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ICSE History and Civics Syllabus for Class 10: History and Civics are both important subjects studied combined under social studies in some junior standards. History talks about the past to help the readers understand and learn from mistakes or do things that were appreciated in the past. Civics on the other hand deals with political scenarios and information about them. In ICSE Class 10 these subjects are the part of the compulsory syllabus and thus are of high importance. CISCE have released the combined syllabus of ICSE Class 9 and 10 for History and Civics. As per CISCE guidelines “Candidates offering History, Civics and Geography (Thailand) are not eligible to offer History, Civics and Geography.” The subject code for ICSE Class 10 History and Civics is 50. Students can check the updated syllabus from this article. To refer to the previous year’s syllabus you may check ICSE Class 10 History & Civics syllabus 2022-23.
ICSE Class 10 History & Civics General Paper Guidelines:
- There will be one paper of two hours duration carrying 80 marks and an Internal Assessment of 20 marks.
- The paper will be divided into two parts, Part I and Part II.
- Part I (30 marks) will contain short answer questions set from the entire syllabus.
- Candidates will be required to answer all questions.
- Part II (50 marks) will consist of Section A and Section B. Candidates will be required to answer two out of three questions from Section A and three out of five questions from Section B. The sections will correspond to the sections indicated in the syllabus.
ICSE Class 10 History and Civics Syllabus 2023-24:
SECTION A: CIVICS
| 1. The Union Legislature | Meaning of the federal setup in India. (i) Lok Sabha - term, composition, qualifications for membership. Parliamentary procedures: a brief idea of sessions, quorum, question hour, adjournment and no-confidence motion. Speaker – election and functions. (ii) Rajya Sabha – composition, qualifications for membership, election, term, Presiding Officer. Powers and functions of Union Parliament – (legislative, financial, judicial, electoral, amendment of the Constitution, control over executive). Exclusive powers of the two Houses. |
| 2. The Union Executive | (a) The President: Qualifications for election, the composition of Electoral College, the reason for indirect election, term of office, the procedure for impeachment. Powers (executive, legislative, financial, judicial, discretionary and emergency) (b) The Vice-President: Qualifications for election, term of office and powers. (c) Prime Minister and Council of Ministers: Appointment, formation of Council of Ministers, tenure, functions - policy-making, administrative, legislative, financial, emergency. Position and powers of the Prime Minister. Collective and individual responsibility of the members of the Cabinet. The distinction between the Council of Ministers and the Cabinet. |
| 3. The Judiciary | (a) The Supreme Court: Composition, qualifications of judges, appointment, independence of the judiciary from the control of executive and legislature; Jurisdiction and functions: Original, Appellate, Advisory, Revisory, Judicial Review and Court of Record. Enforcement of Fundamental Rights and Writs. (b) The High Courts: Composition, qualifications of judges, appointment; Jurisdiction and functions: Original, Appellate, Revisory, Judicial Review and Court of Record. Enforcement of Fundamental Rights and Writs. (c) Subordinate Courts: Distinction between the Court of the District Judge and Sessions Court. Lok Adalats: meaning and advantages. |
SECTION B: HISTORY
| 1. The Indian National Movement (1857-1917) | (a) The First War of Independence, 1857 Only the causes (political, socio-religious, economic and military) and consequences will be tested. [The events, however, need to be mentioned in order to maintain continuity and for a more comprehensive understanding.] (b) Factors leading to the growth of Nationalism– economic exploitation, repressive colonial policies, socio-religious reform movements (brief mention of the contribution of Raja Rammohan Roy and Jyotiba Phule) and role of the Press. Foundation of the Indian National Congress - the Indian National Association (Surendranath Banerjee) and the East India Association (Dadabhai Naoroji) as precursors. Immediate objectives of the Indian National Congress - the first two sessions and their Presidents should be mentioned. (c) First Phase of the Indian National Movement (1885-1907) - objectives and methods of struggle of the Early Nationalists. Any two contributions of Dadabhai Naoroji, Surendranath Banerjee and Gopal Krishna Gokhale. Second Phase of the Indian National Movement (1905-1916) - Brief mention of the causes of the Partition of Bengal and its perspective by the Nationalists. Brief mention of Surat Split of 1907; objectives and methods of struggle of the Radicals. Any two contributions of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai. The Muslim League; Factors leading to the formation of the Muslim League and its objectives. Brief mention of the significance of the Lucknow Pact - 1916 |
| 2. Mass Phase of the National Movement (1915- 1947) | (a) Mahatma Gandhi - Non-Cooperation Movement: causes (Khilafat Movement, Rowlatt Act, Jallianwala Bagh Tragedy), programme and suspension – Chauri Chaura incident and impact of the Movement; the Civil Disobedience Movement: causes (reaction to the Simon Commission, Declaration of Poorna Swaraj at the Lahore Session of 1929), Dandi March, programme and impact of the Movement, Gandhi-Irwin Pact and the Second Round Table Conference; the Quit India Movement: causes (failure of the Cripps Mission, Japanese threat), Quit India Resolution and the significance of the Movement. (b) Forward Bloc (objectives) and INA (objectives and contribution of Subhas Chandra Bose). (c) Independence and Partition of India – Cabinet Mission Plan (clauses only); Mountbatten Plan (clauses and its acceptance); and the Indian Independence Act of 1947 (clauses only). |
| 3. The Contemporary World | (a) The First World War Causes (Nationalism and Imperialism, Armament Race, division of Europe and Sarajevo crisis) and Results (Treaty of Versailles, territorial rearrangements, formation of League of Nations). (b) Rise of Dictatorships Causes for the rise of Fascism in Italy and the rise of Nazism in Germany. A comparative study of Mussolini’s Fascist and Hitler’s Nazi ideologies. (c) The Second World War Causes (Dissatisfaction with the Treaty of Versailles, Rise of Fascism and Nazism, Policy of Appeasement, the Japanese invasion of China, Failure of League of Nations and Hitler’s invasion of Poland). Brief mention of the attack on Pearl Harbour and the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Consequences (Defeat of Axis Powers, Formation of the United Nations and Cold War). (d) United Nations (i) The objectives of the U.N. The composition and functions of the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the International Court of Justice. (ii) Major agencies of the United Nations: UNICEF, WHO and UNESCO - functions only. (e) Non-Aligned Movement Brief meaning; objectives; Panchsheel; the role of Jawaharlal Nehru; Names of the architects of NAM. |
INTERNAL ASSESSMENT
Any one project/assignment related to the syllabus. Suggested Assignments
- Compare the Parliamentary and Presidential forms of Government with reference to India and the U.S.A.
- Conduct a mock Court and record the proceedings.
- Present a life sketch and contributions of any one of the following Presidents of India –
- Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (or any other).
- Present a book review of any one of the following works: Dadabai Naoroji’s ‘Poverty and un-British rule in India’, Gandhi’s ‘The Story of my Experiments with Truth’, Nehru’s ‘Discovery of India’, Bhagat Singh’s ‘Why I am an Atheist’, Vijayalakshmi Pandit’s ‘The Scope of Happiness: A Personal Memoir’, Abdul Kalam’s ‘Wings of Fire’.
- Discuss the relevance of any one of the following films to understand the history of 20th Century Europe: The Book Thief, Schindler’s List, Escape to Victory, The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, Life is Beautiful, The Sound of Music, Gandhi (Richard Attenborough), Sardar (Ketan Mehta), Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose - The Forgotten Hero (Shyam Benegal).
- Highlight the work and achievements of any one Nobel Laureate - Malala Yousafzai or Kailash Satyarthi.
- Make a PowerPoint presentation on India’s Independence and Partition.
- Make a presentation on the influence of Gandhian principles on Martin Luther King / Nelson Mandela.
- Prepare a report on the contributions of any one of the following agencies of the United Nations – UNESCO / WHO / UNICEF / ILO / UNDP / FAO.
- Present a case study of any recent human rights violations and redressal mechanisms available to prevent such instances in the future.
To get the complete 2023-24 syllabus for ICSE Class 10 History and Civics refer to the link below:
| ICSE Class 10 History & Civics Syllabus 2023-24: Download PDF |
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