JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA

SYLLABUS & STRATEGY – M.A. POLITICAL SCIENCE

Pdf by Anjaney Shukla

Contact Number: +91 7355128812
Telegram and IG username :- iashayar
 INTRODUCTION

The JMI MA Political Science ( Paper Code – M09 )

Entrance Exam 2025 will be held on May 10, 2025, from
2:30 PM to 4:00 PM. The exam will consist of 100
multiple-choice questions (MCQs) covering various
strands of Political Science. Candidates will have 1 hour
and 30 minutes to complete the test. Each question
carries 1 mark for a correct answer, while 0.25 marks
will be deducted for each incorrect response. Fee for
entrance examination form is 700 Rs per course
The JMI MA Political Science Entrance Exam follows a
syllabus based on the UGC Model Syllabus for BA
(Hons) Political Science, along with sections on General
Knowledge & Current Affairs, Constitution,
Government & Politics in India, and International
Politics. This PDF provides a detailed strategy for the
exam, including a unit-wise analysis from the past 8–9
years and the complete syllabus. JMI primarily asks
factual questions, with very few conceptual ones, so your
focus should be on memorization and accuracy.
Additionally, 3–6 questions are typically asked from GK
& Current Affairs, making it essential to prepare
accordingly. For candidates in the General (UR)
category, a score of 76-80+ marks is generally required
to secure admission, though this may vary based on the
difficulty level of the exam. Read this PDF patiently, as
it contains everything you need to prepare for the JMI
MA Political Science entrance exam in one place.
 SYLLABUS

1. Western Political Thought :-

A. Plato
B. Aristotle
C. Machiavelli
D.Thomas Hobbes
E. John Locke
F. Jean Jacques Rousseau
G.Hegel
H. Karl Marx
I. Gramsci
J. John Rawls
K. JS Mill

2. Indian Political Thought :-

A. Raja Ram Mohan Roy

B. Buddhist tradition
C. Kautilya
D.Sir Syed Ahmed Khan
E. Pandita Ramabai
F. Jyotiba Phule
G.Gandhi
H. Mohammad Iqbal
I. Mohammad Ali Jinnah
J. Jawaharlal Nehru
K. Rabindranath Tagore
L. Bhimrao Ambedkar
M. Rashid Jahan
N.MN Roy
O.Jay Prakash Narayan
P. Sri Aurobindo

3. Political Theory :-

A. State and Sovereignty and Political Obligation

B. Power
C. Democracy
D.Concept of Rights
E. Liberty
F. Equality
G.Justice ( specially John Rawls , Ronald Dworkin and
Robert Nozick )
H. Multiculturalism
I. Caste , Class and Gender
J. Human Rights
K. Feminism and women movements
L. Citizenship
M. Libertarianism
N.Modernism and Postmodernism
O.Communitarianism
P. Anarchism
Q.Fascism
R. Marxism

4. Indian Politics and Government :-

A. Evolution of Indian Constitution ( including CA and

Preamble )
B. Amendments
C. Parts and Schedules
D.Constitutional provisions
E. Fundamental Rights
F. DPSP
G.Fundamental Duties
H. Parliament
I. President
J. PM
K. Federalism
L. State Government
M. Political Parties ( National and Regional )
N.Local Governance
O.Judiciary
P. Election ( electoral reforms )
Q. Social movements in India
R. Economic reforms in India
S. Social justice

5. International Relations including India’s foreign

policy :-

A. India’s foreign Policy

B. India’s relationship with USA , Russia , China , EU ,
Pakistan .
C. International Organisations :- BRICS , UN and its
other agencies, programmes and funds , NAM , EU ,
WTO ,ASEAN, International Committee of the Red
Cross ( ICRC ) .
D.Idealism , Liberalism , Realism and Marxism and
Social Constructivism
E. Power , National Interest , Collective and Cooperative
security
F. Nuclear proliferation and disarmament treaties
G.World war 1 and 2
H. Cold War
I. Climate change
J. Environment movements in India
K. Globalization
L. World System Theory

6. Public Administration and Indian Administration :-

A. NPA , NPS , NPM , Good Governance

B. Theories:- Scientific Management , Bureaucratic,
Human Relation, Rational choice or rational decision
making , innovation and entrepreneurship , feminist ,
socio-psychological and Ecological Approach,
Administrative management
C. Organisation
D.Public Policy and Policies by GoI
E. UPSC and Lokpal
F. State services and public services commissions
G.State secretariat
H. Good governance

7. Comparative Politics :-

A. Traditional and Modern Approaches

B. Political System
C. Political Parties
D.UK, USA, China, Pakistan and Switzerland constitution
( Their legislature, executive , judiciary and party
system are the only sub - topics which you have to read)
E. Political Culture
F. Electoral System and Regimes
G.Nation and Nationalism
H. Institutionalism and Neo Institutionalism
I. Dependency Theory
J. Social Capital
 8. Miscellaneous Topics :-

A. Political Economy
B. AUCKUS
C. Human Development Index
D.Committees related to Indian Muslims
E. CBI
F. TRAI
G.LGBTQ
H. Indian rivers project ( ex Hirakund Dam )
I. Books by Immanuel Kant , Frantz Fanon
J. OIC , QUAD , SCO organisation
K. FATF
L. Noble Prize Winner and GK
M. Fatwa – I- Jahandari and Tarikh I firozshahi
 NUMBER OF QUESTIONS FROM EACH UNIT

Before we get into the subject-wise strategy, let’s first decode

the number of questions per unit came in the last Nine
years' JMI PG Political Science PYQs.

Western Political Thought :-

1. Total no. Of Questions in 2016 - 09

2. Total no. Of Questions in 2017- 03
3. Total no. Of Questions in 2018 – paper not
available
4. Total no. Of Questions in 2019 – 09
5. Total no. Of Questions in 2020 – 15
6. Total no. Of Questions in 2021- 09
7. Total no. Of Questions in 2022 – 03
8. Total no. Of Questions in 2023 - 13
9. Total no. Of Questions in 2024 - 6

Indian Political Thought :-

1. Total no. Of Questions in 2016 - 03

2. Total no. Of Questions in 2017- 04
3. Total no. Of Questions in 2018 – paper not
available
4. Total no. Of Questions in 2019 – 00
5. Total no. Of Questions in 2020 – 01
6. Total no. Of Questions in 2021- 10
7. Total no. Of Questions in 2022 – 09
8. Total no. Of Questions in 2023 - 08
9. Total no. Of Questions in 2024 – 05
Political Theory :-

1. Total no. Of Questions in 2016 - 24

2. Total no. Of Questions in 2017- 25
3. Total no. Of Questions in 2018 – Paper not
available
4. Total no. Of Questions in 2019 – 29
5. Total no. Of Questions in 2020 – 22
6. Total no. Of Questions in 2021- 24
7. Total no. Of Questions in 2022 – 06
8. Total no. Of Questions in 2023 - 22
9. Total no. Of Questions in 2024 - 09

International Relations :-

1. Total no. Of Questions in 2016 - 16

2. Total no. Of Questions in 2017- 13
3. Total no. Of Questions in 2018 – paper not
available
4. Total no. Of Questions in 2019 – 28
5. Total no. Of Questions in 2020 – 23
6. Total no. Of Questions in 2021 - 28
7. Total no. Of Questions in 2022 – 30
8. Total no. Of Questions in 2023 - 20
9. Total no. Of Questions in 2024 – 25

Indian Government And Politics :-

1. Total no. Of Questions in 2016 - 23

2. Total no. Of Questions in 2017- 35
3. Total no. Of Questions in 2018 – paper not
available
 4. Total no. Of Questions in 2019 – 15
5. Total no. Of Questions in 2020 – 09
6. Total no. Of Questions in 2021 - 11
7. Total no. Of Questions in 2022 – 30
8. Total no. Of Questions in 2023 - 14
9. Total no. Of Questions in 2024 - 17

Comparative Government And Politics :-

1. Total no. Of Questions in 2016 - 11

2. Total no. Of Questions in 2017- 08
3. Total no. Of Questions in 2018 – paper not
available
4. Total no. Of Questions in 2019 – 13
5. Total no. Of Questions in 2020 – 07
6. Total no. Of Questions in 2021 - 06
7. Total no. Of Questions in 2022 – 04
8. Total no. Of Questions in 2023 - 08
9. Total no. Of Questions in 2024 - 18

Public Policies In India and Public Administration :-

1. Total no. Of Questions in 2016 - 08

2. Total no. Of Questions in 2017- 0
3. Total no. Of Questions in 2018 – paper not
available
4. Total no. Of Questions in 2019 – 02
5. Total no. Of Questions in 2020 – 15
6. Total no. Of Questions in 2021- 01
7. Total no. Of Questions in 2022 – 06
8. Total no. Of Questions in 2023 - 08
9. Total no. Of Questions in 2024 - 18
Miscellaneous :-

1. Total no. Of Questions in 2016 - 06

2. Total no. Of Questions in 2017- 12
3. Total no. Of Questions in 2018 – paper not
available
4. Total no. Of Questions in 2019 – 04
5. Total no. Of Questions in 2020 – 08
6. Total no. Of Questions in 2021- 11
7. Total no. Of Questions in 2022 – 12
8. Total no. Of Questions in 2023 - 07
9. Total no. Of Questions in 2024 - 02
 UNIT WISE STRATEGY

1. WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT :-

• You can refer to Western Political Thought by Subrata

Mukherjee and Sushila Ramaswamy, explore various
guides and YouTube videos, or access the notes uploaded
on my Telegram channel. The link is provided below.

Link :- https://t.me/CUETPGPoliticalScience2025/500

There are total 11 thinkers in JMI PG entrance syllabus . Plato,

Aristotle, Machiavelli, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean
Jacques Rousseau, Karl Marx, John Rawls, JS Mill, Hegel,
Gramsci .
From Plato to J.S. Mill, all these thinkers are already part of
your CUET PG syllabus, so you just need to revise them. I’ve
attached the link to the strategy thread, where you'll find
detailed guidance on what to read, how to study these thinkers,
and which books to refer to.

Link :- https://t.me/CUETPGPoliticalScience2025/729

Now coming to the part of GWF Hegel and Antonio

Gramsci . Go through the topics which I am mentioning
below and that will be more than enough for these two
thinkers .

1. GWF Hegel :-
a) Books and publishing year
b) Statements / Quotes by him .
c) Comments on Hegel by other thinkers
d) His views on :-
1. Dialectical idealism
2. State
3. Civil society
4. Freedom
5. Philosophy of history and right
6. Family , women and children
7. Universal class
8. Monarchy
9. Human consciousness
e) Critiques of Hegel .
f) Young Hegelian’s
g) Hegel and Marx

2. Antonio Gramsci :- The greatest of western marxists

a) Books and Publishing Year
b) Statements / Quotes by him.
c) His views on :-
1. Passive revolution
2. State
3. Hegemony
4. Civil society
5. Base superstructure model
6. War of Position vs. War of Manoeuvre
7. Comments on Gramsci by other thinkers
 2- INDIAN POLITICAL THOUGHT :-

• You can refer to V.R. Mehta’s book for this section,

explore YouTube videos and guide PDFs, or check the partial
thinkers' notes uploaded on the Telegram channel. (Since
notes for some thinkers are unavailable, referring to the book
is essential as well.)

Link :- https://t.me/CUETPGPoliticalScience2025/508

• There are total 15 thinker and 1 Buddhist tradition topic

exist from which the JMI asked the questions till now . Out of
these 16 topics , 4 topics i.e Kautilya, Gandhi, Ambedkar, Raja
Ram Mohan Roy, were mentioned in your cuet pg syllabus as
well .

Link :- https://t.me/CUETPGPoliticalScience2025/738

• So you have to prepare 12 topics from this section from the basic
Buddhist tradition, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Pandita Ramabai,
Jyotiba Phule, Gandhi, Mohammad Iqbal, Mohammad Ali
Jinnah, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rabindranath Tagore, Bhimrao
Ambedkar, Rashid Jahan, MN Roy, Jay Prakash Narayan,
Sri Aurobindo .

1. Buddhist Tradition :-
a) Tripitaka – 3 basic principles , 4 noble truths and 8 fold
path .
b) Agganna Sutta
c) Origin of kingship / state
d) Growing role , functions of the state
e) Nature of the state
f) Elements of the state
g) Virtues of the king
h) Foreign Policy
i) Principle of Righteousness
j) Ideas on Ashovadana
k) Buddhist vs Hindu tradition

2. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan :-

a) Books / magazine or journals and publishing year

b) Life sketch
c) Societies founded by him .
d) Aligarh Movement
We usually read about his thoughts by dividing in two
phases , first phase up to 1887 and second after 1887 . Read
the reason behind the changes in his views as well.
e) His views or ideas on :-
1. Two Nation Theory
2. Education as a tool of empowerment
3. Political views
4. Religious reforms
5. Criticism
f) Facts related to him.
g) Quotes by him

3. Pandita Ramabai :-

a) Life sketch
b) Books and publishing year
c) His ideas or views on :-
1. Critique of patriarchy
2. Gender justice and civil rights
3. Two resolution
4. Facts related to her
5. Controversy related to her Sharda Sadan
d) Quotes by her.
e) Organisation started by her .

4. Jyotiba Phule :-

a) Life sketch
b) Books and publishing year
c) Organisations related to him
d) His ideas or views on :-
1. Brahminical hegemony
2. Caste system
3. Education
4. Women
5. Socialism and economic justice
6. Gulamgiri ( slavery )
7. Bahujan samaj
8. Politics
9. British rule
e) Quotes by him .
f) Facts related to him .

5. Mohammad Iqbal :-

a) Life sketch
b) Books and publishing year
c) Facts related to him
d) Influences on him
e) His views or ideas on :-
1. Pan-Islamism
2. Khudi
3. Community
4. Self good dimension
5. Democracy
6. Revival of Islam
7. Nationalism
8. Two nation theory ( debatable ) and role in Pakistan
movement
9. Ijtehad
f) Quotes by him .

6- Mohammad Ali Jinnah :- ( Imp )

a) Life sketch
b) Books and publishing year
c) Facts related to him ( specially resolution and pacts )
d) His views or ideas on :-
1. Nationalism ( Two nation theory ) and Constitutionalism
2. Movements related to him .
3. Political ideology
4. Indian Muslims ( Muslim minority )
5. 14 point plan ( Quaid – e -Azams )
6. Religion
7. State
8. Secularism
e) Quotes by him .
Note :- Read him in depth.

7- Jawahar Lal Nehru :-

a) Life sketch
b) Books and publishing year
c) His views or ideas on :-
1. Scientific temper
2. On secularism
3. Scientific Humanism
4. On Nationalism
 5. On democracy
6. On Socialism
7. On Secularism
8. Industrialisation
9. Structure of governance
10. International outlook ( Foreign policy )
d) Quotes by him
e) Facts related to him ( movements, Purna Swaraj , jail
time , honour , Constituent assemble, all facts related to
independence etc )
f) Nehru as Independence activist and Nehru as PM of
India .
g) Organisations started by him

8- Rabindranath Tagore :-

a) Life sketch
b) Books and publishing year
c) Facts related to him .
d) His views or ideas on :
1. True freedom
2. Nationalism
3. Critique of Gandhi
4. Cosmopolitanism or Universal Hinduism
5. Education and social reform
e) Quotes by him .
f) Organisations founded by him

9. Rashid Jahan :- Woman behind the veil

1. Life sketch
2. Books and publishing year
3. Facts related to her
4. Influences on her
5. Her views or ideas on :-
a) Feminism and women rights
b) Marxism and class struggle
c) Religion
6. Quotes by her

10. M.N. Roy :-

a) Life sketch
b) Books and publishing year
c) Organisation or party founded by him
d) Facts related to him
e) Quotes by him
f) Influences on him
g) Statements on him by other thinkers
h) His views or ideas on :-
1. Radical or New Humanism
2. Rationality
3. Morality
4. Freedom
5. Democracy
6. Critique of Gandhian and Marxism – 4 classes in India

11. Jay Prakash Narayan :-

a) Life sketch
b) Books and publishing year
c) Quotes by him
d) Organisation founded by him
e) Honour received by him
f) His thoughts or views on
1. Socialism
2. Sarvodaya – social , political and economic
3. Total revolution
g) Facts related to him ( his political career and movements
)

12. Sri Aurobindo :-

a) Life sketch
b) Facts related to him
c) Books and publishing year
d) Quotes by him .
e) Influences on him
f) His views or ideas on :-
1. Evolution of human society
2. Nature of human unity
3. Freedom
4. Concept of nation
5. Nationalism or spiritual or cultural nationalism
6. Theory of boycott and passive resistance
7. Divinity of motherland
8. Caste system
9. Critiques of moderates and INC
 3. Political Theory :-

• Refer OP Gauba and Rajeev Bhargava’s Political Theory

book Or you can refer YouTube videos for better
understanding .

There are total 18 topics I.e State and Sovereignty and Political
Obligation, Power, Democracy, Concept of Rights, Liberty,
Equality, Justice ( specially John Rawls , Ronald Dworkin
and Robert Nozick ), Multiculturalism, Caste , Class and
Gender, Human Rights, Feminism and women movements in
India and world, Citizenship, Libertarianism, Modernism and
Postmodernism, Communitarianism, Anarchism, Fascism,
Marxism, in JMI PG entrance syllabus . Most of the topics are
common to your cuet pg syllabus as well . The same strategy will
work for this paper . Attaching the link below through which
you can access the strategy thread of political theory .

Link :- https://t.me/CUETPGPoliticalScience2025/733

For libertarianism and communitarianism , remember the

thinkers , their concept and their Booklist with publishing
year.
 4. Indian Politics and Government :-

• Laxmikant’s Indian Polity or YouTube videos.

There are total 19 topics in JMI PG entrance syllabus , out

of which 16 topics are common in cuet pg as well . Rest 3
topics are Social movements in India, Economic reforms in
India And Social justice .

Link :- https://t.me/CUETPGPoliticalScience2025/748

1. Social Movements in India :-

a) Dalit movements
b) Tribal movements and North east movements
c) Civil liberties movement
d) Human rights movements
e) Feminist movements
f) Environmental movements
g) Peasant movements
h) Youth movements
i) Religious reforms movements
j) Workers movements

2. Social Justice :- Go through the part and articles of

Indian constitution which deals with social justice .
 5- International Relations including India’s foreign policy
:-

• You can refer The Globalization of World Politics by

Baylis Smith and YouTube videos for conceptual parts . You
can also refer the UPSC CSE coaching institutes pdf for
international organization . Current affairs is really
important for this section , don’t forget to revise them atleast
once.

• There are 27 topics in total that you need to cover. In JMI,

all IR questions were from these topics, with a few from
miscellaneous areas. Most of these topics overlap with the
CUET PG syllabus, so you can follow the same strategy for
the additional topics as well. The link for reference is provided
below.

Link :- https://t.me/CUETPGPoliticalScience2025/743
 6- Public Administration and Indian Administration :-

• For this section, you can refer to Public Administration by

Awasthi and Maheshwari, which is written in simple and
easy-to-understand language. Alternatively, you can also
watch Eduseeker videos for this unit.

This unit consists of 21 topics in total. If you did not prepare

Public Administration during your CUET PG preparation,
this unit is likely new for you. For Public Policy and Policies
by the Government of India, I’ve attached the link below—
you can follow that strategy for these topics.

Link :- https://t.me/CUETPGPoliticalScience2025/760

• For the topics listed below, you can refer to any book or
YouTube channel. If you have Public Administration by
Awasthi and Maheshwari, it will be more than sufficient to
cover all these topics, except Good Governance. For Good
Governance, you can refer to any UPSC coaching institute
PDF or Laxmikanth’s book – Governance in India.

1. New Public Administration :-

a) Definition of Public Administration by different thinkers
.
b) Philadelphia Conference and all Minnowbrook
Conference
c) Characteristics and 3 anti goals of NPA .

2. New Public Management :-

a) Facts related to it like who coined NPM etc
b) Features
c) Major components of new public management
d) Nicholas Henry – 5 A’s of NPM

3. NPS :- Principles and Thinkers related to this approach.

4. Good Governance :-
a) Reports and indexes related to good governance
b) Meaning and features
c) Govt initiative for good governance like Digital India ,
Umang app , RTI , PRAGATI etc .
d) Challenges to good governance
e) Constitutional and legal framework .

5. Theories :-

a) Scientific Management Theory by F.W. Taylor

• His books with publishing year
• Aims of Scientific Management theory
• Principles and critique of scientific management.

b) Bureaucratic Theory :- You have to read only ideal type

bureaucracy by Max Weber .
• Remember his books and publishing year .
• Critique of Max Weber’s Bureaucratic Model .
If you get enough time then go through the ,
instrumentalist theory by Marx , Functionalist theory by
Merton et al and public choice theory as well .

c) Human Relation Theory by Elton Mayo

• Remember his book and Publishing year
• The Hawthorne experiments
• The great illumination experiment
• The human attitudes and sentiments
• The Bank wiring experiment
• Chester I Bernard Theory of organization
• Criticism of the human relation theory .

d) Rational choice or rational decision making theory by

Herbert Simon .
• Remember his books and publishing year .
• Decision making process ( Remember steps )
• Simon’s decision making approach
• The bargaining approach
• Participative decision making approach
• Public choice approach
• Common errors in decision making or criticism

e) Ecological approach by Fred Riggs :-

• Remember his books and publishing year
• Prismatic Model
• Prismatic Sala Model
• Bazaar Canteen Model

f) Socio-psychological Approaches :-
• Go through the theories of Abraham Maslow , Frederick
Herzberg , Douglas McGregor , Rensis Likert , Chris
Argyris .

g) Read Classical or traditional organization theory as well

– Henry Fayol , Gullick and Urwick , JD Mooney , AC
Reiley , M.P. Follett , R Shelton ( Remember their books
and publishing year ) . – Administrative Management
theory .

h) Feminist Approach :- Go through these thinkers views

and Booklist .
• Camilla Strivers
• Nesta M Gallas
• Lorraine D Eyde’s
• Robert B Denhardt and Jan Perkins

i) Innovation and entrepreneurship by Peter Drucker .

• Remember his books and publishing year
• Entrepreneurship and innovation Meaning and role
• Entrepreneurial Strategies .

6. Organisation :- Meaning , types and principles .

7. UPSC and Lokpal :- Origin, Articles , Recruitment , role

and Current Affairs related to them .

8. State services and public services commissions –

Remember the articles, and their functions or facts
related to them .

9. State secretariat :- Organization and Function

7- Comparative Politics :- There are total 9 topics , in which
most of them are similar to your cuet pg topics .

Link :- https://t.me/CUETPGPoliticalScience2025/756

1. UK, USA, China, Pakistan and Switzerland constitution

( Their legislature, executive , judiciary and party system
are the only sub - topics which you have to read)

2. Institutionalism and Neo Institutionalism :-

a) Remember thinkers name of both streams , their Booklist
and publishing year and their views .
 8- Miscellaneous Questions :-

• JMI consistently includes 3-6 questions from Current

Affairs, covering various fields worldwide. Since these topics
are not explicitly mentioned in the JMI PG entrance syllabus,
I have categorized Current Affairs under miscellaneous
topics. After analyzing all previous year questions (except
2018), here are the miscellaneous topics from which JMI has
asked questions: :-

Political Economy, AUCKUS, Human Development Index,

Committees related to Indian Muslims, CBI, TRAI, LGBTQ,
Indian rivers project ( ex Hirakund Dam ), Books by
Immanuel Kant , Frantz Fanon, OIC , QUAD , SCO
organisation, FATF, Noble Prize Winner, Fatwa – I-
Jahandari and Tarikh I firozshahi and General Knowledge.

Among the above topics , HDI , Nobel Prize Awardee ,

international organisations like AUCKUS , OIC , QUAD ,
SCO are important. And you can cover these topics from any
competitive exam pdf or through Wikipedia .