidate’s preparation are associated with the History Optional Books. These best books for history UPSC are no less than guidelines that pave the way to make notes and fetch content related to specific topics.
With History as an Optional subject in UPSC, a candidate needs to know that history optional booklist which will be like an arsenal to prepare the entire subject in a holistic manner with all-round coverage. Apart from this, a candidate, if taking some Coaching for History Optional in Delhi, should also focus upon their History Optional Notes to make things in a concise way.
READ : Strategy for History Optional in UPSC
Talking about books and not books can create a sense of fear that it can build a huge workload of reading many of them from time to time. But these books are necessary and mandatory to ensure that the preparation gets the key elements that gives an edge over counterparts who have selected History as Optional in UPSC. Why? Think again while reading about Indus Valley Civilization. There are many theories attached to this topic about how the first wave of urbanisation in India lost its prevalence. A candidate may think that there can be one specific reason but it becomes important that their existence and Indus Valley Civilization have a time gap of almost three thousand years. Hence, it becomes important to read about various historians who rendered concrete evidence about the same incident. Thus, reading Books for History Optional for UPSC and not just a book is quintessential.
Next, it is also equally crucial to see that you know the entire Booklist for History UPSC Mains that you need to follow for each section, i.e., Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and World History. Presenting some of the salient books that are prominent due to their relevance with the subjects are:
- Ancient History
- Ranvir Chakraborty
- Upinder Singh
- Romilla Thapar
- IGNOU Notes
- Medieval History
- Poonam Dalal Dahiya
- Satish Chandra
- JL Mehta
- IGNOU Notes
- Modern History
- Bipin Chandra
- Grover and Grover
- Shekhar Bandyopadhyay
- IGNOU Notes
- World History
- Arjun Dev
- Ralph & Burnes Volume C
- Ranjan Chakraborty
- IGNOU Notes
IGNOU notes are paramount for every section as you can get some concise and crisp content related to the subject if a candidate observes that they are feeling paucity of time and it is necessary to display at least some content in a cohesive and summarised version.
The best part of these Recommended History Books for UPSC Mains is that they allow a candidate to get a thorough understanding of the subject and their associated complexity that has been asked during UPSC CSE Prelims as well. Why? See the pattern and level of questions asked during Prelims from History and its growing importance that has somewhere separated students from getting clear even the first stage of the exam.
Many History Optional Institutes in Delhi have raised their eyebrows and somewhere may have aligned themselves to provide a booklist before the students start attending classes. But, that is not going to result in good results, considering that merely providing the booklist will not help a student understand the importance or reason behind reading that particular book.
With Piyush Kumar Sir who is the best History Optional Teacher in Delhi, one will get to know that there are certain specific chapters that need to be studied from a specific book only, along with the rationality behind such directives and instructions. However, if a candidate feels that they need a more holistic overview regarding the Strategy and Booklist for History Optional, this lecture by Piyush Kumar Sir is definitely going to help for sure.