BHIC 132 key facts: June 2026
- Course code: BHIC-132
- Subject: History of India from c. 300 CE to 1206
- Programmes: Bachelor of Arts (General) BAG and Bachelor of Arts (Multidisciplinary) BAM
- Credits: 6 (core course, three tutor-marked assignments)
- Maximum marks: 100 (term-end exam 70 per cent, assignments 30 per cent)
- Duration: 3 hours
- Questions in the June 2026 paper: 8 in two sections; answer any 5, at least 2 from each section
- Expected length: about 400 words per essay, 200 words per short note
- Sample answers shown on this page: 2 (Q1 and Q7); all 8 questions in the paid file
BHIC 132 Solved Question Paper for the June 2026 term-end exam gives you the official IGNOU paper with complete, exam-length answers written by our history team. Two answers are open on this page so you can judge the quality yourself; the full file with answers to all 8 questions comes on WhatsApp.
1. What the June 2026 Solved Paper Covers
BHIC 132 History of India from c. 300 CE to 1206 is a 6-credit core history course in IGNOU's Bachelor of Arts (General) and Bachelor of Arts (Multidisciplinary) programmes, and its June 2026 paper tested it through 8 questions in two sections.
The paper moves from the Gupta state to the Turkish conquest. Section I asks about Gupta administration, the Rashtrakutas, the Rajput origin debate and caste proliferation between c. 700 and 1200 CE. Section II covers Turkish military success, Puranic Hinduism, Harsha's rule and four short-note options.
One change stands out. Agrarian relations and land grants, asked in every official paper from June 2024 to December 2025, did not appear this time. Instead, Section I carries four full essays with no short notes, so students who had banked on a Section I short-note question had to write a fourth long answer.
Every answer in our file follows the unit structure of the official IGNOU self-learning material, so what you revise matches what the examiner expects to read.
2. Two Answers Solved in Full, Six Held Back
Two complete answers are shown here, Question 1 on Gupta administration from Section I and Question 7 on the nature of Harsha's rule from Section II.
An essay on Gupta administration
Question 1: Write an essay on the Gupta administration. (20)
Introduction. The Guptas built the largest north Indian empire after the Mauryas, beginning with Chandragupta I and the era that starts in 319-20 CE. Their administration joined a powerful, glorified monarchy to a layered system of officials, local bodies and tributary rulers, and it was less centralised than the Mauryan model.
The king
Gupta rulers took grand titles such as maharajadhiraja, paramabhattaraka and parameshvara. Harishena's Allahabad prashasti compares Samudragupta to the gods Kubera, Varuna, Indra and Yama, which shows how kingship was linked to divinity. Succession was not fixed by primogeniture: the same inscription says Chandragupta I chose Samudragupta as heir in open court.
Ministers and officials
The king was assisted by the mantrin and by the sandhivigrahika, the minister of peace and war. Harishena himself held the posts of sandhivigrahika, kumaramatya and mahadandanayaka, so one person could combine several offices. The kumaramatyas formed a cadre of high officers posted at the centre and in the provinces.
Offices often became hereditary. The Karamdanda inscription records Shikharasvamin as a mantrin of Chandragupta II and his son Prithvishena as mantrin and kumaramatya under Kumaragupta I. Hereditary office gave stability but weakened royal control over the service.
Provinces and local government
The empire was divided into bhuktis (provinces) under an uparika, bhuktis into vishayas (districts) under a vishayapati, and below them vithis and villages under the gramika. The Damodarpur copper plates from north Bengal show a district office in which the nagarashreshthi, sarthavaha, prathama-kulika and prathama-kayastha took part, so guild heads, merchants, artisans and scribes shared local administration.
Revenue and public works
The main land tax was bhaga, the king's share of the produce, along with bali, bhoga, udranga and uparikara. The state also maintained irrigation: Skandagupta's Junagadh inscription records the repair of the Sudarshana lake by Chakrapalita, son of the governor Parnadatta.
Army and tributary rulers
Military officers such as the mahabaladhikrita and mahadandanayaka led the forces. In the south, Samudragupta followed a policy of capturing kings and then releasing and reinstating them, while frontier states paid tribute and attended court. Much of the empire was therefore held through subordinate rulers rather than direct rule.
Justice and land grants
Legal ideas were set out in the Narada and Brihaspati smritis. Faxian, who travelled in India during Chandragupta II's reign, reports mild punishments, mostly fines. Gupta kings also issued agrahara grants to brahmanas with revenue rights, a practice that gradually transferred state authority to local holders.
Conclusion. Gupta administration rested on a strong monarchy, hereditary officials and active local bodies, but its dependence on tributary rulers and land grants made it decentralised. These features became the base of the early medieval polity that followed.
An essay on the nature of Harsha's rule
Question 7: Write an essay on the nature of Harsha's rule. (20)
Introduction. Harshavardhana of the Pushyabhuti family ruled from 606 to 647 CE. After his brother Rajyavardhana was killed by Shashanka of Gauda, and his sister Rajyashri's husband, the Maukhari king Grahavarman, was killed, Harsha took charge of Thanesar and Kannauj and made Kannauj his capital.
Sources
We know his rule from Bana's Harshacharita, the travel account of the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang and his biography by Hui Li, the Banskhera and Madhuban copper plates, and the Sonpat and Nalanda seals. Bana was Harsha's court poet, so his account needs careful reading.
Extent and limits of power
Harsha controlled much of the Ganga valley, and Chalukya records call him sakalottarapathanatha, lord of the whole north. His southward push failed: the Aihole inscription of Pulakeshin II (634 CE) records Harsha's defeat, and the Narmada became the limit of his power.
Personal monarchy
Harsha's rule depended heavily on the king himself. Xuanzang describes him dividing his day between state business and religious work and moving constantly through his territory on tours of inspection. He held a great assembly at Kannauj in 643 CE and the five-yearly distribution at Prayag, where he gave away his treasure.
Feudal features
The copper plates name officials such as the mahasamanta, maharaja, kumaramatya, uparika and vishayapati, and many conquered rulers stayed in place as samantas. Xuanzang notes that ministers and officials were given land for their support, and that crown land was divided into four parts, so salaries in land were replacing cash.
Revenue and law
According to Xuanzang the land tax was one-sixth of the produce, taxes were light and labour for the state was paid. Yet roads were not fully safe; Xuanzang was robbed during his travels, and punishments for serious crimes included mutilation and exile.
Religion and culture
His inscriptions call Harsha parama-maheshvara, a devotee of Shiva, but he became a great patron of Mahayana Buddhism and of Nalanda, while also honouring other faiths. He wrote three Sanskrit plays, Ratnavali, Priyadarshika and Nagananda, and kept Bana at his court.
The historians' debate
Older historians such as V.A. Smith saw Harsha as the last great emperor of north India. Later scholars stress that his empire rested on samantas and personal loyalty, which is why it broke up soon after his death in 647 CE without an heir.
Conclusion. Harsha's rule was a personal, feudal monarchy: energetic and culturally brilliant, mild in taxation, but held together by the king's presence and the support of subordinate rulers rather than a strong central machinery.
3. Questions Answered Only in the Full File
The remaining 6 questions are printed below exactly as they appear in the June 2026 paper.
Section I
Question 2: Who were the Rashtrakutas? Write a note on the Rashtrakuta Empire. (20)
Question 3: Critically examine the debate on the origin of the Rajputs. (20)
Question 4: Discuss the process of social change in India with special reference to the proliferation of castes during c. 700 to 1200 CE. (20)
Section II
Question 5: Discuss the role of military and technological factors in the success of the Turks against the Rajputs. (20)
Question 6: Discuss the rise of Puranic Hinduism in the Gupta and post-Gupta periods. (20)
Question 8: Write short notes on any two of the following in about 200 words each. (10 + 10)
(a) Pallava art
(b) Bhakti movement
(c) Property rights of women during c. 700 to 1200 CE
(d) The rise of Kannauj
Questions 3 and 5 together decide how well you handle the Rajputs, from their origins to their clash with the Turks, while Questions 4 and 8(c) both sit in the social history of c. 700 to 1200 CE.
4. Unit-Wise Syllabus
The BHIC 132 course runs from the rise of the Guptas to the Ghurid conquest. The table below lists the units we could confirm against eGyanKosh, with topics specific to each one.
Check your own course volume for the full unit list, since the eGyanKosh listing does not show every unit title; the mapping in the last column is our team's reading. If you want the full unit text alongside our answers, ask us about our BHIC 132 Study Material.
| Unit | Unit title | Key topics | June 2026 question |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Gupta Empire: Rise and Growth | Samudragupta's campaigns in the Allahabad prashasti; Chandragupta II and the western Kshatrapas; Gupta gold coinage | Q1 (Sample 1) |
| 3 | The Pushyabhutis and the Rise of Harsha | Prabhakaravardhana of Thanesar; Harsha's shift to Kannauj; Bana and Xuanzang as sources | Q7 (Sample 2), Q8(d) |
| 4 | States of the Deccan and South India | Vakatakas and Kadambas; Pallavas of Kanchi; Chalukyas of Badami | Q8(a) |
| 7 | Economy and Society in the Post-Gupta Period | Brahmadeya grants and village life; the debate on urban decline; new mixed castes | Q4 |
| 8 | Polity, Religion and Culture in the Post-Gupta Period | Samanta hierarchy; temple-centred worship; Tantric cults | Q6 |
| 9 | Emergence of Rajputs | Gurjara-Pratihara power; Chahamanas, Paramaras and Chandellas; Rajput clan polity | Q3 |
| 10 | Emergence of Rashtrakutas | Dantidurga's rise from Chalukya service; Manyakheta as capital; the Kailasa temple at Ellora | Q2 |
| 11 | The Arabs: Invasions and Expansion | Muhammad bin Qasim in Sindh (712 CE); the Chachnama; Arab rule in Multan | Background to Q5 |
| 12 | Mahmud of Ghazni and Muhammad Ghuri: Invasions and Resistance | Mahmud's raids including Somnath; battles of Tarain (1191, 1192); Prithviraj Chauhan | Q5 |
| 13 | Land, Revenue Systems and Agrarian Relations: c. 700-1200 CE | Agrahara holdings; revenue terms in copper plates; peasant dependence | — |
| 14 | Social Structure and Gender Relations: c. 700-1200 CE | Varna to jati; rise of the kayasthas; Dharmashastra commentaries on women | Q4, Q8(c) |
5. Question Paper Pattern and Marks
The June 2026 paper carried 100 marks over 3 hours: 8 questions in two sections, any 5 to be answered, with at least 2 from each section.
| Part of paper | Questions | Answer type | Word limit | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section I | Q1 to Q4 | Long essays on the Gupta state, Rashtrakutas, Rajput origins and caste | About 400 words | 20 each |
| Section II (essays) | Q5 to Q7 | Long essays on the Turks, Puranic Hinduism and Harsha | About 400 words | 20 each |
| Section II (short notes) | Q8 | Two notes from four options on art, Bhakti, women's property and Kannauj | About 200 words per note | 2 × 10 |
| Whole paper | Any 5 of 8 | At least 2 from each section | About 2,000 words in total | 100 |
The word limit has shrunk over time. The December 2020 and December 2021 papers asked for about 500 words per answer; since December 2022 the limit has been about 400 words. You can compare older papers in our BAG Question Paper collection.
In the final result the term-end exam carries 70 per cent weightage and the three tutor-marked assignments carry 30 per cent, so a strong BHIC 132 paper does most of the work for your grade.
6. Topics IGNOU Keeps Repeating
Harsha and Puranic or Tantric religion each appeared in 6 of the 7 official BHIC 132 papers we could check, and both came again in June 2026.
We counted topics across seven official IGNOU papers: December 2020, December 2021, December 2022, June 2024, December 2024, June 2025 and December 2025. Essays and short notes both count. The December 2022 archive copy shows Q1 to Q7 only, so its Q8 options are not counted. More papers sit in our IGNOU Previous Year Question Paper section.
| Topic | Official sessions where it appeared | Papers (of 7) | In June 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harsha and the Pushyabhutis | Dec 20, Dec 21, Jun 24, Dec 24, Jun 25, Dec 25 | 6 | Q7 (Sample 2) |
| Puranic Hinduism, Tantrism, Shaivism and Shaktism | Dec 20, Dec 21, Dec 22, Jun 24, Dec 24, Jun 25 | 6 | Q6 |
| Caste proliferation and social structure, c. 700 to 1200 CE | Dec 20, Dec 22, Dec 24, Jun 25, Dec 25 | 5 | Q4 |
| Pallava and Pandya art and architecture | Dec 21, Jun 24, Dec 24, Jun 25, Dec 25 | 5 | Q8(a) |
| Rise, expansion and decline of the Gupta empire | Dec 20, Dec 21, Dec 22, Dec 24, Dec 25 | 5 | — |
| Land grants and agrarian relations | Dec 21, Jun 24, Dec 24, Jun 25, Dec 25 | 5 | — |
| Origin of the Rajputs | Dec 22, Jun 24, Dec 24, Dec 25 | 4 | Q3 |
| Turkish success and the battles of Tarain | Dec 20, Jun 24, Dec 24, Dec 25 | 4 | Q5 |
| Women, gender relations and status | Dec 21, Dec 22, Jun 24, Dec 24 | 4 | Q8(c) |
| Gupta administration | Dec 22, Jun 24, Jun 25 | 3 | Q1 (Sample 1) |
| Rashtrakuta empire | Dec 20, Jun 25, Dec 25 | 3 | Q2 |
| Bhakti movement | Dec 21, Jun 24, Dec 24 | 3 | Q8(b) |
| Kannauj and the tripartite struggle | Jun 24 | 1 | Q8(d) |
Official BHIC 132 papers for June 2021, June 2022, June 2023 and December 2023 could not be found on IGNOU's own servers, so they are not in these counts.
7. How Our Answers Are Written and Checked
Each BHIC 132 answer is written from the IGNOU course units and the primary sources named in them, then checked for dates, names and word length before it goes into the file.
Our writers start from the unit that the question comes from and build the answer as an introduction, argued body and short conclusion, which is the shape IGNOU history examiners reward. Essays stay close to 400 words and short notes close to 200.
Every date, ruler and inscription is cross-checked, for example the Aihole inscription's date of 634 CE or the Tarain battles of 1191 and 1192. Where historians disagree, as on Rajput origins or the nature of Harsha's state, the answer names the views instead of picking one silently.
If you are also revising likely questions for the next session, see our IGNOU Solved Guess Paper page.
8. Solved File Index
The file answers all 8 questions of the June 2026 paper; 2 are shown on this page and 6 are in the full file only.
BHIC 132 is a theory-only course with no practical or record work, so this index maps each question to its course unit instead.
| Question | Topic | Unit | Where the answer is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Gupta administration | Gupta units, from Unit 1 | Sample 1 above |
| Q2 | Rashtrakutas and their empire | Unit 10 | Full file |
| Q3 | Debate on Rajput origins | Unit 9 | Full file |
| Q4 | Social change and caste proliferation, c. 700 to 1200 CE | Units 7 and 14 | Full file |
| Q5 | Military and technological factors in Turkish success | Unit 12 | Full file |
| Q6 | Rise of Puranic Hinduism | Unit 8 and the religion units | Full file |
| Q7 | Nature of Harsha's rule | Unit 3 | Sample 2 above |
| Q8 | Short notes: Pallava art, Bhakti, women's property rights, rise of Kannauj | Units 3, 4 and 14, plus the culture units | Full file |
9. Programmes That Study BHIC 132
BHIC 132 is a core history course in IGNOU's BAG and BAM programmes, and it follows BHIC 131, which covers India from the earliest times to c. 300 CE.
Students in the IGNOU Bachelor of Arts (General) programme with history as a discipline take BHIC 132 as a 6-credit core course. The same course code is offered to Bachelor of Arts (Multidisciplinary) students under the four-year scheme, and IGNOU issues a joint BAG and BAM assignment booklet for it.
After BHIC 132, the history sequence continues with BHIC 133, which picks up the story from 1206, so the Turkish conquest in Question 5 is the bridge between the two courses.
10. How to Get the Full Solved Question Paper
Send a WhatsApp message to 9899436384 with the words "BHIC 132 June 2026" and our team will share the complete solved file with answers to all 8 questions.
The file includes the 2 answers you have read here plus the 6 answers that are not on this page, including the Q8 short notes. It comes as a PDF, so you can read it on your phone or print it.
Message us before your revision starts, not on the night before the exam; history answers stick better when you read them more than once.
11. BHIC 132 FAQs
These answers cover the BHIC 132 file, the paper pattern and how to order on WhatsApp.
What is the Solved Question Paper June 2026?
It is the official IGNOU June 2026 term-end paper for History of India from c. 300 CE to 1206 with complete answers written by our history team. All 8 questions are answered in exam length, essays near 400 words and short notes near 200. Two answers, Q1 on Gupta administration and Q7 on Harsha's rule, are shown on this page so you can check the quality.
How do I get the full solved paper on WhatsApp?
Send a WhatsApp message to 9899436384 saying "BHIC 132 June 2026" and our team will reply with the details and share the complete file. It contains answers to all 8 questions of the paper: the 2 answers you can read on this page plus the 6 answers that are not shown here, including the Q8 short notes on Pallava art, Bhakti, women's property rights and Kannauj.
Which answers can I read on this page?
You can read two complete answers here. Question 1 from Section I explains Gupta administration, from royal titles and hereditary ministers to the bhukti and vishaya system. Question 7 from Section II explains the nature of Harsha's rule using Bana, Xuanzang and the copper plates. The other 6 questions are listed as text only and answered in the full file.
What is the BHIC 132 question paper pattern?
The paper carries 100 marks and runs for 3 hours. It has 8 questions in two sections, and you answer any 5, taking at least 2 from each section. Essays carry 20 marks and need about 400 words. In June 2026, Question 8 asked for two short notes of about 200 words each, worth 10 marks apiece, chosen from four options.
Which BHIC 132 topics repeat most in IGNOU papers?
Harsha and Puranic or Tantric religion are the strongest repeats, each found in 6 of the 7 official papers we checked from December 2020 to December 2025. Caste proliferation, Pallava and Pandya art, the Gupta empire and agrarian relations each appeared in 5. Rajput origins, Turkish success and women's status appeared in 4. All counts come from official IGNOU papers.
Is BHIC 132 part of both BAG and BAM?
Yes. BHIC 132 is a 6-credit core history course in IGNOU's Bachelor of Arts (General) programme and is also offered to Bachelor of Arts (Multidisciplinary) students. IGNOU publishes a joint BAG and BAM assignment booklet for it, with three tutor-marked assignments. In the final result the term-end exam carries 70 per cent weightage and the assignments carry the remaining 30 per cent.
How long should BHIC 132 answers be in the exam?
The June 2026 paper asks for about 400 words for each 20-mark essay and about 200 words for each short note in Question 8. Older papers from December 2020 and December 2021 asked for about 500 words, so do not copy answer lengths from them. Across five questions you should plan to write roughly 2,000 words in three hours.
Who writes and checks the BHIC 132 answers?
The answers are written by the Unnati Educations history team under Prateek Talwar and reviewed by Sheetal Kirola before the file is released. Writers work from the IGNOU course units and the sources they cite, such as the Allahabad prashasti and Xuanzang's account. Every date, ruler and inscription is cross-checked, and each answer is kept close to the word limit IGNOU asks for.
12. Who Wrote and Checked the BHIC 132 Answers
The BHIC 132 answers were written by Prateek Talwar and reviewed by Sheetal Kirola.
Prateek Talwar, founder of Unnati Educations, leads the IGNOU solved-paper series and prepares answers from the course units and the official term-end paper. Sheetal Kirola, Academic Head (M.Ed.), checks every ruler, date, inscription and office name against the course material before release.