Selfstudyhistory.com’s Interview of Rana Dey [Rank 318, CSE- 2023, History Optional]

Profile of the Candidate

 Introduction

(1) Tell us something about yourself. 

My name is Rana Dey. I hail from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and city Varanasi, which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. I completed my graduation in B.Tech in ECE from NIT Jamshedpur in 2019. I worked as a full time (Java Web) Software Engineer for UHG, Optum from 2019 to 2021. My hobbies include playing synthesizer and gym workout. This was my 2^nd UPSC attempt.

Questions Related to History Optional

(2) Why did you choose history as your optional subject?

There were a few considerations for me before choosing an optional subject –

1. My interest in the subject – since I have to spend most time in that subject
2. Overlap of the subject with other papers – History has huge overlap with GS1 and some overlap with GS2 and Essay
3. Availability of resources – History is a popular optional choice – Many coaching institutes provide test series for History which was crucial for my preparation.

All these factors contributed to me choosing History as an optional subject.

(3) Kindly mention positive and negative about the History Optional for those who what to take history optional.

Positives –

1. Really interesting and appealing subject (for those who have prior interest in history)
2. Huge overlap with other papers – Prelims, GS1, Essay etc.
3. High scoring subject in mains
4. Popular optional subject among aspirants so plenty of notes, content available online

Negatives –

1. Really lengthy syllabus – takes almost 6 months to cover the entire syllabus
2. Might be difficult for aspirants without any background in History since pattern of answering questions in History in UPSC is very different that the one in school examinations
3. Very difficult to remember lot facts related to different treaties, views of different historians etc. Can become a bit overwhelming.

(4) Kindly mention booklist and sources which you followed for History Optional.

1. Ancient History – R S Sharma (India’s ancient past), Upinder Singh, IGNOU notes
2. Medieval History – Satish Chandra, IGNOU notes
3. Modern History – Shekhar Bandopadhyay (From Plassey to Partition), Spectrum, Bipan Chandra (India’s Struggle for Independence)
4. World History – Jain and Mathur (A History of the Modern World), Norman Lowe (Mastering Modern World History)
5. Post Independent India – Bipan Chandra

(5) In Paper I and II, you answered 3 questions from Part A or Part B?

Paper I – 3 questions from Part A

Paper II – 3 questions from Part B

(6) How did you prepare for Map Portion?

2 Sources –

1. Previous year questions
2. Book – Map entries for History optional (Rashid Yasin and Ranjan Singh)

(7) How much time per day you used to give the history optional during your preparation (both before and after prelims)?

I allocated few weeks in continuation for History revision and attempting history optional question papers.

(8) Did you do answer writing regularly? If yes, what amount of time you devoted to it and how did it help you?

Yes, I regularly practiced answer writing. After finishing one topic I would practice answer writing related to previous year questions from that topic. Towards the end of the preparation, I would devote my time entirely on revising topics and answer writing.

(9) Did you join any test series? If yes, kindly name it? How did it benefit you?

I joined Selfstudyhistory test series for History optional. It immensely benefitted me in terms of assessing my current preparation level and content and presentation improvement in answers.

(10) Did you maintain self-notes? If yes, how did it help you?

Yes, I maintained self-notes. It helped me in organizing my studies, repeated revisions and value addition in the content if and when needed.

(11) Have you solved previous years papers of history optional? Did it help you in the examination?

Yes I have solved PYQ in history optional. It helped in analyzing the level of questions asked, important topics to cover and pattern of answering such questions in an appropriate way.

(12) In your views, how the nature of questions asked in history optional changed in recent years?

The questions being asked now are highly conceptual and mere application of facts isn’t going to fetch much marks. Questions related to views of different historians are being asked directly nowadays. In the map section, the same places are asked but with different locations hints. (Eg- Thanjavur was asked as site of Muvar Koil).

(13) Were you asked questions related to History in interview? If yes, kindly mention those.

History of Varanasi.

Why is it called the oldest living city in the world? (Ans – Since it’s continuously inhabited since 8^th century BCE)

(14) How did selfstudyhistory.com benefitted you in your History Optional Preparation?

It benefitted me in various ways –

1. High quality notes – aggregated from different sources at one place.
2. Test series – with good quality questions and very helpful model answers.
3. PYQ Map solutions
4. Toppers answers for analysis and comparison

(15) Any specific thing you want to share about history optional?

History as an optional is an enticing subject. It’s very interesting as well as high scoring, a unique blend rarely found. Moreover, reading about Indian and world history inculcates maturity in a person as one is exposed to various views of diverse spectrum. That being said, it’s extremely lengthy and time consuming optional. My suggestion would be that the decision to choose history as an optional should be primarily prefaced on the interest of the aspirant in the subject while all other considerations comes secondary.

Click here for Answer Sheets of Rana Dey [Rank 318, CSE- 2023]