BHIE 143 Solved Question Paper June 2026 gives you complete, exam-length answers to every item in the IGNOU History of Environment paper, from the energy audit and famines in Section I to ecofeminism and the Tehri Dam conflict in Section II. Below you can read two full answers before deciding.
BHIE 143 key facts
- Course code: BHIE 143 (printed as BHIE-143)
- Subject: History of Environment
- Programmes: Bachelor of Arts (Honours) History (BAHIH), Discipline Specific Elective, Semester V; Bachelor of Arts (General) (BAG), History
- Credits: 6 credits (three TMAs at 30% weightage, term-end exam at 70%)
- Units: 12 units on eGyanKosh
- Maximum marks: 100
- Duration: 3 hours
- Questions in the paper: 8 numbered questions = 14 answerable items (6 essays of 20 marks + 8 short-note options of 10 marks); attempt any 5, at least 2 from each section
- Samples shown on this page: 2 (Q2 early societies, Q5 ecological imperialism)
- Questions in the paid file: All 14 items solved, including the 12 not shown on this page
- Exam session: June 2026 term-end examination
What the BHIE 143 Solved Question Paper June 2026 includes
BHIE 143 History of Environment is a six-credit IGNOU course, offered as a Discipline Specific Elective in the BA (Honours) History programme and under History in the BA (General) programme.
The June 2026 paper has 8 numbered questions that open into 14 answerable items: six 20-mark essays and eight 10-mark short-note options. Our file answers all 14, so you can pick the five you are strongest in and still have a model for the rest.
The paper moves from the deep past to the present. Section I begins with the energy audit, then asks about human-nature bonds in early societies and the toll of famines and epidemics in the subcontinent. Section II turns to ecological imperialism, environmental law and the debate on ecofeminism, before short notes on Alma-Ata, Chipko and the Tehri Dam.
All questions on this page are copied from the official June 2026 BHIE-143 paper published by IGNOU, with the paper's own numbering and wording kept as printed.
Two solved BHIE 143 answers: early societies and ecological imperialism
Two complete answers are open below, one from each section: Q2 on early societies and Q5 on ecological imperialism. The other 12 items are answered only in the full file.
Q2. Examine the human-nature relationships in the early societies with special reference to animals and plants.
In early societies people did not stand outside nature; they lived inside it as one species among many, and their bond with animals and plants shifted from dependence to control as foraging gave way to farming. Historians rebuild this story from rock art, animal bones, plant remains and seals rather than from written texts.
Hunter-gatherers and dependence. Palaeolithic bands moved with the seasons, following game herds and fruiting cycles. Plants gave them tubers, nuts, fruit, fibre and medicine, while animals gave meat, hide and bone. The rock shelters of Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, carry paintings of bison, deer, boar and hunting scenes, which show animals as food, as danger and as subjects of ritual meaning.
This was not a perfectly gentle relationship. Foragers used fire to clear undergrowth and drive game, so even small populations reshaped their surroundings. Yet their footprint stayed light because numbers were low and movement was constant.
The Mesolithic shift. With the warmer Holocene climate, people used microliths and stayed longer at rich sites. In the Ganga plain, Sarai Nahar Rai, Mahadaha and Damdama in Pratapgarh district have yielded burials, hearths and bones of wild cattle, deer, pig, fish and turtle, along with grinding stones for wild seeds. Sites such as Bagor in Rajasthan and Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh have been read as early evidence of herding sheep and goat.
Domestication and control. At Mehrgarh in Balochistan, from around 7000 BCE, people grew barley and wheat and kept humped cattle, sheep and goat. Lahuradewa in Uttar Pradesh has given some of the earliest evidence of rice in the Ganga plain. Domestication changed the species themselves through selection, tied people to fields, opened forests for cultivation and brought humans and livestock into close and disease-prone contact.
Harappan attitudes. In the Indus cities, animals and plants entered belief and art. Seals show the humped bull, the unicorn, the elephant, the tiger and the rhinoceros, and the so-called Pashupati seal shows a seated figure ringed by animals. Pipal leaves appear on pottery, hinting at sacred plants. The economy rested on wheat, barley and cotton watered by the Indus floods, and scholars still debate whether heavy use of forests and soils added to urban decline.
Conclusion. The early human-nature relationship moved from close dependence to growing manipulation, yet reverence for animals and plants persisted alongside it. That mix of use and respect is the thread that later Indian traditions, studied in Unit 6, carried forward.
Q5. What do you understand by ecological imperialism ? Explain.
Ecological imperialism is the idea that European colonial expansion succeeded as much through biology as through guns and ships, because Europeans carried plants, animals and germs that remade the lands they settled. The term was made famous by Alfred W. Crosby in Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900 to 1900, published in 1986.
Background. Crosby had earlier written The Columbian Exchange (1972), which traced how crops, animals and microbes crossed the Atlantic after 1492. Ecological imperialism widened this into a long-term account of why Europeans came to dominate certain parts of the globe.
The portmanteau biota. Crosby argued that settlers brought a whole travelling kit of living things: horses, cattle, pigs and sheep, wheat and other grains, weeds, rats and, above all, pathogens. In lands with similar temperate climates these organisms often spread faster than the settlers did, turning native grasslands into pasture and farmland.
Neo-Europes and disease. Crosby called these regions the Neo-Europes: temperate North America, Argentina and Uruguay, Australia and New Zealand. Indigenous peoples had no immunity to smallpox and measles. A smallpox outbreak among the Aztecs in 1520 weakened Tenochtitlan before Cortes took the city in 1521. Feral cattle and horses multiplied on the pampas, and the Neo-Europes later became great exporters of grain and meat.
Why the tropics differed. In South Asia and much of Africa, dense populations and local diseases such as malaria killed Europeans in large numbers. No Neo-Europe emerged there. Instead, colonial power changed the environment through extraction: plantations, timber and commercial crops.
Critique and extension. Richard Grove, in Green Imperialism (1995), argued that empire also produced conservation thinking. Officials on tropical islands such as Mauritius and St Helena watched deforestation change rainfall and soils, and botanical gardens spread this knowledge. Critics also say Crosby leans towards biological determinism and gives too little weight to the choices and resistance of colonised people.
The Indian case. In India, ecological imperialism worked through the state. The Calcutta Botanic Garden was set up in 1787, the Forest Department in 1864 under Dietrich Brandis, and the Indian Forest Acts of 1865 and 1878 reserved forests and curbed shifting cultivation and customary rights. Teak and sal went into railway sleepers. Madhav Gadgil and Ramachandra Guha called colonial rule an ecological watershed for this reason.
Conclusion. Ecological imperialism explains the biological edge Europeans held in temperate lands, while Grove and the Indian evidence show that in the tropics the deeper change came from colonial science, law and markets.
Questions answered only in the full file
These are printed exactly as they appear in the June 2026 paper. Their answers, including the ecofeminism critique and the Rangarajan and Guha short note, are in the full file only.
- Q1. Discuss various perspectives on the energy audit.
- Q3. In what ways did the famines and epidemics devastated human life in the Indian subcontinent ?
- Q4. Write short notes on any two of the following in about 200 words each : 10+10
- (a) Environmental Ethics
- (b) Climate change and Human Migration
- (c) Indigenous Conservation Practices
- (d) Lakes in the Indian Philosophy
- Q6. Critically examine various legislatures and policy developments in the field of environment.
- Q7. Discuss ideological aspects of ‘gendered’ relationship with ecology. Provide critique of ecofeminism.
- Q8. Write short notes or any two of the following in about 200 words each : 10+10
- (a) Mahesh Rangarajan and Ramchandra Guha on Conservation
- (b) Alma-Ata Declaration
- (c) Bishnois and Chipko Movements
- (d) Tehri Dam Conflict
BHIE 143 History of Environment unit-wise syllabus
The course has 12 units on eGyanKosh, running from early hunter-gatherers to the role of the UN and NGOs today.
The table follows the unit list in the IGNOU BHIE-143 collection on eGyanKosh. Topics in the last column come from the unit titles and from questions IGNOU has set on each unit.
| Unit | Unit title | Topics examined from this unit |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Studying Environmental Concerns in History: A Perspective | Defining environmental history; environmental justice; the Anthropocene and Holocene debates |
| Unit 2 | Environment and Early Societies I: Hunting-Gathering and Nomadic Societies | Palaeolithic adaptation; Mesolithic hunter-fisher-gatherers of the Ganga valley; nomadic communities |
| Unit 3 | Environment and Early Societies II: River Valley Civilizations | Harappan water management; urbanisation and ecology; forests in the Vedic period |
| Unit 4 | Environment Issues in the Medieval Ages in India | Medieval water management; droughts and floods; flora, fauna and exotic animal exchange |
| Unit 5 | Early modern famines and epidemics; wildlife and forests in the early modern period | Early modern famines and epidemics; wildlife and forests in the early modern period |
| Unit 6 | Indian Philosophy and Environment | Forests, water and lakes in Indian thought; depictions of plants and animals |
| Unit 7 | History of conservation; indigenous conservation practices; energy use and energy audit | History of conservation; indigenous conservation practices; energy use and energy audit |
| Unit 8 | Colonialism and Environment: Green Imperialism | Crosby and Grove on ecological imperialism; botany as an imperial science; colonial forest acts |
| Unit 9 | Debates on Environment and Health | Epidemics and disease; Alma-Ata Declaration; National Health Policies of 1983 and 2017 |
| Unit 10 | Development and Environmental Concerns in Post-Colonial Societies | Development theories from Latin America; big dams and displacement; sustainable development |
| Unit 11 | Gender and Environment | Ecofeminism and its ideology; Indian ecofeminism; critiques of the women-nature link |
| Unit 12 | Role of UN, NGOs etc. | Greenpeace; Silent Valley and Chipko; civil society and globalisation |
If you want to read the units themselves before the exam, our BHIE 143 Study Material follows the same 12-unit order, so each answer in the solved paper points you to the right chapter.
IGNOU BHIE 143 Question Paper pattern and marks
The paper is out of 100 marks in 3 hours: attempt any five questions, at least two from each section, with essays of about 400 words and short notes of about 200.
| Section | Questions | Format | Marks | June 2026 themes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section I | Q1, Q2, Q3 | 3 essays, about 400 words each | 20 each | Energy audit, early societies, famines and epidemics |
| Section I | Q4 (a) to (d) | Any 2 of 4 short notes, about 200 words each | 10 + 10 | Ethics, migration, indigenous conservation, lakes |
| Section II | Q5, Q6, Q7 | 3 essays, about 400 words each | 20 each | Ecological imperialism, legislation, ecofeminism |
| Section II | Q8 (a) to (d) | Any 2 of 4 short notes, about 200 words each | 10 + 10 | Rangarajan and Guha, Alma-Ata, Chipko, Tehri Dam |
Each short-note question counts as one of your five choices, so two 200-word notes earn the same 20 marks as one essay. Many students pick Q4 or Q8 because the notes are narrower, but the notes still need dates and names to score well.
The same pattern applies to every History elective in the programme, which is why our BAG Question Paper collection uses the same section split for other courses.
BHIE 143 topics IGNOU keeps setting, December 2022 to June 2026
Gender and ecology, early societies, and development all appeared in 6 of the 7 earlier BHIE 143 papers we checked, and each came back again in June 2026.
We counted topics across the official papers for December 2022, June 2023, December 2023, June 2024, December 2024, June 2025 and December 2025, taken from ignou.ac.in and webservices.ignou.ac.in. We could not retrieve a June 2022 paper, so the count covers seven sessions, not five full years.
| Topic | Sessions it appeared in | Count (of 7) | In June 2026 paper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender and ecology, ecofeminism | Jun 2023, Dec 2023, Jun 2024, Dec 2024, Jun 2025, Dec 2025 | 6 | Yes, Q7 |
| Hunter-gatherers, nomads and early societies | Jun 2023, Dec 2023, Jun 2024, Dec 2024, Jun 2025, Dec 2025 | 6 | Yes, Q2 |
| Development and environment, development theories | Dec 2022, Dec 2023, Jun 2024, Dec 2024, Jun 2025, Dec 2025 | 6 | Yes, Q8(d) Tehri Dam |
| Water, forests, plants and animals in Indian philosophy | Dec 2022, Dec 2023, Dec 2024, Jun 2025, Dec 2025 | 5 | Yes, Q4(d) |
| Greenpeace, Silent Valley and other movements | Dec 2022, Dec 2023, Jun 2024, Dec 2024, Jun 2025 | 5 | Yes, Q8(c) |
| Famines, epidemics and natural calamities | Jun 2023, Dec 2023, Jun 2024, Dec 2025 | 4 | Yes, Q3 |
| Health policy and Alma-Ata | Jun 2023, Dec 2023, Jun 2024, Dec 2025 | 4 | Yes, Q8(b) |
| History of conservation | Dec 2022, Dec 2023, Dec 2024, Jun 2025 | 4 | Yes, Q8(a) |
| Ecological imperialism (Crosby and Grove) | Jun 2023, Dec 2024, Jun 2025 | 3 | Yes, Q5 |
| Indigenous conservation practices | Jun 2024, Dec 2024, Jun 2025 | 3 | Yes, Q4(c) |
| Environmental justice and ethics | Dec 2024, Jun 2025, Dec 2025 | 3 | Yes, Q4(a) |
| Colonial environmental acts and conservation | Dec 2023, Dec 2024, Dec 2025 | 3 | Yes, Q6 |
| Botany as an imperial science | Dec 2022, Jun 2024, Dec 2025 | 3 | No |
| Energy, solar power and energy audit | Jun 2024, Dec 2025 | 2 | Yes, Q1 |
Twelve of these fourteen themes returned in June 2026, which tells you how closely the course sticks to its core. For a wider list built from these patterns across courses, see our IGNOU Important Questions page.
How our History of Environment answers are written and checked
Every answer is planned against the IGNOU unit it comes from, written to the printed word limit, and checked for dates, laws and authors before it goes into the file.
We start from the June 2026 paper itself and map each item to its eGyanKosh unit. Then we read the earlier BHIE 143 papers to see how IGNOU has phrased the same theme before. For example, ecological imperialism was asked through Crosby and Grove in June 2023, so our Q5 answer covers both.
We use only facts a student can check: the 1878 Indian Forest Act, the 1978 Alma-Ata Declaration, the 1973 start of Chipko in the Garhwal Himalaya. If you want to test yourself first, download the past papers from our IGNOU Previous Year Question Paper page.
Prateek Talwar writes the answers and Sheetal Kirola reviews each one for accuracy and length. That two-person check is how the IGNOU BHIE 143 Solved Question Paper keeps essays close to 400 words and notes close to 200.
BHIE 143 solved file index: all 14 items mapped to units
All 14 answerable items are listed below with their section, marks and unit; 2 are open on this page and 12 are in the full file only.
| Item | Question as printed | Section and marks | Course unit | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Discuss various perspectives on the energy audit. | Section I, 20 marks | Energy audit | Full file only |
| Q2 | Examine the human-nature relationships in the early societies with special reference to animals and plants. | Section I, 20 marks | Units 2 and 3 | On this page |
| Q3 | In what ways did the famines and epidemics devastated human life in the Indian subcontinent ? | Section I, 20 marks | Famines and epidemics; Unit 9 | Full file only |
| Q4(a) | Environmental Ethics | Section I, 10 marks | Unit 1 | Full file only |
| Q4(b) | Climate change and Human Migration | Section I, 10 marks | Unit 2 | Full file only |
| Q4(c) | Indigenous Conservation Practices | Section I, 10 marks | Indigenous conservation practices | Full file only |
| Q4(d) | Lakes in the Indian Philosophy | Section I, 10 marks | Unit 6 | Full file only |
| Q5 | What do you understand by ecological imperialism ? Explain. | Section II, 20 marks | Unit 8 | On this page |
| Q6 | Critically examine various legislatures and policy developments in the field of environment. | Section II, 20 marks | Units 8 and 10 | Full file only |
| Q7 | Discuss ideological aspects of ‘gendered’ relationship with ecology. Provide critique of ecofeminism. | Section II, 20 marks | Unit 11 | Full file only |
| Q8(a) | Mahesh Rangarajan and Ramchandra Guha on Conservation | Section II, 10 marks | Unit 10 | Full file only |
| Q8(b) | Alma-Ata Declaration | Section II, 10 marks | Unit 9 | Full file only |
| Q8(c) | Bishnois and Chipko Movements | Section II, 10 marks | Units 11 and 12 | Full file only |
| Q8(d) | Tehri Dam Conflict | Section II, 10 marks | Unit 10 | Full file only |
IGNOU programmes that carry BHIE 143
BHIE 143 is a Discipline Specific Elective in Semester V of the BA (Honours) History (BAHIH) and is also offered under History in the BA (General) (BAG).
If you are in the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) History programme, this course sits alongside your other fifth-semester electives and carries six credits towards the degree.
BAG learners who choose History as a discipline sit the same BHIE-143 paper. The June 2026 question paper names both programmes on its cover, so one solved file serves both groups. Hindi-medium learners should note that eGyanKosh also hosts the course as Paryavaran ka Itihas.
Get the full BHIE 143 Solved Question Paper on WhatsApp
Send BHIE 143 June 2026 on WhatsApp to 9899436384 and our team will share the price and send the complete file of 14 answers.
The full file includes the 2 answers you read above plus the 12 that are not shown here: the energy audit, famines and epidemics, all four Section I notes, environmental legislation, the ecofeminism critique and all four Section II notes. The BHIE 143 Solved Question Paper arrives as a PDF you can read on your phone or print.
Questions students ask about BHIE 143 History of Environment
Short answers to what students ask most about the BHIE 143 History of Environment paper and the solved file.
What does the BHIE 143 Solved Question Paper June 2026 contain?
It contains complete answers to all 14 answerable items of the June 2026 BHIE 143 History of Environment paper: six 20-mark essays and eight 10-mark short notes. Essays run close to 400 words and short notes close to 200, as the paper asks. Each answer is mapped to its eGyanKosh unit, so you can revise the matching chapter before the exam.
How do I get the full BHIE 143 solved file on WhatsApp?
Send a WhatsApp message to 9899436384 with the code BHIE 143 and the session June 2026. Our team replies with the price and sends the PDF once payment is done. The full file has all 14 answers, which means the 2 shown on this page plus 12 that appear only in the file, including ecofeminism, Alma-Ata and the Tehri Dam conflict.
Is BHIE 143 History of Environment a 6-credit course?
Yes. The IGNOU assignment booklet for 2025-26 calls BHIE 143 History of Environment a six-credit Discipline Elective Course, so learners submit three tutor marked assignments. Assignments carry 30 per cent weightage and the term-end exam carries 70 per cent. The term-end paper is out of 100 marks, runs for 3 hours and asks you to attempt five questions.
Which BHIE 143 topics repeat most in IGNOU question papers?
Across the seven papers we checked, from December 2022 to December 2025, gender and ecology, early societies, and development and environment each appeared in six sessions. Indian philosophy on water, forests and lakes appeared in five, as did movements such as Greenpeace and Silent Valley. Most of these topics returned again in the June 2026 BHIE 143 paper.
How long should a BHIE 143 History of Environment answer be?
The June 2026 BHIE 143 paper asks for about 400 words for each 20-mark essay and about 200 words for each 10-mark short note. You attempt five questions in all, with at least two from each section. In three hours that leaves roughly 30 to 35 minutes per question, so practise writing to the word limit rather than beyond it.
Which IGNOU programmes include BHIE 143?
BHIE 143 History of Environment is listed on eGyanKosh as a Discipline Specific Elective in Semester V of the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) History (BAHIH). It is also listed under History in the Bachelor of Arts (General) (BAG). The June 2026 paper itself names both programmes, so the same solved file serves BAG and BAHIH learners alike.
Are the BHIE 143 answers based on IGNOU study material?
Yes. Each BHIE 143 answer is built on the twelve units of the IGNOU self learning material on eGyanKosh, from Studying Environmental Concerns in History to the Role of UN and NGOs. We add verifiable dates, laws and authors, such as Alfred Crosby on ecological imperialism, so each answer reads like the work of a well-prepared student.
Will the BHIE 143 solved paper help for the December 2026 exam?
It helps, because BHIE 143 repeats its themes heavily. Ecological imperialism, indigenous conservation, climate change and migration, and lakes in Indian philosophy all came back in June 2026 after appearing in earlier sessions. Studying these 14 answers covers the core of the History of Environment syllabus, though nobody can promise which questions IGNOU will set in December 2026.