India quiz

- Ayush Kothifora, Quizzing IIT Roorkee
India Quiz

* नियम एवं शर्तें - Prelims
● 20 Questions in the Prelims.
● No negative, No googling, either
● Happy Birthday Dravid!
● 8 teams qualify for the finals.
● Points will not carry over to the finals.

1. Are you a genius?
According to stories, which company started by Mohanlal Dayal (along with 12
other family members) was inspired by the Swadeshi movement and gets its
name from the locality it was based out of, due to the fact that the owners were
too busy working, and thus didn’t think of a name?

3. Wikipedia snapshot of what?

4. Gangadhar hi Shaktimaan hai
In the November 1937 issue of the leading journal then, Modern Review, Kolkata,
an article titled “Rashtrapati” was published, under a pseudonym, Chanakya.
“ Men like Jawaharlal, with all their capacity for great and good work, are unsafe in
democracy. He calls himself a democrat and a socialist… but a little twist and he
might turn into a dictator… His conceit is already formidable. It must be checked.
He must imagine that he is indispensable, and no man must be allowed to think
so. India cannot afford to have him as President of the Congress for a third year in
succession. We want no Caesars.”
Whose Pseudonym was Chanakya?

5.
Tintu Luka (born 26 April 1989) is an Indian track and field athlete, who
predominantly competes in the middle-distance running events. She is a national
record holder in 800m.
Having qualified for the Olympics in 2012 and 2016, and secured a medal of each
color in 2 editions of Asian Games, her coach still believes she is far from her
best, and wants her to be the first athlete to win an Olympic medal for India.
Who is her more famous coach?

6.
X gained special powers from Brahma by which he could not be killed during the
day or night, inside or outside, by god, demon, man or animal. His son Y angers
his father due to his constant devotion to the Lord. After many failed attempts to
kill Y, X asks him,
“ You say your god is omnipotent, is he in this pillar then? “ and he smashes a
nearby pillar.
Z appears as a form of Vishnu, who, without violating any criteria of the boon,
brings an end to X and frees earth of evil.

7.
Mr. W. M. Lake was a Canadian engineer who was given the task to supervise the
extention of railways to the North East, the Dibru-Sadia line to the Ledo
Margherrita. He observed something on the foot of the working elephants, and
shouted, “ ___, boy, ___!”
What popular place gets its name from this story? What is it about?

8.
Uma Devi Khatri, or X, as she was better known as, was a playback singer, who
later started acting. She was named X by Dilip Kumar, when during a scene he
tripped over her due to her relatively larger physique and the name stuck.
She is regarded as bollywood’s first female comedian. The children's show,
Chhota Bheem has a character named X as a tribute to her.

9.
X built a red fort with eight gates and a moat
surrounding it. Inside the fort two wide roads ran from
North to South and East to West. The other roads
were made parallel or perpendicular to them.
This city was once the most well planned city in India.
(Ironically). Id X.

10.
Painted by Abanindranath Tagore.
Give me the subject of the painting.

11. Put Funda?
Identify the significance of this gun
kept in INA museum, Dehradun.

12.
The prominent reasons cited for it were:
● A jump to the 4th spot from the current 29th spot.
● Removal of the geographical confusion.
● Disassociation from the sour memories of the past.
What are these, the reasons for?

13.
In 1945, Muhammed Hashim, a Shia Muslim of Kutch region, incorporated a
company called Western Indian Vegetable Products Ltd, based at Amalner, a
small town in the Jalgaon district of Maharashtra. It used to manufacture cooking
oil under the brand name Sunflower Vanaspati, and a laundry soap called 787, a
byproduct of oil manufacture.
However, this company is known to us in a different field today, rebranded by the
founder’s son, X.

15.
Henry Benedict Medlicott, FRS (3 August 1829 – 6 April 1905) was an Irish
geologist who worked in India. He was a coauthor of a text on the geology of India
and is credited with the coining of the term X which was later used to create the
concept of Y.
X is a region of India, named after the _____ people who live there. The name Y
was derived from X, because some of the earliest rock formations Y were first
investigated in part of the region, in modern Odisha.

16.
Prominent historians point out that in the artefacts of the Indus Valley Civilisation,
the evidences for idol worship as rarely noticeable, and there are no idols found in
the excavations.
What is cited as the major reason of this lack of idols, a practice still prevailing in
parts of Nepal?

17.
“We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people
cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from one of the texts which
shaped my philosophy of life, 'Now I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds.'
I suppose we all thought that, one way or another."
Who, talking about what? Also, what text is being talked about here?

18.
Fill in the Blanks with sindhi/persian words.
___ _______ ________
(Ruby - Colored) (Divine Spirited) (Wandering Holy Man)

19.
X knew his drinking was a serious problem. If he had to inspire his tired forces to
capture the Agra Fort, he needed to quit drinking. He took a vow in front of his
men, never to drink again.
“ If we fall in the field, we die the death of martyrs. If we survive, we emerge
victorious, the avengers of Allah’s sacred cause.”
He then destroyed his jewel encrusted drinking goblets and gave them to the poor.
The next day, his forces captured a stunning victory!

20.
In the early 1960’s Manipur was hit by a great famine due to a plague caused by
rats. This led to the formation of the Mizo National Front. Subsequently, it started
becoming rebellious and in 1966, they began a Mizo revolt against Delhi,
capturing parts of Burma and the entire Manipur.
During the Mizo National Front insurgency in 1986, where Laldenga’s army was
holding the Indian state to ransom, X penetrated the Mizo National Army and won
over six of the seven closest aides of Laldenga. The core of the insurgency group
now breached, Laldenga had to sign the peace accord and surrender.
Identify X.

Parle-G / Parle area In Mumbai

Dakshin Gangotri - India’s 1st Base in Antarctica

X- Hiranyakashyap Y- Prahlad Z- Narsimha

Digboi - Assam
India’s first oil well

Kempegowda-I
The city being Bengaluru

Shah Jahan
The Lady in the picture being, Jahanara Begum, his daughter.

Gen Niazi’s surrender weapon, 1971

Robert Oppenheimer about Nuclear test and Gita

19.
X knew his drinking was a serious problem. If he had to inspire his tired forces to
capture the Fort at Agra, he needed to quit drinking. He took a vow in front of his
men, never to drink again.
“ If we fall in the field, we die the death of martyrs. If we survive, we emerge
victorious, the avengers of Allah’s sacred cause.”
He then destroyed his jewel encrusted drinking goblets and gave them to the poor.
The next day, his forces captured a stunning victory!

Bounce/Pounce
(+10/0) / (+15/-10)

1.
These cards, signed by some 250,000 Indians swearing their allegiance to X,
were a first-of-its-kind social experiment by X’s leader Y, according to whom,
people of India mattered more than the land.
Some years later, in what historical event involving some of the biggest lawyers in
India like J.L. Nehru, Asaf Ali and K.M.Katju, were these cards used as an
evidence against the “offenders”?
For full points, X, Y and the event.

Source: The Indian Memory
Project, Ranjit Devraj

Azad Hind, Subhash Chandra Bose and the INA trials

2.
One of the more famous but unlikely etymology of this fish’s strange name is said
to be due to its distinctive smell. It was transferred from Mumbai to the east coast
using the mail trains commonly called the Y rails in hindi. Thus the phrase “ You
smell like the X-Y ” became popular in the British Raj, associating a person’s stink
with the odour of the fish.
Further, Y got corrupted to Z thus giving the fish its unusual name, X-Z.

3.
This is the Adhi Vinayakagar Temple in
Muktheeswarar temple at Thilatharpanapuri,
TamilNadu which is near by Koothanoor in
the Mayavaram Tiruvarur road.
What is so special about this temple, that
makes it one of a kind in the world?

The Only temple where Ganesha is worshipped in
human form

4.
Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, the famous flute player, met Annapurna Devi, when he
was 25 years of age. He requested her to make him a disciple. Reluctant at first,
Annapurna Devi agreed subsequently, but put a condition that he would have to
restart his entire training, and thus unlearn whatever he had learnt till now. In
order to show his devotion, Chaurasia did something which caused him to restart
entirely.
What did he do?

He switched his playing hand! Left Handed flautists
are very rare.

5.
X was a 12 year old when he saw Y play and lead India to gold in the 1936 Berlin
Olympics. X, who used to play as a goalkeeper till that stage, says he was
inspired by Y’s skill and thus decided to emulate his success, and started playing
as a forward. He went on to equal many of Y’s feats, and created many of his
own.
X was the first person to be awarded Padma Awards in the sports category. Id X.

6.
“ It is their fault! I hate Indians! They are beastly people with beastly religion. The
______ is their own fault for breeding like rabbits. And if the problem is so serious,
why hasn’t X died yet? ”
Whose response to what?

Churchill on The Great Bengal Famine

7.
The X test was India’s answer to the Boxing Day Test. The X drew fans by their
thousands in just about the only time of the year when cricket viewing in the Tamil
Nadu capital was a pleasant experience weather-wise.
The last instance of this happening was in 1988. In a recent piece in the Hindu, S
Venkataraghavan, the former India captain, wrote about the X in Chennai. "In
Madras, this ________ used to be synonymous with Test cricket at Chepauk," he
wrote. "Schedules were carefully drawn so that a Test match was played at
Chepauk during the season."

8.
What hundred year old tradition was started by this poem, In Flaunder’s Field by
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae ?
What recent change in this tradition has been a subject of discussion in India?
(Image Follows)

Poppy To Marigold for Indian soldiers, CWGC

9.
X is said to have been the carrier of the “Pot of elixir of eternity”. Some sources
believe X reincarnated as the king of Varanasi and taught the practice of Ayurveda
to a group of sages and physicians (वैद्य) , the most notable of them being Y.
Give me X and Y.

10.
Foreseeing the potential upcoming dangers, X planned to buy the Goa port from
the Portuguese to ensure an escape route. He came very close to actually doing it
with the help of British middlemen, before the deal fell off due to other major
issues.
Following is an excerpt of the Agreement:
“The Government of the Portuguese Republic and _____ being desirous of
regulating traffic in the port and railway of Marmagoa in Portuguese India, and
territories have resolved to enter into a convention for that purpose.”

Mir Osman Ali - The Nizam of Hyderabad

11.
“The request simply amazed me. It caused a great stir in my heart. In response to
that great mental turmoil, I pronounced the victory in my creation of that
_____________ of India who has from age after age held steadfast the reins of
India's chariot through rise and fall, through the straight path and the curved. That
_____________ , that Reader of the Collective Mind of India, that Perennial
Guide, could never be X .”
Who, in response to what?

12.
X, remembering the memories of Emergency:
“My stepson brought me home from prison and asked me what I'd like to do. I said
I'd like to take a bath, get into fresh clothes and then meet Pappu (Navin) Patnaik.
My son told me that the place was bugged, to which I replied, 'I'd like to meet Y
then.' Needless to say, he was horrified!”
X and Y were famously, classmates at Shanti Niketan. Their feud, said to have
spawned in childhood, was one of the most bitter ones in Indian Political Scenario
of the 70’s.

Maharani Gayatri Devi, Indira Gandhi

Open for Pounces
Attempt 1 (20/-15)
(First Slide)
Attempt 2 (15/-5)
(Image slide)

Kapil Dev’s style of batting was not the most pleasing to the eyes. He was
unorthodox, and agricultural, but effective. What name did his famous “one legged
pull shot, with the bat swivelling across the midriff” gain, due to its peculiar
resemblance to something?

In 1983, DCM and Toyota entered a partnership, lasting for 12 years,
manufacturing minibuses and trucks under the brand name, “DCM Toyota”. Their
one such minibus, (a modified fully Air-Conditioned 12 seater, equipped with a
hydraulic lift and telephone) became a great talking point in the country and led to
something that would subsequently be the dawn of a new era in Indian history.
What is this all about?

The Siddis are an ethnic group listed as Scheduled Tribes in 4 Indian States. The
Siddi community is currently estimated at around 50,000–60,000 individuals, with
Karnataka, Gujarat and Hyderabad in India and Makran and Karachi in Pakistan
as the main population centres.
Some of the notable names from the community include Jamal-ud-din Yakut, the
confidante of Razia Sultan, often called her lover, the Nawabs of Janjira and
Sachin states in Gujarat and many others.
What is it that makes the Siddis unique ? (Image follows)

African Slave Descendants / African Origin

44.
Talking about her most remembered role, Y says, “She (referring to her role in X)
was a shy girl. She was in love with a character who was in love with someone
else and it was 20 years ago. So a lot has changed from then and now. If
something like that is offered to me today then probably I will think about it since I
have changed a lot too. In retrospect, I am glad to have been part of a legacy,
however I wish I had a bigger role in the film.”
Y also happens to be the lead in Z, regarded as India’s first daily soap.

X - DDLJ
Y - Mandira Bedi
Z - Shanti

The X is a traditional instrument made of bamboo attached to a coconut shell and
covered with goat’s skin. The string is usually made up of horse hair and it is
played by a wooden bow.
Traditionally played by the Bhopas of Rajasthan, this instrument is said to be the
predecessor of another instrument Y.

1. Give this man a Medal!
The Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science was established in 1995 by the Johan
Skytte Foundation at Uppsala University. The prize is to be given "to the scholar
who in the view of the Foundation has made the most valuable contribution to
political science". It is often referred to as the Nobel prize in Political Science.
In 2017, X was awarded "for his multifaceted achievement that “combines insights
into human vulnerability with knowledge about the potential of democratic political
power to redress and relieve this deprivation.”
Who is X?

2.
X was a staunch supporter of the Gandhian philosophy of peace. He had a large
group of people who followed him, in the north west _________. He lead the
Pashtun tribe, considered to be the most barbaric of himalayan tribes, to surrender
their weapons and join Gandhi’s movement of Civil Disobedience. Thus, he was
nicknamed ________ ______.
He separated from the Muslim League due to his opposition of Pakistan, the
separate nation. After partition, he wrote Gandhi a letter, saying “You have thrown
us to the wolves!”

Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan - Frontier Gandhi

3.
The ______ Palace in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China was the residence
of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India during the 1959 Tibetan
uprising. It is now a museum and World Heritage Site.
To what popular tradition, organised in many cities/towns during winters does this
palace lend its name to?

Potala - Tibetan refugee markets

4.
This infamous scheme was often seen as the plan to get X in mainstream politics,
and thus it would serve as a launchpad for his political career. The scheme was
said to be set forth due to the piling amounts of loans from the World Bank, the
Swedish International Development Authority and many other firms.
Numbers suggest that the scheme was 15 times larger than the same act ordered
by a certain individual earlier.
Who is X and what is the scheme ?

Sanjay Gandhi - 15x forced sterilizations than Hitler

5.
On X’s death, he was wrapped in a saffron cloth. Y’s first memory of him was in
the same glowing stream of saffron. She wondered if she could get a piece of it as
a momento. Not being sure as to how appropriate would the gesture be, she
decided against it.
She sat beside his funeral pyre, and when the burning flame was about to go out,
she felt somebody had pulled her sleeve. She looked around to discover a piece
of saffron lying at her feet, half burnt. She picked it up with great care.

6.
A ________ ______ is a person who is sceptical and refuses to believe something
without proof. This is a reference to one of the 12 apostles of Jesus, who is said to
have doubted his resurrection and only believed of it once he touched his wounds
with his own hands.
This apostle is believed to have a specific place in Indian history. Who and what?

St. Thomas brought Christianity to India in 50 AD

7.
Drishti bommai are a representation of chasing
away negativity and preserving positivity in the
Tamil culture. They are painted with fangs, large
eyes and mustaches, and displayed outside
houses to ward off the evil eye.
Where would you have seen a yellow coloured
Version of these this in recent times?

8.
Name these two ladies and tell me why
are they sharing this grammy?

Norah Jones and Anoushka Shankar
Receiving Pt. Ravishankar’s Lifetime achievement Grammy.

9.
The Maratha ascension escalated after the death of Aurangzeb. When Ahmed
Shah invaded Delhi and left his son Timur on the throne, Maratha armies won
back Delhi on the request of the Mughals.
However, the control of Delhi didn’t bring much fortune to the Marathas, with Delhi
sultanate being bankrupt due to the constant wars Aurangzeb had with them, and
the plunder of Delhi by Nadir Shah in 1739.
Thus, seeing the need to finance their re-battle with Ahmed Shah round the corner
(Subsequently “Panipat-3”) The Marathas stripped Delhi of the last bit of Mughal
‘Money’ and thus ending the ‘Royalty’ of the famous X, in Y.
How was the Third Battle of Panipat financed?

Silver taken off the walls of Diwan-i-Khaas, Red Fort

10.
● Joined twitter in August 2014.
● Has a Hipster’s bio. “Explorer. Loves science, photography and long cruises.”
● 35 tweets. 513K Followers, Following 45.
● The First tweet was to X, in response to a “Namaste”
“Howdy X! Keep in touch. I’ll be around!”
Whose Twitter profile description?

Due to a market share of 80% in India, the firm X was dictating the industry’s
growth rate in size as well as sophistication by deciding which products to market
in India. This caused a stir in various Government departments, and it started a
power struggle.
The troubles for X began when the Electronics Committee, headed by Vikram
Sarabhai, wanted it to end its business practice of bringing in old machines to
India, refurbishing and leasing them out at inflated rates to government
departments.
However, in 2011, X was among the few companies shortlisted by the UPA
government for its most ambitious scheme of all times.
11.

12.
Popular for his cockiness and mischief, X made great efforts in his pursuit for Y.
During the shooting of the films, it is said that X would tip the light boys to slip up
during the romantic scenes, so they would have to do retakes. He had worked out
a code with them. If he pulled his ear, they would either mess up the trolley
movement or drop a reflector; if he touched his nose, the shot was okayed.
Which couple?

13.
Identify the gentleman in
the photo.

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