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University of Delhi — B.A. (Hons.) Political Science — official course contents PDF

Semester I papers and unit structure as published in the official Department of Political Science course contents, effective from the academic year 2011-2012 onwards.

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Academic batch: 2024-25
Last reviewed: 2026-10-01
Curriculum source: University of Delhi
Syllabus effective: Academic Year 2011-2012 onwards

The batch above is the student cohort this material is mapped to. The effective period is stated by the official document itself — check your college's current syllabus before relying on either.

University of DelhiSemester IPaper IUnit 1 of 6

Imperialism and Colonialism (12 Lectures)

Paper I: Colonialism in India · B.A. (Hons.) Political Science · Semester I

The unit heading above is transcribed verbatim from the official course contents, including its published lecture allocation. The notes, key points and explanation below are original material written for this site.

Course applicability

University: University of Delhi
Programme: B.A. (Hons.) Political Science
Semester: Semester I
Course component: Core Discipline Paper
Subject: Political Science
Paper: Paper I: Colonialism in India

Marks pattern (official): Max Marks 100 = Theory Exam 75 + Internal Assessment 25. Teaching: 5 lectures + 1 tutorial per week (main papers).

Published lectures

Official subtopics

1 / 6

Unit position

60 lectures

Paper total

Official subtopics

Transcribed from the official course contents. These are the examinable headings inside this unit.

Brief History: Global and Indian
Main Perspectives on Colonialism: Liberalism, Marxism, Post-colonialism

Unit summary

Sets out the historical entry of European political control into India and compares the main interpretive lenses used to explain empire. Liberal accounts emphasise trade, administration and the spread of law; Marxist accounts stress extraction of surplus, revenue and economic drain; post-colonial accounts stress that colonial rule was constitutive — it created the institutions, categories and borders that still structure Indian politics.

Key points for this unit

Written for this site. Each point is written the way it should appear in an exam answer.

1Distinguish the three perspectives rather than listing them: liberal (trade and order), Marxist (extraction and surplus), post-colonial (institutions and identity).
2Global history matters as well as Indian history — locate India within nineteenth-century imperial expansion.
3Empire produced lasting political structures, so colonial legacy is examinable in present-day institutions.

Questions from this unit

Answer skeletons are included. Full set is on the paper's Important Questions page.

Long answer

Compare the liberal, Marxist and post-colonial perspectives on colonialism as they apply to India.

Show answer points

• Open by stating that the three perspectives differ on what colonialism fundamentally was and what its legacy is.
• Liberal: trade and markets, administrative rationalisation, law and order as eventual benefit — note the paternalist assumption that rule prepared India for self-government.
• Marxist: extraction of surplus, land revenue, drain of wealth, and deindustrialisation — colonialism as profit extraction rather than development.
• Post-colonial: colonialism was constitutive, not merely administrative — it created the institutions, the borders and the categories that still structure Indian politics.
• Close by arguing the perspectives are complementary as much as rival: each answers a different question about the same period.

Short answer

What is the "civilising mission" and why is it criticised?

Show answer points

• The claim that European rule would bring order, law, sanitation and progress to a society presumed to be in need of improvement.
• Criticised because it justifies rule by the standard of the ruler rather than consent of the ruled, and because it treated Indian traditions as a problem to be corrected.

All important questions for Paper I

Revision recap

Condensed recall items for this unit.

Definitions

• Imperialism — the policy or practice of extending power over another territory.
• Colonialism — the political, economic and cultural domination that follows conquest.
• Orientalism — the scholarly framing of Asia as ancient, sophisticated and civilised.
• Drain of wealth — the transfer of economic value out of a colony to the metropole.

Arguments to remember

• Liberal accounts treat colonialism as administration and trade that unintentionally prepared India for self-government.
• Marxist accounts treat colonialism as extraction: surplus, revenue and drain rather than development.
• Post-colonial accounts treat colonialism as constitutive — it built the institutions, borders and identities that still shape Indian politics.

Full revision sheet for Paper I

Foundations of Colonial Rule in India →

Back to Paper I hub Next unit Important questions Revision sheet PYQ hub

Course applicability

University

University of Delhi

Programme

B.A. (Hons.) Political Science

Semester

Semester I

Course component

Core Discipline Paper

Subject

Political Science

Paper

Paper I: Colonialism in India

Marks pattern (official): Max Marks 100 = Theory Exam 75 + Internal Assessment 25. Teaching: 5 lectures + 1 tutorial per week (main papers).

Unit summary

Key points for this unit

Written for this site. Each point is written the way it should appear in an exam answer.

1Distinguish the three perspectives rather than listing them: liberal (trade and order), Marxist (extraction and surplus), post-colonial (institutions and identity).

2Global history matters as well as Indian history — locate India within nineteenth-century imperial expansion.

3Empire produced lasting political structures, so colonial legacy is examinable in present-day institutions.

Questions from this unit

Answer skeletons are included. Full set is on the paper's Important Questions page.

Long answer

Compare the liberal, Marxist and post-colonial perspectives on colonialism as they apply to India.

Show answer points

• Open by stating that the three perspectives differ on what colonialism fundamentally was and what its legacy is.
• Liberal: trade and markets, administrative rationalisation, law and order as eventual benefit — note the paternalist assumption that rule prepared India for self-government.
• Marxist: extraction of surplus, land revenue, drain of wealth, and deindustrialisation — colonialism as profit extraction rather than development.
• Post-colonial: colonialism was constitutive, not merely administrative — it created the institutions, the borders and the categories that still structure Indian politics.
• Close by arguing the perspectives are complementary as much as rival: each answers a different question about the same period.

Short answer

What is the "civilising mission" and why is it criticised?

Show answer points

• The claim that European rule would bring order, law, sanitation and progress to a society presumed to be in need of improvement.
• Criticised because it justifies rule by the standard of the ruler rather than consent of the ruled, and because it treated Indian traditions as a problem to be corrected.

All important questions for Paper I

Revision recap

Condensed recall items for this unit.

Definitions

• Imperialism — the policy or practice of extending power over another territory.
• Colonialism — the political, economic and cultural domination that follows conquest.
• Orientalism — the scholarly framing of Asia as ancient, sophisticated and civilised.
• Drain of wealth — the transfer of economic value out of a colony to the metropole.

Arguments to remember

• Liberal accounts treat colonialism as administration and trade that unintentionally prepared India for self-government.
• Marxist accounts treat colonialism as extraction: surplus, revenue and drain rather than development.
• Post-colonial accounts treat colonialism as constitutive — it built the institutions, borders and identities that still shape Indian politics.

Full revision sheet for Paper I

Verified official syllabus source

Course applicability

Official subtopics

Unit summary

Key points for this unit

Questions from this unit

Revision recap

Definitions

Arguments to remember

Continue your revision

Verified official syllabus source

Course applicability

Official subtopics

Unit summary

Key points for this unit

Questions from this unit

Revision recap

Definitions

Arguments to remember

Continue your revision