BPSC Prelims History PYQs Trends That Help You Score High...
Read MoreBPSC Prelims History PYQs Trends That Help You Score High
If you’re preparing History for BPSC Prelims, the fastest way to improve your score is to stop treating it as “one syllabus” and start treating it as a question-weighted portfolio. Across 60–62nd to 71st, the data shows a predictable pattern: Modern is the bulk, Ancient is steady, and Medieval is a swing topic. The twist is the 71st paper, which didn’t just change weightage it changed selection logic inside each block.
Use this post as a strategy map:
You’ll see repeated themes, topic engines, and how the question mix shifted in 71st—so you can prepare with the right anchor/ratio/scope.
Quick Snapshot (What the data says in one glance!)
Across 11 papers (60–62nd to 71st Bpsc Prelims History PYQs)
Modern History
71st dropped to lowest ever
0
204 questions total
- Avg ≈18.5/paper
- Range 13–25.
Medieval History
71st spiked to peak level
0
57 questions total
- Avg ≈5.2/paper,
- Range 3–9.
Ancient History
71st stabilized at a steady base.
0
57 questions total
- Avg ≈5.2/paper,
- Range 3–9.
71st headline shift:
Modern reduced sharply, Medieval spiked heavily, and Ancient stayed stable—but with a topic-mix rotation.
71st vs Long-run Average: History Block Weightage (BPSC Pre)
BPSC Prelims History PYQs Trends That Help You Score High
VLAV lens
- Value: which topics repeatedly pay marks
- Limits: why “dominant topics” can still be skipped (71st proves this)
- Approach: how to study so it survives paper shifts
- Verdict: what to do first if time is limited
4A plan
- Anchor: lock the high-repeat engines
- Allocate: give time by weightage + volatility
- Attempt: PYQ-style statement traps and matches
- Audit: revise with mini-tests + error logs
Ancient India (62 questions total): steady scoring block with core engines
The block behaviour (weightage trend)
Ancient stays within a tight band: 3 to 8 questions/paper, average ≈5.6. That makes it a stable scoring block, with occasional spikes (69th and 70th Re-exam hit 8). The key lesson is not that Ancient is unpredictable, but that it is reliably present, so it should be treated as a permanent scoring base.
Repeated themes (what repeats most)
Ancient is dominated by four engines: Mauryan (15), Buddhism/Jainism (10), Gupta (10), Post-Gupta (9). Together they form ~71% of all Ancient questions. This is your anchor set—if you go deep here, you cover the bulk of PYQ behaviour.
The 71st shift inside Ancient (topic-mix rotation)
In 71st (total Ancient = 6), BPSC shifted away from the usual heavyweights and leaned toward Gupta + transitional/idea clusters:
- Gupta: 2 (33.3%)
- Vedic: 1
- Buddhism/Jainism: 1
- Post-Mauryan: 1
- Misc: 1
And 0 from Mauryan, Post-Gupta, Indus, Mahajanpadas.
This is the “Ancient warning”: even a historically dominant bucket can be skipped in one paper, so your preparation must be deep anchors + spike-ready notes.
Ancient prep verdict (high ROI):
Anchor Mauryan + Buddhism/Jainism + Gupta + Post-Gupta, and keep short revision sheets for Vedic/Indus/Post-Mauryan/Mahajanpadas so the paper shift doesn’t break your score.
Medieval India (57 questions total): the swing topic that can spike hard
The block behaviour (weightage trend)
Medieval behaves like an examiner lever: it can be small (3–4) or suddenly heavy (9). Across the series, Medieval averages ≈5.2, but 71st jumps to 9 and becomes a decisive section.
Repeated themes (what Medieval repeatedly pays)
Four topics dominate Medieval:
- Mughal (14)
- Slave Dynasty (11)
- Books/Travellers/Authors (11)
- South India (6)
Together: ~73% of all Medieval questions.
This reveals BPSC’s Medieval pattern: Empire + sources + one regional strand. If your notes are built around administration + identification, Medieval becomes quick marks.
The 71st shift inside Medieval (breadth > base)
71st Medieval (total 9) was a spike, but the signature is the spread:
- Mughal: 2, Sources: 2
- Khilji: 1, Tughlaq: 1, Lodi: 1
- Marathas: 1, South India: 1
And 0 from Slave Dynasty and Bhakti/Sufi.
That means 71st preferred coverage breadth across dynasties, instead of repeating the standard Delhi base. So if you only prepared “Delhi Sultanate basics,” 71st would feel unfair—but the data shows it’s a predictable risk.
Medieval prep verdict (high ROI):
Anchor Mughal + Sources + Sultanate administration framework, then keep spike-ready sheets for Khilji/Tughlaq/Lodi/Marathas. This is the safest way to survive a breadth-style paper.
Modern History (204 questions total): still the bulk, but 71st reduced it sharply
The block behaviour (weightage trend)
Modern is the biggest block by far: range 13 to 25, average ≈18.5. But 71st Modern fell to 13 (lowest in the series), around 30% below the long-run average. The examiner signal is important: Modern remains vital, but not guaranteed to dominate every paper at the same level.
Repeated themes (the modern engines)
Modern’s dominant engine is consistently Indian National Movement (INM):
- INM total = 54 (≈26.5% of Modern)
Even in 71st, INM still led: INM = 4 (~31% of Modern that year). INM is your #1 anchor because it can be tested through chronology, committees, splits, acts, ideologies, and movement structure.
Next repeated contributors include Organizations, Press/Books, British Policies, Revolutionary activities, and Viceroys—but these vary in volatility, so you prepare them differently.
The 71st shift inside Modern (tools + institutions + communication)
71st Modern didn’t just reduce total questions—it changed preference:
71st topic mix (total 13):
- INM: 4
- British Policies: 2
- Revolutionary: 2
- Newspapers/Books: 2
- Advent of Europeans: 1
- Socio-religious: 1
- Organizations: 1
And 0 from: Viceroys, Uprisings, Congress sessions, 1857, Misc.
This is a strong signal that 71st leaned toward policies + institutions + communication tools + ideological strands, and away from pure “static list buckets.”
Modern prep verdict (high ROI):
Build deep mastery in INM + British Policies, then keep crisp notes for Press/Books + Organizations + Revolutionary. Treat static lists (Viceroys/Sessions) as quick revision, not the core.
The integrated strategy (Ancient + Medieval + Modern): what to do first
Here’s the safest “BPSC-proof” allocation logic using anchor/ratio/scope:
Anchors (deep, exam-proof):
- Ancient: Mauryan + Buddhism/Jainism + Gupta + Post-Gupta
- Medieval: Mughal + Sources + Sultanate administration framework
- Modern: INM + British policies
Volatile buckets (short, spike-ready sheets):
- Ancient: Vedic/Indus/Post-Mauryan/Mahajanpadas/Misc
- Medieval: Khilji/Tughlaq/Lodi/Marathas/Bhakti-Sufi
- Modern: Press/Books, Organizations, Viceroys (because they spike or drop)
Scope rule (the one that survives 71st-type shifts):
Prepare every block as core features → key terms → 3–4 signature facts → PYQ statement traps. That format converts directly into Pre marks even when the topic mix rotates.
A simple 21-day revision plan (works for any paper pattern)
- Days 1–7 (Anchor build): finish anchors with short notes + 30 PYQ statements per block.
- Days 8–14 (Volatility insurance): make 1-page sheets for volatile topics and revise them twice.
Days 15–21 (Audit mode): 5 mixed mini-tests (Ancient+Medieval+Modern), maintain an error log, revise only mistakes + weak anchors.
A simple 21-day revision plan (works for any paper pattern)
- Days 1–7 (Anchor build): finish anchors with short notes + 30 PYQ statements per block.
- Days 8–14 (Volatility insurance): make 1-page sheets for volatile topics and revise them twice.
- Days 15–21 (Audit mode): 5 mixed mini-tests (Ancient+Medieval+Modern), maintain an error log, revise only mistakes + weak anchors.
