NCERT Class 12 History Book: All 3 Parts, Chapters and PDFs

The Class 12 History book is not one volume: NCERT prints this subject as three separate textbooks, Themes in Indian History Part I, Part II and Part III, and all three are linked below.

The split matters because a chapter number alone does not tell you which book to open. Chapters 1–4 sit in Part I, chapters 5–8 in Part II and chapters 9–12 in Part III.

NCERT numbers the pages continuously across all three volumes: 1 to 344. So a page reference such as “p. 150” belongs to Part II, not Part I. Between them the three books hold 12 chapters, 345 printed pages, 161 named sections we could index and 73 verified numbered figures.

The table below routes each volume: its chapter range, its printed pages and a link to its own page.

All Class 12 History chapter names, and which volume holds them

If you know only the chapter name, this list is the fastest route to its volume. Every chapter of the set appears below as our index records it.

Themes in Indian History Part I (chapters 1–4)

• Chapter 1 (pages 1–27): the Harappan civilisation chapter — seals, weights, the Citadel; indexed under the placeholder title “Theme”.
• Chapter 2 (pages 28–52): “Kings, Farmers and Towns”.
• Chapter 3 (pages 53–82): the kinship, caste and class chapter; indexed under the placeholder title “Theme”.
• Chapter 4 (pages 82–114): the thinkers, beliefs and buildings chapter; indexed under “Theme Four”.

Themes in Indian History Part II (chapters 5–8)

• Chapter 5 (pages 115–139): “Through the Eyes of Travellers”.
• Chapter 6 (pages 140–169): the Bhakti-Sufi traditions chapter; indexed under “Theme Six”.
• Chapter 7 (pages 170–195): “An Imperial Capital”.
• Chapter 8 (pages 196–226): “Peasants, Zamindars” — Mughal agrarian society.

Themes in Indian History Part III (chapters 9–12)

• Chapter 9 (pages 227–257): “Colonialism and the” — the colonial countryside in Bengal.
• Chapter 10 (pages 258–285): “Rebels and the Raj”.
• Chapter 11 (pages 286–315): the Gandhi and nationalist movement chapter; indexed under “Theme Eleven”.
• Chapter 12 (pages 316–344): the Constitution chapter; indexed under “Theme Twelve”.

Six of the twelve titles are placeholders in our index because the printed title could not be read from the edition we hold; those chapters are identified by their content instead. For the full contents of any volume, use its row in the table above.

How to choose the right Class 12 History book for the CBSE syllabus

The direct rule is: chapters 1–4 are Part I, chapters 5–8 are Part II and chapters 9–12 are Part III. If you know the chapter number, you know the volume — no further checking is needed.

Three quick tests give the same answer:

• By chapter number. Chapters 1–4 → Part I; 5–8 → Part II; 9–12 → Part III. A question on Chapter 7 is a Part II question.
• By period. Ancient India is Part I, medieval India is Part II, colonial and modern India is Part III. The Mauryas are ancient; Vijayanagara is medieval; the 1857 revolt is colonial.
• By what the teacher called it. “Part 1”, “Book 1” and “Themes I” all mean Part I. “Part 2” or “Themes II” means Part II; “Part 3” or “Themes III” means Part III.

Two traps catch students even when they know the rule. Page numbers run continuously from 1 to 344 across the set, so a reference such as “p. 150” is in Part II (pages 115–226), not Part I. Chapter numbers never restart: there is exactly one Chapter 3 in the subject, and it is in Part I.

History is one subject on the CBSE timetable printed as three books, so schools usually buy them as a set. If none of these tests fit, check the Class 12 hub for the set we index.

Class 12 History at a glance: what each volume covers

Part I covers ancient India. It opens with the Harappan civilisation, then moves through the mahajanapadas and the Mauryan empire to kinship, caste and class, and closes with the religious worlds of Buddhism, stupas and temple Hinduism. Any ancient-history chapter sits in this first volume.

Part II is the medieval volume. Its chapters study the subcontinent through the travellers Al-Biruni, Ibn Battuta and Bernier, the Bhakti-Sufi traditions, the Vijayanagara capital and Mughal agrarian society. A chapter on any of these topics belongs here.

Part III carries colonial and modern India: the colonial countryside in Bengal, the revolt of 1857, Gandhi and the nationalist movement, and the framing of the Constitution after Independence.

How to use the official NCERT History PDFs for Class 12

The official Class 12 NCERT History book PDFs are free on ncert.nic.in, and NCERT publishes each chapter as its own file rather than one PDF per volume.

There are 12 chapter files in all, named lehs101 to lehs304 in chapter order:

• Part I: lehs101–lehs104 (chapters 1–4)
• Part II: lehs201–lehs204 (chapters 5–8)
• Part III: lehs301–lehs304 (chapters 9–12)

For instance, the official PDF of Chapter 1 — the Harappan civilisation chapter that opens Themes in Indian History Part I — is at https://ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/lehs101.pdf, and it opens directly in any browser without a login.

To find the files by browsing, go to ncert.nic.in, open Textbooks, choose Class XII, then History, and select Themes in Indian History Part I, II or III. You can also use the NCERT books directory on this site to jump straight to a volume’s page.

NCERT publishes the textbooks, editions and PDFs; CBSE sets the curriculum, syllabus and examinations. Textbook contents and the examinable syllabus are not always identical — check the current official CBSE syllabus before deciding what to revise.

Where to go next

Each volume’s row in the table above links to its own page with the full chapter contents of that book. For the other Class 12 books this directory indexes, use the Class 12 hub, or start from the full NCERT books directory and filter down by class and subject.

Sources and data verification

The figures on this page come from the NCERT Class XII History textbook editions this directory indexes: Themes in Indian History Part I, Part II and Part III, as published in the official PDFs on ncert.nic.in.

The dataset covers 12 chapters across 345 printed pages, with 161 named sections we could index and 73 verified numbered figures. It is not the books’ full contents: six chapter titles are placeholders because the printed title could not be read from the edition we hold, and a few sections sit under a chapter their own printed number contradicts.

This listing is maintained for the 2026-27 academic session.

NCERT settles textbooks, editions and PDFs; CBSE settles curriculum, syllabus and examinations.

Frequently asked questions

How many NCERT books are there for Class 12 History?

Three. Themes in Indian History Part I holds chapters 1–4, Part II holds chapters 5–8, and Part III holds chapters 9–12.

Which book is the Harappan civilisation chapter in?

Themes in Indian History Part I, Chapter 1. In our index this chapter is recorded under the placeholder title “Theme” and is identified by its sections — seals, weights and the Citadel.

Which volume has the chapter on the 1857 revolt (Rebels and the Raj)?

Part III, Chapter 10, titled “Rebels and the Raj”.

Are the Class 12 History book PDFs official and free?

Yes. NCERT publishes all 12 chapters as free official PDFs on ncert.nic.in, one file per chapter — lehs101 to lehs304.

Why do the page numbers in Part II not start from 1?

Because NCERT numbers the three volumes continuously. Part I ends at page 114, Part II runs pages 115–226, and Part III runs pages 227–344, so a page reference alone tells you the volume.

Reference: NCERT Class 12 History textbooks, official editions on ncert.nic.in.