UPSC Assamese Optional Syllabus 2026

UPSC Assamese Optional Syllabus 2026 for Paper I 

Section A: Language

1. History of the origin and development of the Assamese Language —its position among the Indo-Aryan languages—periods in its history.

2. Development of Assamese prose.

3. Vowels and consonants of the Assamese Language—Rules of phonetic changes with stress on  Assamese coming down from Old Indo-Aryan.

4. Assamese vocabulary—and its sources.

5. Morphology of the language—conjugation—enclitic definitives and pleonastic suffixes.

6. Dialectical divergences—the Standard colloquial and the Kamrupi dialect in particular.

7. Assamese script—its evolution through the ages till the 19th century A.D.

Section B: Literary Criticism and Literary History

1. Principles of literary criticism up to New Criticism.

2. Different literary genres.

3. Development of literary forms in Assamese.

4. Development of literary criticism in Assamese.

5. Periods of the literary history of Assam from the earliest beginnings, i.e., from the period of the Charyyageeta with their socio-cultural background: the proto Assamese Pre-Sankaradeva— Sankaradeva—Post-Sankaradeva—Modern period (from the coming of the Britishers)—Post-Independence period.  Special emphasis is to be given to the Vaisnavite period, the gonna and the post-independence periods

UPSC Assamese Optional Syllabus 2026 for Paper II 

Section A

1. Ramayana (Ayodhya Kanda by Madhava Kandali only)

2. Parijat-Harana by Sankaradeva

3. Rasakrida by Sankaradeva (From Kirtana Ghosa)

4. Bargeet Assamese by Madhavadeva

5. Rajasuya Assamese by Madhavadeva

6. Katha-Bhagavata(Books I and II) by Baikurthanath Bhattacharyya

7. Gurucarit-Katha (Sankaradeva’s Part only), ed. by Maheswar Neog.

Section B

1. Mor Jeevan Sonwaran -by Lakshminath Bezbaroa.

2. Kripâbar BorbaruârKakatar Topola -by Lakshminath Bezbaroa.

3. Pratimâ -by Chandra Kumar Agarwalla.

4. Gâonburhâ -by Padmanath Gohain Barua.

5. Manomatî -by Rajanikanta Bordoloi.

6. Purani Asamîyâ Sâhitya -by Banikanta Kakati.

7. Kârengar Ligirî -by Jyotiprasad Agarwalla

8. Jeevanar Bâtat-by Bina Barva(BirinchiKumar Barua)

9. Mrityunjoy -by Birendrakumar Bhattacharyya

10. Samrât -by Navakanta Barua

Paper I

Paper II

Assamese Literature: Its History and Development by Maheswar Neog

Padum Kunwari Aru Anyanya Galpa by Lakshminath Bezbarua

A History of Assamese Literature by Birinchi Kumar Barua

Bakor Putek by Navakanta Barua

A Critical History of Assamese Literature by Birendranath Dutta

Chameli Memsaab by Raseswar Saikia

The Heritage of Assam by Padmeshwar Gogoi

Karengar Ligiri by Phanindranath Sharma

Modern Assamese Literature by Sisir Kumar Das

Katha Sankalan edited by Prafulladutta Goswami

Other critical works on Assamese literature

Other prescribed literary texts from the syllabus