Class 12 History Book Themes in Indian History II — What’s Inside Each Chapter

The NCERT Class 12 History book Themes in Indian History II is the second volume of the Themes in Indian History series, and this page carries the official NCERT PDF for all four of its chapters — Chapter 5 to Chapter 8.

These are NCERT’s own files, hosted on ncert.nic.in (lehs201 to lehs204), so the download table below is the book itself, not a third-party copy. What the PDF alone does not show is how the book is built.

This page adds a chapter-by-chapter breakdown of the named sections, indexed figures and printed pages measured from the book, so a student can see where a topic sits before opening the file.

Class 12 History Book Themes in Indian History II: official chapter PDFs

Every file below is NCERT’s own PDF, hosted on ncert.nic.in under the file names lehs201 to lehs204. The official NCERT PDF for Chapter 5, Through the Eyes of Travellers, is at ncert.nic.in/textbook/pdf/lehs201.pdf — open it to see how the chapter reads before you begin, and use the table to pull each chapter you need.

The History Class 12 book PDF at a glance

• 4 chapters in the book — Chapter 5 to Chapter 8
• 112 printed pages across the four chapters
• 47 named sections we were able to index from the textbook
• 25 verified numbered figures indexed from the textbook
• All four chapter PDFs verified from ncert.nic.in and listed above
• Chapter study pages — linked below where they exist, marked where not yet built

No figure here is rounded or estimated — each is a count that can be checked against the PDF. Textbook contents and the examinable syllabus are not always identical, so check the current official syllabus before deciding what to skip.

Class 12 history chapters — what each theme covers

What do the columns count? A section is one of NCERT’s own numbered headings; a figure is a numbered figure indexed from the textbook; activities and questions are counted from the chapter as indexed.

The printed numbering inside the chapters is uneven — Chapter 6 runs labels 1.1 to 8.3 with gaps, Chapter 7 opens at 2.1, and Chapter 8 skips a 3.x block — so the topics below are listed exactly as printed, never renumbered.

Every number in the table can be checked against the PDF above.

The volume divides its weight unevenly. Chapter 6 spreads across 16 of the 47 indexed sections — the most of any chapter — while Chapter 7 teaches with 9.

Chapter 7 carries 11 of the 25 indexed figures, so its monuments do much of the teaching. Chapter 8 runs the longest at 31 pages with only 2 indexed figures, and Chapter 5, at 25 pages, is the one that introduces how the whole volume reads its sources.

Which source does each chapter study?

A chapter in this volume is best understood by the kind of evidence it works from — an eyewitness account, a body of devotional verse, a ruined capital, or a revenue record. The table below lines each chapter up with its main source material.

Chapter 5: Through the Eyes of Travellers (pp. 115-139)

This chapter reads the subcontinent through the accounts of outsiders who travelled into it. The load-bearing sources are Al-Biruni, whose Kitab-ul-Hind grew out of his journey from Khwarizm to the Punjab, and Ibn Battuta, the early globe-trotter whose travels took in Indian cities and their ways of life.

Between them they carry the chapter’s main subjects — travellers’ accounts as historical sources, the condition of Indian cities, and the caste system as a traveller described it.

Twelve named sections, with the page each begins on:

1. From Khwarizm to the Punjab (p. 116)
2. The Kitab-ul-Hind (p. 117)
3. An early globe-trotter (p. 118)
4. The “enjoyment of curiosities” (p. 120)
5. Comparing “East” and “West” (p. 122)
6. Overcoming barriers to understanding (p. 124)
7. Al-Biruni’s description of the caste system (p. 124)
8. The coconut and the paan (p. 126)
9. Ibn Battuta and Indian cities (p. 127)
10. A unique system of communication (p. 129)
11. The question of landownership (p. 130)
12. A more complex social reality (p. 133)

At 25 pages with 12 named sections and 6 indexed figures, this is the book’s shortest chapter — and the one that sets up how a source gets read in the rest of the volume.

Chapter 6: Theme Six (pp. 140-169)

This chapter traces how religious beliefs and devotional traditions took shape across the subcontinent.

It moves from the integration of cults and the conflicts that came with it, to the Alvars and Nayanars of Tamil Nadu and their relations with the state, through the popular practice of Islam and life in the Chishti khanqah.

It closes with the verses of Kabir, Baba Guru Nanak and Mirabai.

Sixteen named sections, with the page each begins on:

1. The integration of cults (p. 141)
2. Difference and conflict (p. 142)
3. The Alvars and Nayanars of Tamil Nadu (p. 143)
4. Relations with the state (p. 145)
5. Faiths of rulers and subjects (p. 149)
6. The popular practice of Islam (p. 151)
7. Names for communities (p. 152)
8. Khanqahs and silsilas (p. 153)
9. Outside the khanqah (p. 154)
10. Life in the Chishti khanqah (p. 154)
11. Chishti devotionalism: ziyarat and qawwali (p. 155)
12. Languages and communication (p. 158)
13. Sufis and the state (p. 159)
14. Weaving a divine fabric: Kabir (p. 161)
15. Baba Guru Nanak and the Sacred Word (p. 163)
16. Mirabai, the devotee princess (p. 164)

With 30 pages and 16 named sections — the most in the book — and 6 indexed figures, this is the volume’s most section-divided chapter.

Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital (pp. 170-195)

This chapter studies Vijayanagara as an imperial capital — how kings and traders built and sustained the city, how the rayas and nayakas governed it, and how water resources, fortifications and the urban core organised the space around the royal centre.

Nine named sections, with the page each begins on:

1. Kings and traders (p. 172)
2. The apogee and decline of the empire (p. 173)
3. The rayas and the nayakas (p. 175)
4. Water resources (p. 177)
5. Fortifications and roads (p. 177)
6. The urban core (p. 178)
7. The mahanavami dibba (p. 180)
8. Other buildings in the royal centre (p. 181)
9. Choosing a capital (p. 184)

With 26 pages, 9 named sections and 11 of the book’s 25 indexed figures, this is the volume’s most figure-heavy chapter — which is why the monuments themselves, from the Lotus Mahal to the Virupaksha temple, carry so much of the argument.

Chapter 8: Peasants, Zamindars (pp. 196-226)

This chapter reconstructs the agrarian society of the Mughal Empire — peasants and their lands, irrigation and technology, caste and the rural milieu, panchayats and headmen, and village artisans. Its last sections push beyond settled villages into the forest world and the inroads made into it.

Ten named sections, with the page each begins on:

1. Looking for sources (p. 197)
2. Peasants and their lands (p. 197)
3. Irrigation and technology (p. 198)
4. An abundance of crops (p. 200)
5. Caste and the rural milieu (p. 201)
6. Panchayats and headmen (p. 202)
7. Village artisans (p. 204)
8. A “little republic”? (p. 205)
9. Beyond settled villages (p. 208)
10. Inroads into forests (p. 208)

At 31 pages this is the longest chapter in the book, with 10 named sections and only 2 indexed figures — Fig. 8.2 on p. 199 and Fig. 8.16 on p. 223 — so the weight sits in written sources rather than images.

Chapter pages and study guides

Below, each chapter’s study page on this site is listed where one exists — chapters not yet built are marked and stay unlinked.

How to use the Class 12 NCERT history book PDF

One honest order of work for this book, grounded in how the four chapters are actually built:

1. Begin with Chapter 5, Through the Eyes of Travellers — the shortest at 25 pages. Al-Biruni and Ibn Battuta are the introduction to how the whole volume reads sources.
2. Move to Chapter 6, Theme Six — the most section-divided of the four, with 16 named sections indexed. Track the devotional traditions and the Sufis against state power as you go.
3. Study Chapter 7 with the images. Its 11 indexed figures mean the architecture carries the argument — look at the monuments as evidence before you read the prose about them.
4. Finish with Chapter 8, Peasants, Zamindars — the longest at 31 pages and the lightest on figures (2). The written records on peasants, zamindars and village institutions carry the load here, so read the early section on sources carefully.

Textbook contents and the examinable syllabus are not always identical — check the current official syllabus before deciding what to skip.

Which Class 12 history book do you need?

Part of the confusion is that the Class 12 history NCERT book is a series, not a single file. This page covers Themes in Indian History Part II, whose chapters run 5 to 8.

A search for “history chapter 1 class 12” or “class 12 history chapter 4” will not be answered by this file — those chapters belong to the earlier volume of the same series, and the chapters after 8 continue in the later volume.

The Class 12 History hub on this site indexes what this site holds for the subject.

Related NCERT books and class pages

• Class 12 NCERT books hub — every Class 12 subject listed on this site
• All NCERT books by class — the root of the book directory
• Class 12 History — the subject page that ties the Themes in Indian History volumes together

Sources and data verification

This listing is maintained for the 2026-27 academic session using the NCERT textbook information available to us. NCERT remains the authority for confirming the latest edition.

• The figures, sections and page numbers on this page describe the NCERT textbook Themes in Indian History Part II (Class 12), official edition hosted on ncert.nic.in.
• This page covers that one book — its four chapters, 5 to 8 — and not the other volumes of the Themes in Indian History series or other Class 12 subjects.
• This listing is maintained for the current academic session, using the NCERT editions and official PDFs currently listed on ncert.nic.in.
• NCERT settles textbooks, editions and PDFs; CBSE settles the curriculum, syllabus and examinations.

Reference: NCERT Class 12 History textbook, official edition on ncert.nic.in. Figure captions and section titles quoted from the textbook; page references are to the official PDF.

Questions students ask about this book

How many chapters are in the Class 12 History book Themes in Indian History Part II?

Four — Chapters 5 to 8 — running across 112 printed pages. Chapter 5 studies travellers’ accounts, Chapter 6 devotional traditions, Chapter 7 Vijayanagara, and Chapter 8 the agrarian order of the Mughal Empire.

Is the Themes in Indian History Part II PDF official and free?

Yes. NCERT publishes the files itself on ncert.nic.in (lehs201 to lehs204), and all four links sit in the download table above. No login or payment is involved.

Which chapter covers Al-Biruni, Ibn Battuta and travellers’ accounts?

Chapter 5, Through the Eyes of Travellers (pp. 115-139). The sections on the Kitab-ul-Hind and Ibn Battuta’s Indian cities are where those accounts are read.

Which chapter covers Vijayanagara?

Chapter 7, An Imperial Capital (pp. 170-195) — the sections on water resources, fortifications, the urban core and the mahanavami dibba. It is also the book’s most figure-heavy chapter.

I searched “history chapter 1 class 12” — is it in this book?

No — this volume opens at Chapter 5. Chapters 1 to 4 are in the earlier volume of the same series, and the chapters after 8 continue in the later volume.