NCERT Textbook: What, Where, How & When? | Old & New NCERTs for IAS Preparation (Must Read) - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


1 ?
introduction : what , 
where , how and when ?
Finding out what happened
Yesterday: you could listen to the radio, watch 
television, read a newspaper.
Last year: ask somebody who remembers.
But what about long, long ago? Let us see how it 
can be done. 
What can we know about the past?
There are several things we can find out — what 
people ate, the kinds of clothes they wore, the 
houses in which they lived. We can find out 
about the lives of hunters, herders, farmers, 
rulers, merchants, priests, craftspersons, artists, 
musicians, and scientists. We can also find out 
about the games children played, the stories they 
heard, the plays they saw, the songs they sang.
Where did people live?
Find the river Narmada on Map 1 (page 2). People 
have lived along the banks of this river for several 
hundred thousand years. Some of the earliest 
people who lived here were skilled gatherers, — 
that is, people who gathered their food. They knew 
about the vast wealth of plants in the surrounding 
forests, and collected roots, fruits and other forest 
produce for their food. They also hunted animals.  
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION:  
WHAT, WHERE, HOW AND WHEN?
Rasheeda’s question
Rasheeda sat reading the newspaper. Suddenly, her 
eyes fell on a small headline: “One Hundred Years 
Ago.” How, she wondered, could anyone know what 
had happened so many years ago?
Chapter 1-2.indd   1 26 May 2022   09:55:55
Rationalised 2023-24
Page 2


1 ?
introduction : what , 
where , how and when ?
Finding out what happened
Yesterday: you could listen to the radio, watch 
television, read a newspaper.
Last year: ask somebody who remembers.
But what about long, long ago? Let us see how it 
can be done. 
What can we know about the past?
There are several things we can find out — what 
people ate, the kinds of clothes they wore, the 
houses in which they lived. We can find out 
about the lives of hunters, herders, farmers, 
rulers, merchants, priests, craftspersons, artists, 
musicians, and scientists. We can also find out 
about the games children played, the stories they 
heard, the plays they saw, the songs they sang.
Where did people live?
Find the river Narmada on Map 1 (page 2). People 
have lived along the banks of this river for several 
hundred thousand years. Some of the earliest 
people who lived here were skilled gatherers, — 
that is, people who gathered their food. They knew 
about the vast wealth of plants in the surrounding 
forests, and collected roots, fruits and other forest 
produce for their food. They also hunted animals.  
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION:  
WHAT, WHERE, HOW AND WHEN?
Rasheeda’s question
Rasheeda sat reading the newspaper. Suddenly, her 
eyes fell on a small headline: “One Hundred Years 
Ago.” How, she wondered, could anyone know what 
had happened so many years ago?
Chapter 1-2.indd   1 26 May 2022   09:55:55
Rationalised 2023-24
? 2
our pasts –i Map : 1
Physical Map of the Subcontinent  
Now find the Sulaiman and Kirthar hills to the 
northwest. Some of the areas where women and 
men first began to grow crops such as wheat and 
barley about 8000 years ago are located here. 
People also began rearing animals like sheep, goat, 
and cattle, and lived in villages. Locate the Garo  
hills to the north-east and the Vindhyas in central 
India. These were some of the other areas where 
Chapter 1-2.indd   2 22 April 2022   12:12:41
Rationalised 2023-24
Page 3


1 ?
introduction : what , 
where , how and when ?
Finding out what happened
Yesterday: you could listen to the radio, watch 
television, read a newspaper.
Last year: ask somebody who remembers.
But what about long, long ago? Let us see how it 
can be done. 
What can we know about the past?
There are several things we can find out — what 
people ate, the kinds of clothes they wore, the 
houses in which they lived. We can find out 
about the lives of hunters, herders, farmers, 
rulers, merchants, priests, craftspersons, artists, 
musicians, and scientists. We can also find out 
about the games children played, the stories they 
heard, the plays they saw, the songs they sang.
Where did people live?
Find the river Narmada on Map 1 (page 2). People 
have lived along the banks of this river for several 
hundred thousand years. Some of the earliest 
people who lived here were skilled gatherers, — 
that is, people who gathered their food. They knew 
about the vast wealth of plants in the surrounding 
forests, and collected roots, fruits and other forest 
produce for their food. They also hunted animals.  
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION:  
WHAT, WHERE, HOW AND WHEN?
Rasheeda’s question
Rasheeda sat reading the newspaper. Suddenly, her 
eyes fell on a small headline: “One Hundred Years 
Ago.” How, she wondered, could anyone know what 
had happened so many years ago?
Chapter 1-2.indd   1 26 May 2022   09:55:55
Rationalised 2023-24
? 2
our pasts –i Map : 1
Physical Map of the Subcontinent  
Now find the Sulaiman and Kirthar hills to the 
northwest. Some of the areas where women and 
men first began to grow crops such as wheat and 
barley about 8000 years ago are located here. 
People also began rearing animals like sheep, goat, 
and cattle, and lived in villages. Locate the Garo  
hills to the north-east and the Vindhyas in central 
India. These were some of the other areas where 
Chapter 1-2.indd   2 22 April 2022   12:12:41
Rationalised 2023-24
3 ?
introduction : what , 
where , how and when ?
agriculture developed. The places where rice was 
first grown are to the north of the Vindhyas. 
Trace the river Indus and its tributaries 
(tributaries are smaller rivers that flow into a larger 
river). About 4700 years ago, some of the earliest 
cities flourished on the banks of these rivers. Later, 
about 2500 years ago, cities developed on the 
banks of the Ganga and its tributaries, and along 
the sea coasts. 
Locate the Ganga and its tributary called the 
Son. In ancient times, the area along these rivers 
to the south of the Ganga was known as Magadha 
now lying in the state of Bihar. Its rulers were very 
powerful, and set up a large kingdom. Kingdoms 
were set up in other parts of the country as well.   
Throughout, people travelled from one part of 
the subcontinent to another. The hills and high 
mountains including the Himalayas, deserts, rivers 
and seas made journeys dangerous at times, but 
never impossible. So, men and women moved in 
search of livelihood, as also to escape from natural 
disasters like floods or droughts. Sometimes men 
marched in armies, conquering others’ lands. 
Besides, merchants travelled with caravans or 
ships, carrying valuable goods from place to place. 
And religious teachers walked from village to village, 
town to town, stopping to offer instruction and 
advice on the way. Finally, some people perhaps 
travelled driven by a spirit of adventure, wanting 
to discover new and exciting places. All these led 
to the sharing of ideas between people. 
Why do people travel nowadays? 
Look at Map 1 once more. Hills, mountains and 
seas form the natural frontiers of the subcontinent. 
While it was difficult to cross these frontiers, those 
who wanted could and did scale the mountains 
Facing Page: This is a map 
of South Asia (including 
the present countries 
of India, Pakistan, 
Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan 
and Sri Lanka) and the 
neighbouring countries 
of Afghanistan, Iran, 
China and Myanmar. 
South Asia is often called 
a subcontinent because 
although it is smaller than 
a continent, it is very large, 
and is separated from the 
rest of Asia by seas, hills 
and mountains.
Chapter 1-2.indd   3 22 April 2022   12:12:41
Rationalised 2023-24
Page 4


1 ?
introduction : what , 
where , how and when ?
Finding out what happened
Yesterday: you could listen to the radio, watch 
television, read a newspaper.
Last year: ask somebody who remembers.
But what about long, long ago? Let us see how it 
can be done. 
What can we know about the past?
There are several things we can find out — what 
people ate, the kinds of clothes they wore, the 
houses in which they lived. We can find out 
about the lives of hunters, herders, farmers, 
rulers, merchants, priests, craftspersons, artists, 
musicians, and scientists. We can also find out 
about the games children played, the stories they 
heard, the plays they saw, the songs they sang.
Where did people live?
Find the river Narmada on Map 1 (page 2). People 
have lived along the banks of this river for several 
hundred thousand years. Some of the earliest 
people who lived here were skilled gatherers, — 
that is, people who gathered their food. They knew 
about the vast wealth of plants in the surrounding 
forests, and collected roots, fruits and other forest 
produce for their food. They also hunted animals.  
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION:  
WHAT, WHERE, HOW AND WHEN?
Rasheeda’s question
Rasheeda sat reading the newspaper. Suddenly, her 
eyes fell on a small headline: “One Hundred Years 
Ago.” How, she wondered, could anyone know what 
had happened so many years ago?
Chapter 1-2.indd   1 26 May 2022   09:55:55
Rationalised 2023-24
? 2
our pasts –i Map : 1
Physical Map of the Subcontinent  
Now find the Sulaiman and Kirthar hills to the 
northwest. Some of the areas where women and 
men first began to grow crops such as wheat and 
barley about 8000 years ago are located here. 
People also began rearing animals like sheep, goat, 
and cattle, and lived in villages. Locate the Garo  
hills to the north-east and the Vindhyas in central 
India. These were some of the other areas where 
Chapter 1-2.indd   2 22 April 2022   12:12:41
Rationalised 2023-24
3 ?
introduction : what , 
where , how and when ?
agriculture developed. The places where rice was 
first grown are to the north of the Vindhyas. 
Trace the river Indus and its tributaries 
(tributaries are smaller rivers that flow into a larger 
river). About 4700 years ago, some of the earliest 
cities flourished on the banks of these rivers. Later, 
about 2500 years ago, cities developed on the 
banks of the Ganga and its tributaries, and along 
the sea coasts. 
Locate the Ganga and its tributary called the 
Son. In ancient times, the area along these rivers 
to the south of the Ganga was known as Magadha 
now lying in the state of Bihar. Its rulers were very 
powerful, and set up a large kingdom. Kingdoms 
were set up in other parts of the country as well.   
Throughout, people travelled from one part of 
the subcontinent to another. The hills and high 
mountains including the Himalayas, deserts, rivers 
and seas made journeys dangerous at times, but 
never impossible. So, men and women moved in 
search of livelihood, as also to escape from natural 
disasters like floods or droughts. Sometimes men 
marched in armies, conquering others’ lands. 
Besides, merchants travelled with caravans or 
ships, carrying valuable goods from place to place. 
And religious teachers walked from village to village, 
town to town, stopping to offer instruction and 
advice on the way. Finally, some people perhaps 
travelled driven by a spirit of adventure, wanting 
to discover new and exciting places. All these led 
to the sharing of ideas between people. 
Why do people travel nowadays? 
Look at Map 1 once more. Hills, mountains and 
seas form the natural frontiers of the subcontinent. 
While it was difficult to cross these frontiers, those 
who wanted could and did scale the mountains 
Facing Page: This is a map 
of South Asia (including 
the present countries 
of India, Pakistan, 
Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan 
and Sri Lanka) and the 
neighbouring countries 
of Afghanistan, Iran, 
China and Myanmar. 
South Asia is often called 
a subcontinent because 
although it is smaller than 
a continent, it is very large, 
and is separated from the 
rest of Asia by seas, hills 
and mountains.
Chapter 1-2.indd   3 22 April 2022   12:12:41
Rationalised 2023-24
? 4
our pasts –i and cross the seas. People from across the frontiers 
also came into the subcontinent and settled here. 
These movements of people enriched our cultural 
traditions. People have shared new ways of carving 
stone, composing music, and even cooking food over 
several hundreds of years. 
Names of the land
Two of the words we often use for our country are 
India and Bharat. The word India comes from the 
Indus, called Sindhu in Sanskrit. Find Iran and 
Greece in your atlas. The Iranians and the Greeks 
who came through the northwest about 2500 years 
ago and were familiar with the Indus, called it the 
Hindos or the Indos, and the land to the east of 
the river was called India. The name Bharata was 
used for a group of people who lived in the north-
west, and who are mentioned in the Rigveda, the 
earliest composition in Sanskrit (dated to about 
3500 years ago). Later it was used for the country.   
Finding out about the past
There are several ways of finding out about the 
past. One is to search for and read books that were 
written long ago. These are called manuscripts, 
because they were written by hand (this comes from 
the Latin word ‘manu’, meaning hand). These were 
usually written on palm leaf, or on the specially 
prepared bark of a tree known as the birch, which 
grows in the Himalayas.  
A page from a palm leaf 
manuscript.
This manuscript was 
written about a thousand 
years ago. The palm 
leaves were cut into 
pages and tied together 
to make books. T o see a 
birch bark manuscript, 
turn to page 35. 
Chapter 1-2.indd   4 22 April 2022   12:12:42
Rationalised 2023-24
Page 5


1 ?
introduction : what , 
where , how and when ?
Finding out what happened
Yesterday: you could listen to the radio, watch 
television, read a newspaper.
Last year: ask somebody who remembers.
But what about long, long ago? Let us see how it 
can be done. 
What can we know about the past?
There are several things we can find out — what 
people ate, the kinds of clothes they wore, the 
houses in which they lived. We can find out 
about the lives of hunters, herders, farmers, 
rulers, merchants, priests, craftspersons, artists, 
musicians, and scientists. We can also find out 
about the games children played, the stories they 
heard, the plays they saw, the songs they sang.
Where did people live?
Find the river Narmada on Map 1 (page 2). People 
have lived along the banks of this river for several 
hundred thousand years. Some of the earliest 
people who lived here were skilled gatherers, — 
that is, people who gathered their food. They knew 
about the vast wealth of plants in the surrounding 
forests, and collected roots, fruits and other forest 
produce for their food. They also hunted animals.  
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION:  
WHAT, WHERE, HOW AND WHEN?
Rasheeda’s question
Rasheeda sat reading the newspaper. Suddenly, her 
eyes fell on a small headline: “One Hundred Years 
Ago.” How, she wondered, could anyone know what 
had happened so many years ago?
Chapter 1-2.indd   1 26 May 2022   09:55:55
Rationalised 2023-24
? 2
our pasts –i Map : 1
Physical Map of the Subcontinent  
Now find the Sulaiman and Kirthar hills to the 
northwest. Some of the areas where women and 
men first began to grow crops such as wheat and 
barley about 8000 years ago are located here. 
People also began rearing animals like sheep, goat, 
and cattle, and lived in villages. Locate the Garo  
hills to the north-east and the Vindhyas in central 
India. These were some of the other areas where 
Chapter 1-2.indd   2 22 April 2022   12:12:41
Rationalised 2023-24
3 ?
introduction : what , 
where , how and when ?
agriculture developed. The places where rice was 
first grown are to the north of the Vindhyas. 
Trace the river Indus and its tributaries 
(tributaries are smaller rivers that flow into a larger 
river). About 4700 years ago, some of the earliest 
cities flourished on the banks of these rivers. Later, 
about 2500 years ago, cities developed on the 
banks of the Ganga and its tributaries, and along 
the sea coasts. 
Locate the Ganga and its tributary called the 
Son. In ancient times, the area along these rivers 
to the south of the Ganga was known as Magadha 
now lying in the state of Bihar. Its rulers were very 
powerful, and set up a large kingdom. Kingdoms 
were set up in other parts of the country as well.   
Throughout, people travelled from one part of 
the subcontinent to another. The hills and high 
mountains including the Himalayas, deserts, rivers 
and seas made journeys dangerous at times, but 
never impossible. So, men and women moved in 
search of livelihood, as also to escape from natural 
disasters like floods or droughts. Sometimes men 
marched in armies, conquering others’ lands. 
Besides, merchants travelled with caravans or 
ships, carrying valuable goods from place to place. 
And religious teachers walked from village to village, 
town to town, stopping to offer instruction and 
advice on the way. Finally, some people perhaps 
travelled driven by a spirit of adventure, wanting 
to discover new and exciting places. All these led 
to the sharing of ideas between people. 
Why do people travel nowadays? 
Look at Map 1 once more. Hills, mountains and 
seas form the natural frontiers of the subcontinent. 
While it was difficult to cross these frontiers, those 
who wanted could and did scale the mountains 
Facing Page: This is a map 
of South Asia (including 
the present countries 
of India, Pakistan, 
Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan 
and Sri Lanka) and the 
neighbouring countries 
of Afghanistan, Iran, 
China and Myanmar. 
South Asia is often called 
a subcontinent because 
although it is smaller than 
a continent, it is very large, 
and is separated from the 
rest of Asia by seas, hills 
and mountains.
Chapter 1-2.indd   3 22 April 2022   12:12:41
Rationalised 2023-24
? 4
our pasts –i and cross the seas. People from across the frontiers 
also came into the subcontinent and settled here. 
These movements of people enriched our cultural 
traditions. People have shared new ways of carving 
stone, composing music, and even cooking food over 
several hundreds of years. 
Names of the land
Two of the words we often use for our country are 
India and Bharat. The word India comes from the 
Indus, called Sindhu in Sanskrit. Find Iran and 
Greece in your atlas. The Iranians and the Greeks 
who came through the northwest about 2500 years 
ago and were familiar with the Indus, called it the 
Hindos or the Indos, and the land to the east of 
the river was called India. The name Bharata was 
used for a group of people who lived in the north-
west, and who are mentioned in the Rigveda, the 
earliest composition in Sanskrit (dated to about 
3500 years ago). Later it was used for the country.   
Finding out about the past
There are several ways of finding out about the 
past. One is to search for and read books that were 
written long ago. These are called manuscripts, 
because they were written by hand (this comes from 
the Latin word ‘manu’, meaning hand). These were 
usually written on palm leaf, or on the specially 
prepared bark of a tree known as the birch, which 
grows in the Himalayas.  
A page from a palm leaf 
manuscript.
This manuscript was 
written about a thousand 
years ago. The palm 
leaves were cut into 
pages and tied together 
to make books. T o see a 
birch bark manuscript, 
turn to page 35. 
Chapter 1-2.indd   4 22 April 2022   12:12:42
Rationalised 2023-24
5 ?
introduction : what , 
where , how and when ?
Over the years, many manuscripts were eaten 
away by insects, some were destroyed, but many 
have survived, often preserved in temples and 
monasteries. These books dealt with all kinds of 
subjects: religious beliefs and practices, the lives 
of kings, medicine and science. Besides, there were 
epics, poems, plays. Many of these were written in 
Sanskrit, others were in Prakrit (languages used 
by ordinary people) and Tamil.  
We can also study inscriptions. These are writings 
on relatively hard surfaces such as stone or metal. 
Sometimes, kings got their orders inscribed so 
that people could see, read and obey them. There 
are other kinds of inscriptions as well, where men 
and women (including kings and queens) recorded 
what they did. For 
example, kings 
often kept records 
of victories in battle. 
Can you think of 
the advantages of 
writing on a hard 
surface? And what 
could have been 
the difficulties?
There were many 
other things that 
were made and 
used in the past. 
Those who study 
these objects are called archaeologists. They study 
the remains of buildings made of stone and brick, 
paintings and sculpture. They also explore and 
excavate (dig under the surface of the earth) to 
find tools, weapons, pots, pans, ornaments and 
coins. Some of these objects may be made of stone, 
others of bone, baked clay or metal. Objects that 
are made of hard, imperishable substances usually 
survive for a long time. 
An old inscription.
This inscription dates 
to about 2250 years 
ago, and was found in 
Kandahar, present-day 
Afghanistan. It was 
inscribed on the orders 
of a ruler named Ashoka. 
Y ou will read about him 
in Chapter 7 . When we 
write anything, we use a 
script. Scripts consist of 
letters or signs. When 
we read what is written, 
or speak, we use a 
language. This inscription 
was inscribed in two 
different scripts and 
languages, Greek (top) 
and Aramaic (below), 
which were used in this 
area.  
Chapter 1-2.indd   5 26 May 2022   10:44:17
Rationalised 2023-24