INDIAN HISTORY AND CULTURE

  • Where has the ‘Great Bath’ been excavated ?Mohenjodaro
  • What material were used in making Harappan weapons ?Stone , Copper and Bronze
  • Which Gupta rurer is known as the ‘Indian Napoleon’ ?Samudragupta
  • In which year did NicoloContivisitVijiayanagar ?1420
  • Who built the famous ‘ Victory Tower’ and ‘VijayaStambha’ at chittor to celebrate his victory over Malwa ?

RanaKumbha

  • The Bengal Gazette or Calcutta General Advertiser brought out in 1780 byJames Augustus Hickey
  • Hsuan-Tsang (also spelt YaanChwang ) visited Indian during the reign of Harsha
  • Ancient literture refers to five fold division of India. The term ‘Aparanta’ or ‘Pratichya’ refers to

Western India

  • What was the main motto of Ramkrishna Mission?To provide social service to the people
  • Who was first to accept the ‘Sub-sidiary Alliance’ ?The Nizam of Hyderabad
  • As the evidence from Koldihwa in the Belan Valley shows rice seems to have been domesticated in India by about : 7000 B.C.
  • Among the few four Vedas, which one is a collection of spells and charms ?Atharvaveda
  • The Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upnishadas are attached to one or the other of :

The four Vedas

  • MurshidQuli Khan became the diwan of Bengal in :1700 AD
  • The two popular assemblies which seems to have formed as essential feature of the government during the Age of Rig Veda are : Sabha and Samiti
  • During the Age of Rig Veda, the grains are collectively called :Yava and Dhanya
  • The Second Anglo-Mysore War took place between :1780-1784 AD
  • Which period is referred as the Classical Age or Golden Age of Ancient India?

Gupta Period (319- 334 AD)

  • Akbar the great Mughal Emperor Proclaimed a new religion Din-e-Ilahi in :1581
  • Guru Nanak Dev-the founded of Sikh religion was born in The year 1469
  • Who estabilshed ‘The Khalsa’ in 1699 ?

Guru Gobind Singh (Tenth Guru of Sikhs)

  • Subhash Chandra Bose was elected the president of the Indian National Congress in

The year 1939 at its Tripuri Session

  • Where did The Tebhaga Movement of Peasants occur in 1946 ?Bengal
  • Who founded the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association ?MahatamaGhandhi
  • ‘Anekktavad’ is a core theory and Philosophy of which religion ?Jainism
  • The founder of Sunga dynasty was PushyamitraSunga
  • The East India Company secured the Dewani from

Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II (1728-1806)

  • Who wrote Raghuvansam, Kumarsambhavam, Malvikagnimitram and Abhigyanshakuntalam

Kalidasa

  • ‘The Loyal Mohammadans of India’ was the newspaper brought out by :

Sayyid Ahmad Khan

  • Who founded the ‘Servants of Indian Society ‘ in 1905 Gopal Krishna Gokhle
  • The biographyofHarshvardhan – Harshcharita was written by :Banabhatta
  • Huin-Tsang, the Chinese traveller visited India during the reigon of :

Harshvardhan’sregion during fifth century A.D.

  • The famous book of Huin-Tsang which forms an invaluable source to ancient Indian History is

Si-Yu-Ki

  • The three great Chinese Pilgrims who visited India in search of Knowledge , manuscripts and relics between the fifth and seventh centuries A.D. are

FaHien, Huin-Tsang, and I- Tsing

  • Katyayanaprakarna is book on grammar of :Pali Language
  • The first Carnatic War between the French and the England took place between :1746 and 1748
  • Swami Vivekanand was born :On January 12, 1863 in Calcutta
  • Who was the commander of revolt of 1857 in Rohilkhand ?Ahmadullah
  • Who wrote the book “The Wonder that was India” ?A.L. Basham
  • Who said that “The Mythology, as well as cosmogony of the Egyptians ,Greeks and Romans were borrowed from the doctrines of the Brahmins” NanthanielHalhed
  • Vedic Literature includes :Vedas, the Brahmanas , the Aranyakas and the Upanishads
  • The first definite mention of Bharata as a region is to be found in :

Panini who lived about sixth century B.C.

  • The Palaeolithic Age in India is divided into three phases namely :

Lower Palaeolithic (Handaxe and cleaver industries) , Middle Palaeolithic (Tools made onflakes ) and upper palaeolithic ( Tools made on flakes and blades )

  • The Harappan civilization was discovered in 1920-21 following excavation :

By R. D. Banerjee (at Mohenjodaro) and By D. R. Sahni (at Harappa)

  • Nizam-ul-MulkAsafJah founded the state of Hyderabad in :1724
  • Tipu Sultan was the Sultan (ruler) of Mysore from :1782 to 1799
  • The Sikh Khalsa was formed to instil a strong martial spirit in the Sikhs by :

Tenth Sikh Guru GuruGovind Singh in 1699

  • The Chief of Sukarchakiyamisl (a Sikh confederacy ) was :Maharaja Ranjit Singh
  • Which Sultan of Delhi established a separate agriculture department which planned rotation of crops ?

Mohammad Bin Tughlaq

  • The Dharm Chakra Pravartan mentioned in the Buddist test is :

The first sermon delivered by Buddha at Sarnath

  • Kitab-ul-Hind is a book by :Alberuni
  • Which river is most described in the Rigveda ?Sindhu River
  • When were the High Courts in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay established ?

In the year 1861

  • In which year were Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdevhanged ?In the year 1861
  • The faous resolution on Non-Cooperation was adopted at a special session (Septamber 1920) held at :

Calcutta

  • The first offical Language Commission as required under Article 344 of the Constitution was constituted by the president in :

1955 with B.G.Kher as its Chairman

  • Who was the revolutionary leader to kill General O. Dyer responsible for JalianwalaBaghtragedy ?

Udham Singh

  • In which province of undivided India was a referendum held to ascertain wheather it should join Pakistan or not ?

North West Frontier Province

  • The founder of the Karkota dynasty in Kashmir was :

Avantivarman

  • Under Harshvardhan in the seventh century A.D. the centre of political gravity in north Indian shifted from Magadh to :

Kannauj

  • The Chalukyas or Solankis ruled over Gujarat for almost three and a half centuries between :

The year 950-1300 A.D.

  • Who wrote Ain-i-Akbari ?AbulFazi
  • During the Sultanate period the highest category of peasants were :

The Khots and muqaddams

  • During the Sultanate period the territories whose revenues went directly to the Sultan’s treasury called :

Khalisa

  • GhiyasuddinTughlaq is credited with the foundation of the third city of Delhi known as :

Tughlaqabad

  • Which Indian philosophy postulates a dualism of the matter and soul, and declares that salvstion depends on fully recognising the atomic nature of the universe and its difference with the soul ?

Vaisesika

  • The last Tirthankara in Jain tradition is :VardhamanaMahavira
  • The two Jain Tirthankars who find mention in Rig Veda are Rishabhanath and Aristhanemia
  • Who attained Kaivalya (i.e. the supreme knowledge and final deliverance from the bonds of pleasure and pain ) at the age of 42 ? VardhamanaMahavira
  • The fundamental principle of Budda’s teachings are represented by the Four Nobel Truths viz.,

Dukkha, DukkhaSamuddaya, DukkhaNirodha and DukkhaNirodh- Gamini- Pratipada

  • The four important dynasties that stand out prominently in the sixth century B.C. are

The Haryankas of Magadha, the Ikshakus of Kosala, the pauravas of Vatsa and Prodyotas of Avanti

  • Who founded the Haryank dynasty in Magadha ?Bimbisara
  • The most important republican state during the period of Buddha were The Vajjis
  • Who wrote the play Mudrarakshasa ?VishakhaDutta
  • In Karnataka, Asoka’s incriptions have been found at Maski, Yerragudi and Chitaldurga
  • The oldest among the spoken literary languages of South India is Tamil Language
  • Who is known as Siladitya ?Harshavardhana
  • Nizam-ul-MulkAsafJahfounded state of Hyderabad in :1724
  • ‘Early History of India’ in 1904 was written by :V. A. Smith
  • Six Vedangas (limbs of Vedas ) are :

Siksha (phonetics) ,Kalpa (rituals), Vyakarna(grammar), Nirukta(estymology), Chhanda (metrics) and Jyotisha (astronomy)

  • Who wrote ‘Gaudevaho’ ?Vakpati
  • Ahar culture , Kayatha culture, Mlwa culture, Prabas culture, Rangpur culture are all parts of :

Chalcolithic cultures

  • The relics of Indus Valley (Harappa) civilization were first noticed in :1Harappa
  • The most remarkable building at Mohenjodaro was :The Great Bath
  • The author of Tarikh-i-MubaraksShahi is :YahyaSirhindi
  • The Vijayanagar Empire in the south came into existence in :A. D. 1336
  • The first Muslim ruler to impose Jaziya on the Brahmins was :Firuz Shah Tughla

INDIAN POLITY AND CONSTITUTION

  • Who actually makes use of the executive authority of the union Government ?

The Council of Ministers

  • The Directive Principles of State Policy underline the philosophy ofSocialism
  • To ensure the overall development of citizens , the Fundamental Right have been provided in which part ?

Part-III (Articles 12-35) of the Constitution

  • The 86th Constitution (Amendment) Act, 2002 added a new Article 21A in

Right to Freedom (The Article 21A relates to Right to Education)

  • Who performs the duties of President if the office of President is temporarily vacant due to illness or otherwise or absence of President To each other
  • Money Bill can be initiated only in the House of People
  • The state Legislature cinsists of the

Governor , the Legislative Assembly and the Councils (If it is provided for in the state )

  • Which Article is concerned with abolition or creation of Legislative Councils in state ?

Articles 169

  • When was National Flag adopted by the Constituent AssemblyOn July 24, 1947
  • Which Schedule of the Constitution of India deals with powers , authority and responsibilites of municipalities ?

Twelfth Schedule

  • The provision of adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter-state rivers or river valleys is laid down in :

Artices262

  • India is a republic, that means :The head of state of India is indirectly elected for a fixed period
  • The ideal of liberty , equality and fraternity as enshrined in the Preamble to the Constitution of India have been taken from :

The French Revolution (1789)

  • Whose remarks are these-the Preamble is the horoscope of our soveregin democratic repubilc ?

K.M.Munshi(a menber of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution Assembly)

  • Which part of Indian Constitution is described the MagnaCarta of India ?

Part III containing Fundemental Right (Article 12 to 35 )

  • Which Article of the Constitution defies the term ‘State’ in India contex ?Article 12
  • The right to property was d3leted from the lit of Fundamental Right by :44th Constitution Act 1978
  • The only state in the Indian Union which has its own separate State Constitution is

Jammu & Kashmir

  • A person to be eligible for election as President of India should have completed :35 years of age
  • Granville Austin has described the Directive Principles and the Fundamental Right as :

The Conscience of the Constitution

  • A Money Bill in the Parliament can be introduced only with the recommendation of The President of India
  • Panchayats at the intermediate level may not be constitution in a state having a population less than

Twenty Lakh

  • Who preside over the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha ?The speaker of the Lok Sabha
  • The electoral college the elects the Vice-President of India consists of

Members of both the Houses of Parliament

  • According to the preamble to the Constitution , India is Sovereign, Socialist, Secular and Democratic Republic
  • What is the maximum time interval permissible between two successive sessions of the Parliament ?

Six Months

  • Which are the two states (other than Uttar Pradesh) having the highest representation in Lok Sabha ?

Bihar and Maharashtra

  • Who has the power to summon and prorogue either House of Parliament or to dissolve the Lok Sabha ?

President of India

  • By which Act was a second chamber of India Legislature known as Council of States created ?

Government of India Ac 1919

  • Which body functioned as the Provisional Parliament until the Lok Sabha was constituton following General Election in 1952

Constitution Assembly

  • Under which Article can the President of India be impeached on the ground of violation of Constitution ?

Article 61

  • By the 69th Constitutional Amendment Act 1991 Union Territory of Delhi was redesigned as :

The National Capital Territory of Delhi in 1992

  • Cultural and Educational Right are enshrined in :Article 29-30
  • Which Article declares that a constitutional amendment a law and hence cannot be challenged ?

Article 13

  • The law which imposes penalties retrospectively (retroactively)-upon acts already done or which increases the penalties for such acts is known as Ex-post-facto law
  • The most important law enforcing Article 24 prohibiting the empolyment of children beow the age of 14 years in any factory or other hazardous activities is The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation )Act 1986
  • Under the Chapter Amendment of the constitution (Article 368 in Part XX) special majority of Parliament means :

More than 50%of the total membership of each House and a majority of two-thirds of the members of each House present and voting

  • In India, the president is the head of the state while the Prime Minister is the head of :The government
  • In scheme of bicameral legislature as provided in the Constitution of India, Rajya Sabha represent :

The State of Indian Federation

  • The Constitution of India has divided the powers between the Centre and the States in terms of :

The Union List, State List and ConcurrentList

  • Incomparison with the American Federation which is described as an indestructible union of indestructible states the Indian Federation is : As Indestructible Union of Destructible States
  • The leader of the largest opposition party having not less than one-tenth seats of the total strength of the House is recognised as the : Leaderof the opposition in each Houses of Parliament
  • The last session of the existing Lok Sabha,after a new Lok Sabha has been elected is called :

Lam-Duck Session

  • Which Constitutional Amendment Act facilitates the appointment of the same person as a governor for two or more states ?

7th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956

  • Which Article of the Constitutin empowers the High Court to issue writes including habaes corpus, mandamus, certiorari, prohibition and quo warranto for the enforcement of fundamental right of the citizens and for any other purpose ?

Article 226

  • Who headed the committee on ‘Revitalisation of Panchayati Raj’ Institutions for Democracy and Development appoited by the Rajiv Gandhi Government in 1986 : L. M. Singhvi
  • 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act 1992 has added a new Part-IX to the contitution of India entitled as the “Panchayats” which provides for : a Three-Tier System of Panchayati Raj System
  • The Central Recruiting Agency of India is :The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
  • To be eligible as Vice-President a person should have completed :35 years of age
  • The pardoning power of the president n India as enshrined in the Article 72 of the Constitutional of India includes :

Pardon, Commutation, Remission, Respite, Reprieve

  • Under which Article of the Constitution does the governor of state possess the pardoning power ?

Article 161

  • The Zonal Councils are the statutory bodies established by an Act of the Parliament that is :

States Reorganisation Act of 1956

  • The first proclamation of National Emergency was issued in October 1962 on account of :

Chinese aggression in the NEFA (North East Frontier Agency now Arunachal Pradesh)

  • The State has its own Constitution is :Jammu and Kashmir
  • The right to equal opportunity for all citizens in matters of public employment has been enshrined in :

Article 16

  • In the Constitution of India, the idea of Uniform Civil Code is provided in :

Directive Principle of State Policy

  • The Voting age in India was reduced to 18 years from 21 years in 1989 by :

The 61st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1988

  • Indian Constitution provides only for :Single Citizenship
  • In which schedule to the Constitution of India have the powers authority and responsibililtes of municipalities been mentioned ? Twelfth Schedule
  • The provision of suspension of Fundamental Right is borrowed from :

Weimer Constitution of Germany

  • Which Article makes a provision od Administrative Tribunals ?Article323-A
  • As per the peramble of the Constitution of India, the nature of India State is of :

A sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic and republican polity

  • The Indian National Congress adopted a resolution to establish a socialistic pattern of Society in :

Its Avadi session in 1955

  • The three words which were added in the Premble to the Constitution of India by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act 1976 are : Socialist , secular and integrity
  • Article 1 describes India that is Bharat as :A union ofStates
  • Part XVII of the Constitution deals with :Emergency Provision
  • Right to freedom of religion as enshrined in Articles 25-28 includes :

Freedom of Conscience, and free profession , practice and propagation of religion

  • The right to move the Supreme Court for the enforcement of fundamental right including the writs of habeas corpus, mandamus , prohibition , certiorari and quo warranto are the part of :

Right to Constitutional Remedies

  • The right to acquire, hold and dispose os property was deleted from the chapter of fundamental right by :

The 44th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1978

  • Which Article grants protection to persons who are arrested or detained ?

Article 22

  • The Article 40 which required the state to organise village panchayats and endow them with neccesary powers and authority to enable them to function as units of self government is part of:

Directive Principal of State Policy

  • The law which aims at protecting the monument, places and objects of national importance is:

The Ancient and Historical Monument and Archaelogical Sites and Remains Act(1951)

  • The Cabinet is the nucleus of power in:Parliament System
  • The foremost basic features of the Constitution of India includes:

Supremacy of the Constitution, Independance of Judiciary, Rule of Law, Principle of Equality, Judicial Review and Secularism

  • President of India can be reelected:For any number of terms
  • The Linguistic Provinces Commission appointed under the Chairmanship of S.K.Dhar in 1948 recommended the reorganisation of states on the basis of

Administrative Convenience rather than linguistic factor

  • The state which is neutral in matter of religion and does not uphold any particular religion as the state religion is called

Secular State

  • Which article authorises the Parliament to form a new state by separation of territory from any state ?

Article 3

  • Under the citizenship Actof 1955 the five ways Prescribed for acquring citizenship are

By Birth, by descent , by registeration, by naturalisation and by incorporation of territory

  • Which article declares that all laws that are inconsistent with or in derogation of any of the fundamental right shall be void ?

Article 13