History of Indian Cities Trivia Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which of the following South Indian cities was a French colony until 1954 and also featured in the 2012 movie 'Life Of Pi'?

Answer: Pondicherry

Pondicherry lies on the East Coast of India. It is also known as Puducherry.
Pondicherry was acquired by the French in 1674 and they held control over the city until 1954 when an election decided that the city would be handed over to the Indian Union.

2. Which city on the West Coast of India was where legendary Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed on 20 May, 1498 which began a new era of Western Imperialism in India?

Answer: Calicut

Calicut lies on the West Coast of India and has been renamed Kozhikode. It was a great trade centre for spices and was also known as the "City of Spices" at one time.

Many European explorers including Columbus and Bartholomew Diaz tried finding a sea route to India but failed. Vasco da Gama was the first to do so and landed in Calicut on 20 May, 1498.

Vasco da Gama died in Kochin in 1524 having made three journeys back and forth from Portugal to India.

3. Which city (then, a group of seven islands) was gifted to the British as dowry by the Portuguese as part of the marriage treaty of King Charles of England to Princess Catherine of Portugal and which went on to become the financial hub of the Indian sub-continent post India's independence from the British?

Answer: Bombay

Bombay was a group of seven islands that housed fishing colonies. It was handed over to the Portuguese in 1535 as part of the Treaty of Bassein between the Gujarat Sultanate that owned these lands and the Portuguese empire in India. It was later handed over to the English in 1661 as part of the Dowry of Princess Catherine's marriage to King Charles.

The "capital" of the East India Company was moved to Bombay from Surat in 1687.

It remained one of the main hubs of India's Independent Movement until independence from the British in 1947. It became the capital of the state of Maharashtra in 1960. Bombay was renamed as Mumbai in the year 1996. It is the entertainment capital of India and is home to Bollywood.

4. In which South Indian city did the British establish their first fortress in India, the Fort St. George, in the year 1644?

Answer: Madras

Fort St George was built by the British East India Company in 1644 on a strip of land along the coast which they had bought from the local rulers. This was the first major British settlement in India.

During British Rule, Madras was the administrative capital for most of South India.

After independence from the British, Madras became the capital of Madras state which was later renamed Tamil Nadu. Madras was renamed Chennai in 1996.

5. Which city affectionately called the "City of Joy" was the capital of British India till the year 1911 and was the heart of the Indian Independence movement throughout the two centuries that the British ruled India?

Answer: Calcutta (Kolkata)

Calcutta was the capital of the British in India from around 1800 to 1911 when it was shifted due to it being the hub of nationalistic activity against the British.

It was also the capital of the British presidency of Bengal, which had to be partitioned in 1905 as the British couldn't control the nationalistic activities of the Bengalis (the people of Bengal). They cleverly did this on religious lines and divided Bengal into West Bengal (mainly Hindu) and East Bengal (mainly Muslim). This was not appreciated by the people and lead to widespread protests, and the presidency was reinstated as one. But post independence East Bengal went with Pakistan and the West remained as a part of India due to partition.

Calcutta became the capital of the state of West Bengal post independence and was renamed Kolkata in 2001.

6. Which South Indian city famous for its characteristic cuisine houses the winter office of the President of India and was the capital of the Princely state of the Nizams (a ruling dynasty) which was added to the Indian Union by force in the year 1948?

Answer: Hyderabad

Hyderabad was the capital of the princely state of the Nizams. After independence from the British, the Nizam ruling Hyderabad refused to join the Indian Union. Hence, the Indian Government used the Indian Army to take control of Hyderabad and consequently the state of Andhra Pradesh came into being with Hyderabad as its capital.

Due to intense political agitation, the state of Andhra Pradesh was further bifurcated into Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in June 2014 with Hyderabad going to Telangana.

7. Which city, home to the holiest Sikh shrine in the world, was the scene of the infamous Jallianwalla Bagh massacre took place in 1919?

Answer: Amritsar

Amritsar is one of the largest cities in the Punjab state of India. It is home to the holiest Sikh shrines in the world, the Harmandir Sahib, more popularly known as the Golden Temple.

It is also infamous for being the city where the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre took place. It was on 13th April, 1919 that innocent unarmed civilians holding a public meeting were massacred to death by units of the British army on the orders of
Brigadier-General Dyer.

8. Which city, capital of the Great Mughal Empire under the rulers Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangazeb (for a brief period) has the world famous Taj Mahal?

Answer: Agra

Agra has mainly been recorded in history as the capital of the Mughal Empire during the reigns of Akbar, his son Jahangir and the great builder Shah Jahan.
Akbar also built Fatehpur Sikri just outside Agra to be his capital but was forced to drop the idea due to water shortages. The Red Fort in Agra was the seat of the Mughal Empire.

Shah Jahan also built the world famous Taj Mahal in Agra in memory of his wife Mumtaz.

9. Which ancient Indian city was the capital of the great Mauryan Empire including the period of Ashoka the Great's rule and also remained the capital of the Gupta dynasty three centuries later?

Answer: Pataliputra

Pataliputra was the capital of three great dynasties of Ancient India - the Nandas, the Mauryans and the Guptas. It was advantageous to make this city the capital due to its geographical location with respect to the boundaries of the empire and its position on the banks of the Ganges. It was a great cultural and commercial centre of its time and even a Greek ambassador, Megasthenes, resided in the court of the Mauryans. The city reached the peak of its prosperity during the reign of Ashoka the Great. It was also a Buddhist spiritual centre.

Present day Patna in Bihar state of India lies adjacent to the ruins of Pataliputra.

10. The capital of India was transferred from Calcutta in the year 1911 to which city, which was also made the capital of the Republic of India in 1947?

Answer: Delhi

Delhi has been the capital of various dynasties and rulers that have ruled major parts of India.

It was believed to be the capital of the mythical Pandavas of the Mahabharata when it was known as Indraprastha. After the first major invasion of the Afghan Muslims rulers in 1192, Muhammad Ghori made Delhi the capital of his Indian empire and it remained as such for many Muslim rulers for the next 350 years. It was Akbar who shifted the capital to Fatehpur Sikri near Agra. After the death of Aurangazeb in 1707, the Marathas also made Delhi their capital for a brief period of time.

Delhi finally fell into the hands of the East India Company in 1858 during the Sepoy Mutiny, otherwise known as India's First War of Independence. But Calcutta remained as the capital of British India until 1911 when the capital was transferred to Delhi.

After independence from the British, New Delhi was made the capital of the Republic of India.

Source: Author genius238

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

India is an ancient country with many historic cities of present and many destroyed in the past. Let us see some of these cities through their histories.

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