Social Studies
Social Studies is the Paper 2 elective for candidates teaching SST to Classes 6–8. NCERT's Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Grades 6–8, NCF-SE 2023) organises the subject into five multidisciplinary themes — Land and the People, Tapestry of the Past, Cultural Heritage, Governance and Democracy, and Economic Life — alongside NIOS 509's pedagogy framework. Paper 2 asks 60 SST questions: roughly 40 content + 20 pedagogy. These available topic notes follow the NCERT chapter sequence so revision maps directly to the source textbooks.
History — Our Pasts
Ancient, medieval and modern India in NCERT chapter sequence — Harappa to Independence.
When, Where and How — Introduction to History
E.H. Carr's 'unending dialogue' definition; BCE/CE periodisation; and the four scholar types — geologists, palaeontologists, anthropologists, archaeologists — who study the past.
SST-H02Earliest Societies, First Farmers & First Cities (Harappa)
The Indus-Sarasvatī civilisation (2600–1900 BCE) — 'First Urbanisation of India' — six major cities (Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Dholavira, Rakhigarhi, Lothal, Kalibangan) and B.B. Lal's insight on Harappan social balance.
SST-H03Early States, New Ideas & The First Empire (Vedic–Maurya)
Vedic corpus (Vedas, Upanishads, Arthashastra of Kautilya), rise of Janapadas → Mahajanapadas, emergence of Buddhism and Jainism, and the Mauryan empire of Chandragupta and Ashoka.
SST-H04Gupta & Post-Gupta — Political Developments, Culture & Science
Samudragupta and Chandragupta II, Ajanta cave paintings, and Indian science — Aryabhata's calculations, Brahmagupta's mathematics, Charaka's medicine — before 1000 CE.
SST-H05Delhi Sultanate, Architecture & Regional Cultures
Five dynasties (Slave → Lodi, 1206–1526), Indo-Islamic architecture of the Qutub Minar, and the Bhakti–Sufi synthesis of Kabir, Mirabai and Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.
SST-H06Mughal Empire — Creation and Social Change
Babur (Panipat 1526) to Aurangzeb — the mansabdari ranking system, Akbar's Sulh-i-kul, and Mughal cultural synthesis in miniature painting, Persian-Hindi literature, and the Taj Mahal.
Geography — Earth, Environment & Resources
Physical and human geography from NCERT Classes 6–8 — globe, weather, settlement, resources.
Introduction to Geography — Earth, Globe & Environment
Latitudes (0°–90° N/S from Equator) and longitudes (0°–180° from Greenwich), Earth's two motions (rotation → day/night; revolution → seasons), and the four spheres: lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere.
SST-G02Air & Water
Seven continents, five oceans, major landforms (mountains, plateaus, plains); atmosphere layers; weather vs climate; and the hydrological cycle (evaporation → condensation → precipitation).
SST-G03Human Environment — Settlement, Transport & Communication
Rural settlement patterns (dispersed, nucleated, linear) and urban settlements; five transport modes (road, rail, water, air, pipelines); and modern communication — print, electronic, satellite.
Social & Political Life
How India governs itself — Constitution, democracy, media, judiciary, social justice.
Diversity & Government — Local Government
India's linguistic and religious diversity; three-tier Panchayati Raj (Gram Panchayat → Panchayat Samiti → Zila Parishad, 73rd Amendment); and urban bodies — Municipal Corporation, Council, Nagar Panchayat (74th Amendment).
SST-P02Democracy, State Government & Understanding Media
Representative democracy; state legislative assembly (Vidhan Sabha), Chief Minister and Council of Ministers; and how free press, television and social media shape public opinion in a democracy.
SST-P03Gender, the Constitution & Parliament
Preamble values (Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic); Article 14–15 gender equality; Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha; and how a Bill becomes an Act of Parliament.
SST-P04The Judiciary & Social Justice
Court hierarchy (Supreme Court → High Court → District Court); FIR and PIL; and laws protecting marginalised groups — Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955, SC/ST (Atrocities) Act 1989, Right to Education Act 2009.
Social Studies Pedagogy
How to teach SST as concept and inquiry — not as a memory exercise — and how to evaluate it.