ICSE Class 10 History and Civics Previous Year Question Papers with Solutions (2020-2026)

If you only have time for one full paper, make it 2026. CISCE's 2027 specimen keeps the same Part I and Part II structure, which our post on the ICSE specimen paper 2027 covers.

ICSE History and Civics 2026 paper: how the marks were split

It is an 80-mark paper: 2 hours of writing after 15 minutes of reading time.

• Part I, Question 1: 16 MCQs of 1 mark each, compulsory.
• Part I, Question 2: seven short answers of 2 marks each (14 marks), compulsory.
• Part II, Section A (Civics): three 10-mark questions, answer any two, 20 marks.
• Part II, Section B (History): five 10-mark questions, answer any three, 30 marks.

Source: ICSE 2026 History and Civics question paper (CISCE, paper code T26 501), Gradehunt analysis.

Sort the compulsory questions by subject as well and History carried 50 of the 80 marks: 20 in Part I and 30 in Section B. Civics carried 30. Its 10 marks in Part I came from six MCQs and two short answers, and both short answers were about the President: why the election is indirect, and when an Ordinance can be issued and when it lapses.

At 1.5 minutes a mark, Part I needs about 45 minutes and each Part II question about 15.

Chapters behind the 2026 long questions

Section A had one question each on the Union Parliament (Question 3), the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (Question 4) and the Supreme Court (Question 5).

Section B covered the 1857 revolt from the soldiers' side (General Service Enlistment Act, the Enfield rifle, army changes after the revolt), the Gandhian movements up to the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, the Mountbatten Plan and the Indian Independence Act 1947, the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles, and the United Nations with the Non-Aligned Movement.

Each long question was split 3 + 3 + 4. In five of the eight, the 4-mark part asked for "any four" points: ways Parliament controls the executive, the Prime Minister's powers in the Cabinet, army changes after 1857, clauses of the Gandhi-Irwin Pact and provisions of the Independence Act. Those lists are worth learning as numbered points.

Question styles in the 2026 History and Civics paper

• Varied MCQs. The 16 included an assertion-reason on Hitler and Poland, a chronology question on the Lucknow Pact, the Surat Split and the founding of the Muslim League, an odd one out on the Triple Entente, a policy-and-Governor-General pairing, and a table of four citizens where you pick who can become Vice President.
• Pictures, maps and news. Eight questions or parts started from a picture, a map, a headline or a newspaper extract, including a 2020 Times of India report on an Ordinance and a 2021 Hindustan Times piece on the Mountbatten Plan.
• Real-life situations. A man illegally detained (which writ?), students in a town protesting tree-cutting the way the Early Nationalists would, and "imagine you were part of the Indian National Army".

Knowing the textbook is not enough for these. You have to spot the concept inside an unfamiliar picture or story, which is why timed practice on real papers helps.

How to practise with these ICSE History and Civics papers

• Write 2026 and 2025 in two hours each, after 15 minutes of reading. Choose your two Civics and three History questions during the reading time.
• Then do 2024 and 2023, and use 2022 and 2020 for chapter-wise practice.
• Keep a one-page timeline from 1857 to 1947 and add events as they come up in past papers. It helps with chronology MCQs and with dates in long answers.
• Mark your answers against the solutions point by point. For an "any four" part, count how many separate, correct points you actually wrote.

For more board questions, Gradehunt's 10 Years Solved Papers (PYQ) for ICSE Class 10 has the History and Civics board questions from the 2016 to 2026 exams, arranged chapter-wise with the year on each question and a step-by-step mark split in the solutions.

Geography is H.C.G. Paper 2; its papers are on our ICSE Class 10 Geography past papers page.