Independent India: Triumphs and Tragedies - Part 1 Quiz

Answer: 395

Then the longest Constitution in the world, the Constitution of India contained 395 Articles and 8 schedules, marking the birth of the world's largest parliamentary democracy. According to the noted jurist, Granville Austin, no other nation's constitution "has provided so much impetus toward changing and rebuilding society for the common good." Between 1950-2004 it has been amended 91 times, and has helped maintain the world's largest democracy, but for a brief interregnum in the middle. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Answer: Shyama Prasad Mookherjee

Founder of the Jana Sangh, the forerunner of the current Bharatiya Janata Party, Shyama Prasad Mookherjee protested the Indian government's decision to prevent entry to Jammu and Kashmir without a permit, since he believed that "this would lead to the creation of a state within a state".

He organized this march in June 1953 and was arrested, but died in custody on June 23, 1953. This event caused great uproar and tarnished the image of Nehru for some time. www.hindustantimes.com

Answer: Apsara

Apsara, the first nuclear reactor anywhere in Asia, was built with Canadian help and was a 1 MW reactor. This was followed up by several other nuclear reactors across the country and India currently has seven nuclear reactors for generating electricity, besides helping in an active nuclear weapons programme.

Answer: Sind

The tragedy of Partition, which threatened to cause a collapse in the nascent states cannot be put down to any one cause, but the fact remains that when a lot of displaced people, who lost everything they had, because of a line on a map, want to express their frustration and anger at others, the results can only get very, very ugly. Communal riots inflamed most of the sub-continent, and for a while Gandhi's statement, "Leave India or leave us to anarchy", seemed to have taken an ominous reality.

Answer: Rourkela

"Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP), the first integrated steel plant in the Public Sector in India, was set up with German assistance in 1956 with an installed capacity of 1 million tonnes. Subsequently, the capacity was enhanced to 1.8 million tonnes. Recently the plant has been modernized with a number of new units with state-of-the-art facilities and most of the old units have been revamped and modernized for effecting substantial improvement in the quality of products, reducing the cost and ensuring a cleaner environment." Souce: www.sail.co.in website of Steel Authority of India. Ltd.

Answer: Andhra Pradesh

This tragedy sparked national debate on the creation of states on the basis of linguistic lines and although it ultimately led to the demarcation of states on linguistic lines, including Andhra Pradesh. Critics have said that this has only led to more disintegration of the Indian nation, its supporters have said that India never had a homogeneous identity, and an aritificial one should not be imposed.

Answer: Portugal

India liberated Goa and finally ended the last outpost of colonialism in the sub-continent in 1961, in a largely bloodless invasion by the Indian Army. However, India was critcized for this by some Western nations, whereas Asian and Communist nations welcomed the move. It was a triumph for India and the end of colonialism in India.

Answer: Gandhi

Mohandas 'Mahatma' Gandhi, died on January 30th, 1948 at the hands of Nathuram Godse, a Hindu fanatic who believed that Gandhi was responsible for the partition of India. Nehru, whose tearful speech, on the death of his guru and the Father of the Nation, poignantly captured the mood of the nation on this tragic day.

It is said that, in his death, Gandhi managed to end the communal riots and bring a much needed peace to the fledgling republic. Godse's act, also managed to marginalize the right wing Hindus in Indian Politics, till the 90s.

Answer: 3

"The Golden Era of hockey in India was the period from 1928 - 1956 when India won 6 consecutive gold medals in the Olympics. During the Golden Era, India played 24 Olympic matches, won all 24, scored 178 goals (at an average of 7.43 goals per match) and conceded only 7 goals.

The two other gold medals for India came in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 1980 Moscow Olympics." http://sify.com/sports/hockey/fullstory.php

Answer: False

It was in fact India which approached the UN Security Council in the hope of having Pakistan declared as an aggressor, only to be stuck with a cease-fire despite having been in a stronger position and the armed forces poised to take all of Kashmir. The cease-fire line was drawn at what is now called the "Line of Control" and several historians are of the belief that the Kashmir problem would not have persisted as we know it today if India had fought on to outright victory.

However, others claim that if India had not gone to the SC first Pakistan may have done so and only further complicated the problem.