ICSE Class 10 Syllabus 2028 History and Civics

ICSE
INDIAN CERTIFICATE OF
SECONDARY EDUCATION
EXAMINATION
YEAR 2028

H.C.G
HISTORY & CIVICS
(50)

Developed by:
Research, Development and Curriculum Division (RDCD)
CISCE

January 2026
____________________________________________________________________________________________

© Copyright, Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations
All rights reserved. The copyright to this publication and any part thereof solely vests in the Council for the Indian
School Certificate Examinations. This publication and no part thereof may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed or
stored in any manner whatsoever, without the prior written approval of the Council for the Indian School Certificate
Examinations.

Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE)

MISSION STATEMENT

The Council for the Indian School Certificate
Examinations is committed to serving the nation's
children, through high quality educational
endeavours, empowering them to contribute towards
a humane, just and pluralistic society, promoting
introspective living, by creating exciting learning
opportunities, with a commitment to excellence.

ETHOS OF CISCE

Trust and fair play.
Minimum monitoring.
Allowing schools to evolve their own niche.
Catering to the needs of the children.
Giving freedom to experiment with new ideas
and practices.
Diversity and plurality - the basic strength for
evolution of ideas.
Schools to motivate pupils towards the
cultivation of:
Excellence - The Indian and Global
experience.
Values - Spiritual and cultural - to be the bedrock
of the educational experience.
Schools to have an 'Indian Ethos', strong roots in
the national psyche and be sensitive to national
aspirations.

CLASS X
There will be one paper of two hours duration carrying 80 marks and an Internal Assessment of 20 marks.
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, types of questions-meaning of starred, unstarred and short notice
questions, zero hour, adjournment and no-confidence motion. Anti-Defection Law provisions, Passing
of Ordinary and Money Bills.
Speaker – election, removal; 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, composition of Electoral College, reason for indirect election, term of
office, procedure for impeachment.
Powers (executive, legislative, financial, judicial, discretionary and emergency)- any two effects of
each emergency).
(b) The Vice-President:
Qualifications for election, removal, 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. Distinction
between the Council of Ministers and the Cabinet.

3. The Judiciary
(a) The Supreme Court:
Composition, qualifications of judges, appointment, independence of judiciary from the control of
executive and legislature; Jurisdiction and functions: Independence of Judiciary, 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 Court of the District Judge and Sessions Court.
Lok Adalats: meaning and advantages.

4

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 –(Only changes
in the administration, Queen Victoria’s Proclamation, Relation with Princely states and Changes in
the Army) 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 (any two contributions of Raja Rammohan Roy, Jyotiba Phule,
Swami Dayananda Saraswathi and Swami Vivekananda) and role of the Press.
Foundation of the Indian National Congress - The year of formation and name of the Founder
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. Reasons for Surat Split of 1907; objectives
and methods of struggle of Assertive Nationalists. Any two contributions of Bal Gangadhar Tilak,
Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai. The Muslim League; Year of formation, Factors leading to
the formation of the Muslim League and its objectives. The Lucknow Pact - 1916. Signatories of the
Pact and its impact.

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 (clauses
will not be tested) 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; Reason for renewal of the Civil Disobedience Movement the Quit India Movement:
causes (failure of the Cripps Mission (clauses will not be tested), Japanese threat), Quit India
Resolution and the significance of the Movement.
(b) Forward Bloc (objectives) and INA (name of the founder 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, formation of League of Nations, Objectives of the League of Nations).
(b) Rise of Dictatorships
Causes for the rise of Fascism in Italy and the rise of Nazism in Germany. Similarity between the
ideologies of Fascism and Nazism.
(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 the League of Nations and Hitler’s invasion
of Poland). Brief mention of the attack on Pearl Harbour and bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Consequences (Defeat of Axis Powers, Formation of the United Nations and Cold War).
Cold War - meaning, NATO and WARSAW (Only meaning).
(d) United Nations
(i) The objectives of the U.N.

5

The composition and functions of the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the
International Court of Justice. Major agencies of the United Nations: UNICEF, WHO and
UNESCO – headquarters and functions only.
(ii) Universal Declaration of Human Rights – (Only meaning)
(e) Non-Aligned Movement
Brief meaning; objectives; Panchsheel- only meaning, principles need to be taught only for
understanding and not for testing; 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: 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’ or any other relevant book.
• 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) or any other relevant book.
• Make an illustrative study of the life and work of Subhash Chandra Bose.
• Make an illustrative study of the life and work of any three national leaders, between 1857 and 1914 and
describe their contributions to the Nation.
• Highlight the work and achievements of any one Nobel Laureate - Malala Yousafzai or Kailash Satyarthi.
• 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.

6

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.

7

INTERNAL ASSESSMENT IN HISTORY & CIVICS - GUIDELINES FOR MARKING WITH GRADES
Grade Preparation/Research Information Concepts Thinking Skills Presentation Marks

I  Follows instructions with  A good deal of relevant  Good understanding of  Different interpretations  Matter presented is clear and is 4
understanding. matter. historical concepts - of evidence. in coherent form (sub-headings,
 Masters research techniques  Uses wide range of sequence/reconstruction-  Can draw Inferences/ sections, chapters etc.)
easily. sources. causes and consequences- deductions/ conclusions.  Work is neat and tidy and not
 Reference work is orderly. continuity and change over elaborate.
 Empathy.
II  Follows instructions but needs  Selects matter relevant  Understanding of  Limited / Single  Matter is presented in coherent 3
a little help in research to context. concepts is adequate. interpretation of form but not organised into
techniques.  Limited use of evidence with some sections etc.
 Reference notes quite orderly. references/ sources. examples.  Presentation neat and tidy but not
 Some inferences/ elaborate.
conclusions are drawn.
III  Follows instructions but needs  Relevant matter but  Displays limited use of  Few examples /single  Work is presented in an orderly 2
constant guidance. limited reference work. concepts. example to support way, but not organised into
 Reference notes at times  Matter is sketchy. reasoning. sections.
disorderly.  Over use of ‘cosmetics’ to hide
lack of substance.
 Work is quite neatly presented.
IV  Struggles with research  Hardly any reference  Minimal competency in  Finds it difficult to make  Matter presented in a confused 1
methods and needs constant material. concepts. conclusions/ deductions/ way at times (no sub-headings,
guidance.  Use of irrelevant  A few of the required inferences. chapters, etc.)
 Reference notes copied matter. concepts.  No examples to support  Tendency to copy from reference
without reference to keywords.  Matter is sketchy. reasoning. books.
 Use of “cosmetics” to hide lack
of substance.
 Untidy work.
V  Cannot follow instructions.  No reference  Unable to demonstrate  Unable to make  Matter presented in an 0
 Works ‘blindly’ without work/copied from other concepts. inferences/ deductions or incoherent/ disorganised way.
reference to keywords. textbooks/ sketchy come to any conclusions.  Copied from textbooks
matter. “blindly”.
 Use of “cosmetics” to hide lack
of substance.
 Untidy work.

8