I is for India Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Cellular Jail

The cellular Jail was a notorious prison built during the British raj between 1896 to 1908, as a place to keep notorious criminals in a place where they cannot escape from. This caused a small problem though, when a desperate prisoner shot and killed Viceroy Mayo and this led to the removal of the imprisonment for life sentences. Later on, during the freedom struggle, hundreds of politcal prisoners were also kept here, and you can see their names carved into the walls here, a sort of a British Abu Ghraib.

The tribals on the Andaman islands, the Jarawas are a peaceable folk, hardly the stereotype of the cannibalist savage they were portrayed as in colonial times. Other primitive tribes also live in the Nicobar chain nearby. India's only active volcano, Barren Island is found in the Nicobar chain, but it is an uninhabited island.

Answer: Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments, the company which developed the first micro-processor when it was invented by Jack Kilby, was also the first to set up shop in my hometown in 1984, long before it became the hot-spot for India's growing IT industry. Today Bangalore plays host to nearly 1000 local and foreign IT companies which employ close to half a million people.

The next big thing in Bangalore is of course the center of a large controversy, the Business Process Outsourcing industry, which is blamed for causing job losses in more developed countries, but which companies say is essential to reduce costs and prevent even MORE job losses.

Answer: 1000 sq km

Chilka Lake, on India's eastern coast in Orissa state, is home to several species of birds and animals and is also home to the famous dolphins, which were, till recently on the endangered list. The Chilka Lake National Park is also a highly visited tourist spot for its abundant flora and fauna.

Answer: False

Dadhabhai Naoroji was actually the first Indian to be elected to the House of Commons from the constituency of Central Finsbury, London , under the Liberal Partt ticket. He also wrote "Poverty and un-British Rule in India", in which he criticized the British for the drain on India's resources caused by the Raj. Lord Swaraj Paul was the first Indian to make it to the House of Lords.

Answer: Ganesha

Most Hindus worship Ganesha in various forms, but mostly as the god who must be propitiated before any work is undertaken so that no obstacles impede it, and it reaches its proper fulfillment. Interestingly Ganesha was not born with an elephant's head, but got one when his father, Shiva cut it off, mistaking him for an insolent intruder in his house.

In remorse, Shiva sent off his other son, Karthikeya to get the head of first animal that lay in his path, which turned out to be an elephant.

Answer: Akbar

Fatehpur Sikri, it is believed was built by Akbar to commemorate the birth of his first son, Prince Salim. It served as the Mughal capital from 1570-1586 and is located about 40 kms from Agra. It was however abandoned as a result of a paucity of water and the capital shifted back to Delhi. Fatehpur Sikri today hold the world's largest gateway, the Buland Darwaza which is about 85 feet high.

Answer: False

The Ganga actually flows from the Gaumukh glacier which literally means the face of the cow. This glacier lies about 18 km uphill from the pilgrimage town of Gangotri, where the Ganga is called the Bhagirathi. The Ganga gets this name, because the goddess of the river Ganga came down to Earth as a result of the prayers of Bhagirath, who wanted her holy waters to cleanse his uncles' sins.

However, the Ganga's flow was so powerful, she nearly flooded the entire land, until she was trapped in the locks of the god, Shiva. Even today, most representations of Shiva, show the river Ganga pouring out of his matted locks.

Answer: Broke his neck after falling down the stairs

Legend has it that the monarch was on top of his library, in the observatory looking out at the sky, when he is supposed to have spotted the transit of Venus across the Sun, and in his excitement to share his discovery with others, he tripped, fell down the stairs and broke his neck. Humayun was succeeded by his son, Akbar, easily one of India's greatest rulers.

Answer: Richard Nixon

The 1971 War broke out primarily as a result of the flooding into India of over 10 million refugees from what is now Bangladesh, but was then East Pakistan. The people were mainly fleeing from the brutal suppression of the Bangladeshi independence movement by the Pakistani Army, and war was precipitated when Indian troops crossed the border in the East to "rectify" the situation.

This move was pre-empted by the signing of a 20 year Treaty of Co-operation and Friendship between India and the USSR, in order to counter any support Pakistan may recieve from the US, as part of SEATO. Ultimately, the war was over in 12 days when the Indian Army captured Dhaka, and took 90,000 Pakistani prisoners, roughly the entire Pakistani Army in East Bengal. When the war began, President Nixon had ordered the US Sixth Fleet to move to the Bay of Bengal, to try and 'dissuade' Mrs. Gandhi from attacking, but was forced to back down, against Soviet pressure and India's refusal to back down.

Indira Gandhi's image totally changed from the popular perception of being a 'dumb doll' to a 're-incarnation of the goddess Durga'!

Answer: False

Rabindranath Tagore only gave up his knighthood. The Nobel Prize rested in the Vishwabharati Institute museum, where it was recently stolen from. The cold-blooded massacre in 1919 prompted a massive public outcry both in India and England, and General Dyer was forced to resign, yet he recieved a substantial payment from several Englishmen, who felt that Dyer had done a good thing by showing the Indians their proper place. Needless to say, from that point on, the British government lost whatever sympathy or respect it had in the eyes of the people.

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Answer: Arabs

While all the above communities, except the Syrian Christians, were involved in the spice trade, the Arabs had a total monopoly on the spice trade in medieval periods, till the early 16th century, when the Europeans muscled in and took over.

Answer: 100,000

The Lakshadweep archipelago gets its name from the Sanskrit words 'laksha' meaning 100,000 and 'dweepa' meaning island, so it literally means "One hundred thousand islands". This archipelago is a Union Territory of India and is inhabited by around 30,000 people; it is known for pristine beaches and coral reefs.

The islands were first inhabited by Arab traders and most of the current inhabitants are their descendants.

Answer: False

Gandhi wasn't even in the capital, New Delhi on Independence Day. He was instead in Noakhali, a remote village in Bengal, trying to bring peace between the warring Hindus and Muslims in the area. In a sense, Gandhi boycotted Independence Day because he felt it was a pyrrhic victory with so much bloodshed between Hindus and Muslims and the breakup of India.

He would spend the rest of his days desperately trying to bring peace, in a way only he could, in Calcutta and later, in Delhi, before being assassinated by Nathuram Godse.

Answer: False

Actually the Nairs are one of the few communities in India where the children inherit property exclusively from their mothers and not fathers, i.e, property is handed down from mother to daughter. The Nairs, who claim membership to the Kshatriya or warrior caste, are believed to have evolved this mechanism, in order that their women be married to the younger sons of a property owning Brahmin.

The logic behind this was that these young men, would be left out of the property share, would be more than willing to marry propertied women, while the Nairs would gain more prestige in the community; as those who were high enough on the caste scale to be married to Brahmin men.

Interestingly, a man of the Nair caste is closer to his sister's children than his own, as he is also the one who handles his sister's property and not his brother-in-law!

Answer: Hyderabad

That was a toughie, but then there are very few India related words starting with 'O'. The Osmania University was set up by the Nizam of Hyderabad, the ruler of the largest Princely State during the British Raj and continues to be a renowned center for higher studies in Andhra Pradesh state.

Answer: 5

Punjab, one of India's most fertile regions is fed by the rivers, Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej. Before partition, this land included all of the area of Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir states in India and Punjab province of Pakistan. Punjab gets its name from the Sanskrit word for five, "Pancha".

Answer: Iron

The pillar of Mehrauli, as it is called, stands around 14 ft and is made of iron. What is amazing is that it has been exposed to the elements for over 1700 years and has not rusted AT ALL! Metallurgists and scientists were baffled by this and recent evidence has shown that the ancient makers of this pillar had a very advanced knowledge of alloying and metallurgy.

Answer: Ayodhya

Ayodhya, currently the center of a hot dispute between the Hindu and Muslim communities over the destruction of the Babri Mosque and the construction of a Rama temple, is described as being the place where Lord Rama is born. The essential story of the Ramayana speaks of Rama's renunciation of the throne, his exile in forest, the capture of Sita by the ruler of Lanka and Rama's successful war to rescue her from the Island fortress of Lanka, with the help of Hanuman and the Vanaras. Every facet of human life is described in this saga of which it is said "As long as the rivers flow and mountains stand, people will read the Ramayana and attain wisdom".

Answer: Chandragupta

Samudragupta's father was Chandragupta I(not to be confused with Chandragupta Maurya of the Mauryan dynasty), and his son, Chandragupta II. Samudragaupta, himself is called the Napoleon of India, for his stunning campaigns which saw him conquer all of what is now India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, in less than 30 years.

He was also a renowned player of the Veena (similar to the Sitar), and an accomplished playwright as well.

Answer: Singapore

Tamil's connection to Singapore actually goes way back, even beyond the Indian labourers who came to work in the British rubber plantations. The Malaysian peninsula was ruled by Tamil Kings, the Cholas for nearly a hundred years in the 12th and 13th centuries, under the inspired rule of the Chola dynasty, namely Raja Raja Chola, Rajadhiraja Chola and Rajendra Chola.

Answer: False

In fact, Uttar Pradesh, apart from being India's most populated state, also is home to 7 out of 13 PMs India has had. Nehru, his daughter, Indira Gandhi, and her son, Rajiv Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, V.P.Singh, Chandrashekhar and Atal Behari Vajpayee, all were from Uttar Pradesh. Ironically, it is also the least developed Indian state.

Answer: 9

Vishnu has come down to earth as a fish (Matsya), tortoise (Kurma), Boar(Varaha), half-man, half-lion (Narasimha), Vamana (Dwarf), Parashurama (a vengeful Brahmin), Rama of the Ramayana, Krishna of the Bhagwat Gita and also Buddha, to rid the world of evils.

It is believed that Buddha was given the status of an Avathar to challenge the rising popularity of Buddhism in India. In Hindu mythology, the current age will end when Vishnu comes in the terrible avatar, the Kalki avatar and a new age of truth and peace or the Satya Yuga will follow.

Answer: Pakistan

The border post at Wagah is also the place where a large number of people travelling to and from Pakistan cross. Every day, the closing of the border in the evening is done with much fanfare and a little jingoism on both sides, and attracts numerous spectators.

Answer: Buffalo

Yama is often depicted sitting astride a water-buffalo, armed with a great mace, and a lasso to rein in the souls of dead people.

Answer: Lodhi dynasty

The Lodhi dynasty's last ruler, Ibrahim Lodhi was kille in the battle with Babur's troops, as his formidable army routed in the face of a force a fifth its size, but better motivated and mobile.

That's it, until my next quiz, hope you enjoyed it.