ICSE Class10 History and Civics Syllabus 2025–26

There will be one paper of two hours duration carrying 80 marks and an Internal Assessment of 20 marks.

1. Section A: Civics
2. Section B: History

SECTION A: CIVICS

1. The Union Legislature

   • Meaning of the federal setup in India.
   • Lok Sabha
     • Term, composition, qualifications for membership.
     • Parliamentary procedures: sessions, quorum, question hour, adjournment, no-confidence motion (brief idea).
     • Speaker – election and functions.
   • 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, composition of Electoral College, reason for indirect election, term of office, procedure for impeachment.
     • Powers: executive, legislative, financial, judicial, discretionary, 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 Cabinet members.
     • Distinction between Council of Ministers and the Cabinet.

3. The Judiciary

   • (a) The Supreme Court:
     • Composition, qualifications of judges, appointment, independence of judiciary from executive and legislature.
     • Jurisdiction and functions: Original, Appellate, Advisory, Revisory, Judicial Review, 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, 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, military) and consequences will be tested. [Events to be mentioned for continuity and comprehensive understanding]
   • (b) Factors leading to Nationalism:
     • Economic exploitation, repressive colonial policies, socio-religious reform movements (contributions of Raja Rammohan Roy and Jyotiba Phule), role of the Press.
     • Foundation of Indian National Congress: Indian National Association (Surendranath Banerjee), East India Association (Dadabhai Naoroji) as precursors.
     • Immediate objectives of the INC - mention first two sessions and their Presidents.
   • (c) First Phase of the National Movement (1885-1907):
     • Objectives and methods of Early Nationalists; any two contributions of Dadabhai Naoroji, Surendranath Banerjee and Gopal Krishna Gokhale.
     • Second Phase (1905-1916): Causes of Partition of Bengal, its perspective by Nationalists. Brief mention of Surat Split (1907), objectives and methods of Radicals; any two contributions of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai.
     • The Muslim League: Factors leading to its formation, objectives. Brief mention of 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), programme and suspension (Chauri Chaura incident), impact.
     • Civil Disobedience Movement: causes (Simon Commission reaction, Poorna Swaraj Declaration 1929), Dandi March, programme and impact, Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Second Round Table Conference.
     • Quit India Movement: causes (Cripps Mission failure, Japanese threat), Quit India Resolution, significance.
   • (b) Forward Bloc & INA: Objectives, contribution of Subhas Chandra Bose.
   • (c) Independence and Partition: Cabinet Mission Plan (clauses), Mountbatten Plan (clauses and acceptance), Indian Independence Act 1947 (clauses).

3. The Contemporary World

   • (a) The First World War:
     • Causes: Nationalism & Imperialism, Armament Race, division of Europe, Sarajevo crisis.
     • Results: Treaty of Versailles, territorial rearrangements, League of Nations formation.
   • (b) Rise of Dictatorships:
     • Causes for Fascism (Italy) & Nazism (Germany). Comparative study of Mussolini’s & Hitler’s ideologies.
   • (c) The Second World War:
     • Causes: Dissatisfaction with Versailles Treaty, rise of Fascism & Nazism, policy of appeasement, Japanese invasion of China, League of Nations’ failure, Hitler’s invasion of Poland.
     • Brief mention: Attack on Pearl Harbour, bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
     • Consequences: Defeat of Axis Powers, Formation of UN, Cold War.
   • (d) United Nations:
     • (i) Objectives of the UN, Composition/functions of General Assembly, Security Council, ICJ.
     • (ii) Major agencies of the UN: UNICEF, WHO, UNESCO – functions only.
   • (e) Non-Aligned Movement:
     • Brief meaning, objectives, Panchsheel, Jawaharlal Nehru's role, Names of 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 USA.
• 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
  • Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (or any other)
• Present a book review of:
  • Dadabhai 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 20th Century European history:
  • 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 contributions of any one UN agency – 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.

Evaluation

The assignments/project work is to be evaluated by the subject teacher and by an External Examiner. (The External Examiner may be a teacher nominated by the Head of the School, who could be from the faculty, but not teaching the subject in the section/class. For example, a teacher of History of Class VIII may be deputed to be an External Examiner for Class X, History projects.)

The Internal Examiner and the External Examiner will assess the assignments independently.

Award of Marks (20 Marks)

• Subject Teacher (Internal Examiner): 10 marks
• External Examiner: 10 marks

The total marks obtained out of 20 are to be sent to CISCE by the Head of the School.
The Head of the School will be responsible for the online entry of marks on CISCE’s CAREERS portal by the due date.

INTERNAL ASSESSMENT IN HISTORY & CIVICS - Guidelines for Marking with Grades