History M.A. 2nd Year Assignments 2020-21

• This document pertains to the Master of Arts (M.A.) in History, specifically for the second year.
• It outlines the assignments for the academic session of 2020-2021 for the July 2020 and January 2021 sessions.
• There are various course codes and titles.

Course Codes and Titles

• M.H.I-03: History Writing
• M.H.I-06: Evolution of Social Structures in India Through the Ages
• M.H.I-08: History of Ecology and Environment in India
• M.H.I.-09: The Indian National Movement
• M.H.I.-10: Urbanization in India
• M.P.S.E-003: Western Political Thought (From Plato to Marx)
• M.P.S.E-004: Social and Political Thought in Modern India

Assignment Guidelines

• Students are required to complete one assignment for each course.
• The assignments are compulsory and based on the entire syllabus.
• Answers should be written in the student's own words.
• Answers should adhere to the specified word limits.
• Completed assignments must be submitted to the coordinator of the study center.
• Students should obtain and retain acknowledgment of submission.
• Students are advised to keep a photocopy of their submitted assignments.

Assignment Evaluation and Submission

• Evaluated assignments will be returned to students from the study center.
• Students should request the return of their evaluated assignments.
• Marks obtained by students will be sent to the Student Registration and Evaluation Division, IGNOU, Delhi.
• These marks will be included in the student's grade card.

Assignment Submission Deadline

• Assignments must be submitted before the term-end examination.
• The deadline for students of the July 2020 session is March 31, 2021.
• The deadline for students of the January 2021 session is September 30, 2021.
• Assignments should be submitted to the coordinator of the respective study center.
• Students are advised to complete and submit assignments gradually rather than waiting for the last date.
• Solving all assignments together at the last moment is discouraged.

Instructions for Answering Questions

• Assignments contain two types of questions.
• Descriptive and essay-type questions should be answered in approximately 500 words, with each question worth 20 marks.
• Short answer questions should be answered in approximately 250 words, with each question worth 10 marks.
• When planning, carefully read the assignment and the units from which the questions are taken.
• Write down the main points separately for each question and arrange them logically.
• Include an introduction and conclusion in essay-type questions.
• Present the main aspects of the answer in the introduction and indicate how you plan to answer the question.
• Summarize the main points in the conclusion.
• Ensure logical coherence, clear connections between sentences and paragraphs, and correct style, expression, and presentation.
• Adhere to the word limit.
• Write cleanly and underline points you wish to emphasize.
• Explanation is an ongoing process that should be evident in planning and selection.
• Use explanatory comments like "may be," "possible," "could have been," and include facts to support your answers.

M.H.I-03: History Writing Assignment Details

• This assignment is divided into two parts, with a requirement to answer at least two questions from each part.
• A total of five questions must be answered, with each response approximately 500 words in length.
• All questions carry equal marks.

Part-A Questions

• Define objectivity and discuss the tradition of history writing that believes in the possibility of complete objectivity.
• Write a note on the Greek-Roman traditions of history writing.
• Discuss the main features of the Indo-Persian tradition of history writing under Mughal rule.
• What do you understand by 'micro history'? Discuss historians and their work related to this tradition of history writing.
• Who are considered the founders of the Annales School of history writing? Discuss their writing.

Part-B Questions

• Discuss the main features of feminist history writing in India.
• Write a note on the basic elements of the communalist approach to Indian history.
• What do you understand by 'history from below'? Discuss it with specific reference to Indian history writing.
• Discuss Marxist history writing after World War II in the West.
• Write short notes on any two of the following:
  • Kalhana and Rajatarangini
  • Cause-and-effect relationship in history
  • D.D. Kosambi and Indian history writing
  • The colonial notion of caste

MHI-06: Development of Social Structure During Different Eras in India

• Instructions: Answer any five questions. The assignment is divided into two parts (A & B). You are required to answer at least two questions from each part. Each answer should be approximately 500 words. All questions carry equal marks.

Part A Questions

• Comment on the role of interpretation in ancient Indian history writing.
• How are Vedic texts helpful in understanding the social structure of Vedic societies? Discuss.
• Critically analyze the Harappan social structure.
• Critically evaluate the dispute regarding Indian feudalism.
• Discuss the proliferation of castes in the early medieval period.

Part B Questions

• How would you observe the nature of the process of agriculture of tribal societies in the medieval period?
• Critically discuss B.D. Chattopadhyay's perspective on the origin and development of Rajputs.
• Discuss the spread of Buddhism in Peninsular India.
• Comment on the role of women in India's freedom struggle.
• Discuss the nature of social discrimination in the colonial period.

MHI-08: Ecology and Environment in India

• Note: Answer any five questions. The assignment is divided into two parts (A and B). You are required to answer at least two questions from each part. Each answer should be approximately 500 words. All questions carry equal marks.

Part-A

• How did humans adapt themselves to the environment? Discuss.
• How did India's ecological diversity shape its settlement patterns? Explain.
• Has there been any significant progress in the writing of Indian historians in the colonial and post-colonial periods? Discuss.
• What were the ecological concerns of early medieval societies? Discuss.
• How can we understand the ecological concerns of the megalithic period through archaeological and literary sources?

Part-B

• "When we view water as an environmental resource, does water-related rights appear as a problem"? Discuss.
• Discuss the importance of natural conservation in the context of environmental questions.
• Have independent India's policies been successful in reversing the effects of deforestation in colonial times? Discuss.
• How is the concept of bio-diversity helpful in solving environmental questions? Discuss.
• Can the environment be saved by patenting environmental resources? Discuss.

M.H.I-09: The Indian National Movement

• The assignment is divided into two parts.
• Answer at least two questions from each part (approximately 500 words each).

Part A

• Discuss the modernist theories regarding the rise of nation and nationalism.
• Explain the concept of economic nationalism in the Indian context.
• Describe the beginning of the Khilafat Movement and discuss its relation to the Non-Cooperation Movement.
• Write a note on the Swadeshi Movement.
• Write short notes (approximately 250 words each) on any two of the following:
  • The Cambridge School's view on Indian nationalism
  • Dandi March
  • Political philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi
  • Achievements of Congress ministries during 1937-39

Part B

• Outline the political activities leading up to the Quit India Movement.
• Discuss the connection of nationalism with the working classes.
• What was the attitude of the Indian national movement towards landlords?
• Write a note on the Indian Constitution.
• Write short notes (approximately 250 words each) on any two of the following:
  • Nationalist and Dalit
  • Cabinet Mission
  • The relationship between nationalists and capitalists
  • Communalism and its role in the partition of India

MHI-10: Urbanization in India

• Answer any five questions. The assignment is divided into two parts A and B. You are required to answer at least two questions from each part. Each answer should be approximately 500 words. All questions carry equal marks.

Part A

• What is urban history? Briefly describe the history writing related to urbanization.
• Discuss the main features of the city of Mohenjo-daro.
• Critically examine the portrayal of cities in ancient Indian texts.
• What are the main characteristics of an urban center in the early medieval period? Explain your argument based on Tallanandpur, Siyadoni, and Venugram.
• Write short notes on any two of the following:
  • Lefebvre's concept of space
  • The concept of the forest in early Indian literature
  • Gauda and Pandua
  • Srirangam as a temple town

Part B

• Provide a comparative analysis of the spatial forms of Ajmer-Banaras-Pandharpur.
• Present a brief account of the cities of the Kutch-Gujarat region in the seventeenth-eighteenth centuries.
• Describe the rise of urban colonies. What was its impact? How did it transform urban space?
• How are colonial cities a tangible form of the symbols and signs of modernity?
• Write short notes on any two of the following:
  • Patrimonial-bureaucratic city
  • Industrial cities of medieval Deccan
  • Goa: A Portuguese city
  • Presidency city

Western Political Thought (Plato to Marx) (M.P.S.E.-003)

• Instructions: Select at least two questions from each section, answering a total of five questions. Each answer should be approximately 500 words and is worth 20 marks.

Section A

• Differentiate between political thought, political theory, and political philosophy.
• Discuss the philosophical bases of Plato's political theory.
• Write an essay on Aristotle's theory of law.
• What was the influence of Saint Augustine on Western political thought? Examine.
• Detail Machiavelli's classification of governments.

Section B

• Write short notes (approximately 250 words each) on the following:
  • (a) Thomas Hobbes on the rights and obligations of the sovereign
  • (b) John Locke on social contract and civil society
  • (a) Rousseau's theory of the general will
  • (b) Edmund Burke's critique
  • (a) Immanuel Kant's transcendental-idealistic view of human nature
  • (b) Alexis de Tocqueville on religion
  • (a) J.S. Mill on representative government
  • (b) Hegel's theory of the state
  • (a) Marx's historical materialism
  • (b) Marx's concept of a communist society

Social and Political Thought in Modern India (M.P.S.E.-004)

• Instructions: Select at least two questions from each section, to answer a total of five questions. Each answer should be approximately 500 words and is worth 20 marks.

Section A

• Discuss the nature of state and sovereignty in ancient India.
• Write an essay on the making of India in the 19th century.
• Examine the advent of nationalism in India in the early 19th century.
• Elaborate on the religious-political ideas of Dayanand Saraswati.
• Describe the importance of Lal-Bal-Pal in the nationalist movement.

Section B

• Write short notes on the following (approximately 250 words each):
  • (a) Swami Vivekananda on nationalism
  • (b) Sri Aurobindo's critique of political moderates in India
  • (a) V.D. Savarkar's views on social change
  • (b) M.S. Golwalkar's negative and positive Hindutva
  • (a) Sir Syed Ahmed Khan on Hindu-Muslim unity
  • (b) E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker on Dravidian mobilization
  • (a) Philosophical basis of Gandhi's political perspective
  • (b) Jawaharlal Nehru's scientific humanism
  • (a) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on religion and caste
  • (b) Rabindranath Tagore's critique of nationalism