Search Previous Year Questions

The correct answer is Taslima Nasrin.

Key Points

• Lajja is a controversial book.
• It deems as a response book to anti-Hindu riots that erupted in parts of Bangladesh, soon after the demolition of Babri Masjid in India on 6 December 1992.
• The book indicates that communal feelings were on the rise, the Hindu minority of Bangladesh was oppressed, and secularism was under the shadow.
• Anita Desai
• She is an Indian novelist.
• She is the John E. Burchard Professor of Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Her books include Clear Light of Day (1980), In Custody (1984) and Fasting, Feasting (1999) among many.
• Taslima Nasrin
• She is a Bangladeshi-Swedish writer.
• She is known for her writing on women's oppression and criticism of religion, despite forced exile.
• Some of her books are banned in Bangladesh.
• Her books include Lajja, Girlhood, French Lover among many.
• Kundanika Kapadia
• She was an Indian novelist, story writer, and essayist from Gujarat.
• She was best known for her novel Saat Pagla Aakashma.
• Amrita Pritam
• She was an Indian novelist, essayist and poet, who wrote in Punjabi and Hindi.
• She is one of the most recognized Punjabi authors of the 20^th century.
• Her books include Kagaz te canvas, shadows of words, Rasidi tickets among many.

The correct answer is Zaverchand Meghani.

Key Points

• Zaverchand Meghani wrote ‘Mansaina Diva’ in the memory of Ravishankar Maharaj.
• It was published in 1945.
• Jhaverchand Meghani
• He was a noted poet, litterateur, social reformer and freedom fighter from Gujarat.
• He is a well-known name in the field of Gujarati literature.
• Mahatma Gandhi spontaneously gave him the title of Raashtreeya Shaayar (National Poet).
• He received many awards like Ranjitram Suvarna Chandrak and Mahida Paaritoshik in literature.
• He went from village to village in search of folk-lores and published them in various volumes of Saurashtra Ni Rasdhar.
• Ravishankar Maharaj
• He was an Indian independence activist, a social worker from Gujarat.
• He was influenced by Arya Samaj philosophy.
• He worked for years for the rehabilitation of Baraiya and Patanvadiya castes of coastal central Gujarat.
• He participated in Borsad Satyagraha in 1923 and protested against Haidiya Tax.
• He inaugurated Gujarat state when it was created on 1 May 1960.

The correct answer is Thakkar Bapa.

Key Points

• Rev. A.V.Thakkar, affectionately known as Thakkar Bapa started Bhil Seva Mandal in the year 1923 with a view to uplifting weaker sections of the society particularly the tribal people.
• In 1922, the Bhils had faced a severe famine.
• He started the activities of Adivasioma Retia.
• He started free clothes, grain at concessional prices, hay-making centres etc.
• He saw that poverty, ignorance and exploitation were rampant in the Bhil community.
• He nurtured the Mandal to the position of eminence.
• Thakkar Bapa became a member of the Servants of India Society founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale in 1905.
• He had authored the book ‘Tribes of India’ which was published in 1950.
• In 1969, India Post released a stamp in his honour.

The pair Gaurishankar Joshi : Sneshrashmi is wrong.

Key Points

• Kumudini Lakhia
• She is an Indian Kathak dancer.
• She founded Kadamb School of Dance and Music, an institute of Indian dance and music in 1967.
• She is a recipient of Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, among others.
• Narsimha Mehta
• He was a 15^th-century poet-saint.
• He was born in a Nagar Brahmin family, in the town of Talaja.
• He is especially revered in Gujarati literature, where he is acclaimed as its Adi Kavi.
• Sidis
• The Sidis is one of the major tribal communities of Gujarat.
• Most Siddis are believed to be the descendants of slaves, sailors, servants and merchants from the Bantu-speaking parts of East Africa.
• Dhamal is a traditional dance of the community.
• Gaurishankar Joshi 
• He is better known by his pen name Dhumaketu.
• He was an Indian Gujarati-language writer.
• Jhinabhai Ratanji Desai was better known by his pen name Snehrashmi.
• Hence, pair 4 is incorrect.

The correct answer is Bengaluru.

Key Points

• Longitude is measured by imaginary lines that run around the Earth vertically (up and down) and meet at the North and South Poles.
• These lines are known as meridians. Each meridian measures one arcdegree of longitude
• Delhi is located in Northern India at 28.61°N 77.23°E.
• Bengaluru
• It is the capital of Karnataka state.
• It is widely regarded as the "Silicon Valley of India".
• It is located at 12.9716° N, 77.5946° E.
• Hyderabad
• It is the capital of Telangana state.
• The city is noted for its monuments which include the Charminar and the fort of Golconda.
• It is located at 17.3850° N, 78.4867° E.
• Nagpur
• It is a city in Maharastra.
• It is also known as the Orange City as it is famous for its orange fruit.
• It is located at 21.1458° N, 79.0882° E.
• Pune
• It is the second-largest city of Maharastra.
• It is located at 18.5204° N, 73.8567° E.

The correct answer is Sumatra.

Key Points

• Sumatra
• It is a large Indonesian island.
• It is the second-largest (after Borneo) of the Greater Sunda Islands.
• It is separated in the northeast from the Malay Peninsula by the Strait of Malacca and in the south from Java by the Sunda Strait.
• The distance between Sumatra and Great Nicobar is 1,192 km.
• Barneo
• It is a city in Italy.
• Java
• It is an island of Indonesia.
• It is bordered by the Indian Ocean on the south and the Java Sea on the north.
• The distance between Java and Great Nicobar is 1,817 km.
• Sri Lanka
• It is a country in South Asia.
• It has been called “the pearl of the Indian ocean” because of its shape and location.
• It is located between the Laccadive Sea in the west and the Bay of Bengal in the east.
• The distance between Sri Lanka and Great Nicobar is 1,437 km.

The correct answer is Rotation of the Earth.

Key Points

• The Coriolis effect is responsible for wind to deflect towards left in the southern hemisphere.
• The key to the Coriolis effect lies in Earth's rotation.
• Coriolis effect-
• It is the tendency for the path of moving bodies (e.g., ocean currents) to be deflected on the surface of the Earth, to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
• It is a result of the fact that different latitudes on Earth rotate at different speeds.
• Between the poles and 60^o latitude, the difference in rotation speed is 800 km/hr and between the equator and 30^o latitude, the difference is only 200 km/hr.
• Therefore, the strength of the Coriolis Effect is stronger near the poles, and weaker at the equator.
• Objects moving from the equator towards the poles move into a region of slower rotational speed and their paths are deflected “ahead” of their point of origin.
• Movement from high latitudes to low latitudes goes from a region of low speed to a region of higher rotation speed, and there is deflection “behind” their point of origin.
• In the Northern Hemisphere this deflection is always to the right from the point of origin, and in the Southern Hemisphere the deflection is always to the left.

The correct answer is Berlin : Rhine.

Key Points

• Rhine
• It is one of the longest and most important river in Europe.
• It runs for over 1,232 km (766 mi) from its source in the in the Swiss Alps (in Switzerland).
• It flows through six countries -Switzerland, Principality of Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France and the Netherlands before flowing into the North Sea at Rotterdam.
• It is called Rhein in Germany; Rhine in France and Rijn in Netherlands.
• Thames
• It flows from the source at Thames Head near the hamlet of Kemble in England.
• It flows through southern England including London.
• It is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the River Severn.
• Hudson
• It flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York in the United States.
• It is about 315 miles (507 km) long.
• Danube
• It is Europe's second-longest river, after the Volga.
• It is located in Central and Eastern Europe.
• Vienna (Austria’s capital) lies in the country’s east on the Danube River.

The correct answer is Sutlej.

Key Points

• Sutlej
• It rises from the Manasarovar-Rakas Lakes in western Tibet.
• Before entering the Punjab plain, it cuts a gorge in Naina Devi Dhar, where the famous Bhakra dam has been constructed.
• It is the longest of the five tributaries of the Indus River.
• It eventually drains into the Indus in Pakistan.

Additional Information

• Beas
• It rises in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh.
• Its total length is 470 kilometres.
• It meets river Sutlej at the south-western boundary of Kapurthala district of Punjab.
• The chief tributaries are Bain, Banganga, Luni and Uhal.
• Chenab
• It is formed by the confluence of two rivers, Chandra and Bhaga.
• It originates from Lahaul valley in Himachal Pradesh.
• It flows through the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir into the plains of Punjab, Pakistan.
• Ravi
• It originates in the Himalayas in the Multhan tehsil of Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.
• It drains the area between the Pir Panjal and the Dhaola Dhar ranges.
• It enters Punjab Plains near Madhopur and later enters Pakistan below Amritsar.

The correct answer is 1, 3 and 4 only.

Key Points

• Bandipur
• It is located in Gundulpet taluk, Chamarajanagar district.
• This National Park was formed by including most of the forest areas of the then Venugopala Wildlife Park.
• This reserve was brought under Project Tiger in 1973.
• It has the second highest Tiger population in India.
• Tigers, Indian Elephants, Leopard, Dhole, Sambar, Sloth bear, Chital many more animals and Birds can be spotted in the Bandipur National park.
• Bhitarkanika
• It is in the state of Odisha.
• It is the second largest Mangrove ecosystems of India.
• It is the breeding place for the endangered salt water crocodiles which are the prime attractions of the sanctuary.
• Manas
• It is a national park, UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, a Project Tiger reserve, an elephant reserve and a biosphere reserve in Assam.
• About the half of the Park is covered by Grasslands of Terai and Bhabar type.
• There are more than 650 species of Angiosperms alone.
• Sundarbans
• It is a national park, tiger reserve, and biosphere reserve in West Bengal, India.
• The area is known for its wide range of fauna, including 260 bird species, the Bengal tiger and other threatened species such as the estuarine crocodile and the Indian python.