General Knowledge Questions

In history of Indian freedom struggle, one needs to first look into the events that led to the need for struggle in the first place. And this dates back to the time the Europeans laid foot on Indian shores. The British came to India to make her a colony.

From 1757, they won almost every battle against the Indian rulers. They sent back to England a lot of the nation’s wealth. This was leading to immense anger amongst patriots.

In 1757 the British defeat Siraj-ud-Daulah at the battle of Plassey.

In 1760 the British defeat the French at the battle of Wandiwash.

In 1764 the British defeat Mir Kasim at the battle Buxar.

In 1765 the British bring the Diwani Rights into Bengal, Orissa and Bihar.

In 1767-1769 the British enter into a humiliating peace pact with the ruler of Mysore – Hyder Ali.

In 1772 Warren Hastings is appointed to the post Governor of Bengal.

In 1773 the British Parliament passes the Regulating Act.

In 1774 Warren Hastings is made the Governor-General.

In 1775 they defeat the king of Mysore – Hyder Ali.

In 1784 the Pitts India Act is introduced.

In 1799 the British defeat Tipu Sultan

In 1803-1805 the British defeat the Marathas.

From 1817 to 1819 the Maratha rule is completely crushed by the British.

In 1831 the east India Company takes overpowers the Raja of Mysore.

In 1833 the Company’s trading rights is abolished.

In 1848 lord Dalhousie appointed to the post of Governor-General.

Finally after 100 years later, in 1857 a number of Indians rose up and revolted. This angry outburst that has never before or after been witnessed by India became an important chapter in history books.

March 29, 1857 is considered is the day when Mangal Pandey reaped the seed for a struggle which gave India its first freedom struggle.

In 1857 the Sepoy Mutiny, which was the first battle for Indian Independence.

This has been termed as ‘The Revolt of 1857′, ‘Sepoy Movement’ and the ‘First War of Independence’.

In 1858 the Indian Government is taken over by the British Crown.

In 1861 introduction of the Indian Councils Act, Indian High Courts Act and the Penal Code.

In 1877 the Queen of England is introduced as Empress of India.

In 1885 the first formal meeting of the Indian National congress was held.

In 1899 lord Curzon is appointed as Governor-General, as well as Viceroy.

In 1906 the Muslim League was formed for the seperate representatives of muslims and congress makes the declaration for Swaraj.

In 1908 the Newspaper Paper Act was introduced.

In 1912 the capital of the imperial was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi.

In 1919 massacre at Jalianwalla Bagh happen where in a peaceful public gathering General O Dwyer Opened fire and killed hubndreds of innocent men, women and children.

In 1921 Mahatma Gandhi takes over leadership of Congress; beginning of the Non-co-operation Movement.

In 1922 the Civil Disobedience Movement was launched

In 1923 the salt tax is certified.

1927 : The Simon Commission was appointed and in 1928 the Simon Commission arrives in India and is boycotted all the Indian parties.

On March 23, 1931 Bhagat Singh threw a fake bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly to ignite the feeling of patritism in every single india. On April 18, 1929 without any proper hearing he was sentenced to death.

In 1929 : Lord Irwin promises to provide Dominion status for the nation; the National flag of India is hoisted by Jawaharlal Nehru in Lahore.

In 1930 Salt Satygraha, which took the form of the Dandi March began.

In 1931 the pact between Irwin and Gandhi; as well as the Second Round Table Conference. In 1932 the third Round Table Conference commenced.

In 1935 introduction of the Government of India Act launched.

In 1942 congress brings to the fore Quit India resolution.

On October 21, 1943, Subash Chandra Bose declared the formation of Azad Hind Government and hosted the Indian National Flag in Kohima, Assam on March 18, 1944.

In 3rd June 1947 Lord Mountbatten announces his plan for partition of India. Although he was not aware of the geography of the india, the britishers wanted to divide india as sooner as possible to strethen their future appearce in the subcontinent.

In 15th August India got its hard earned Independence but unfortunately due to the gridiness of the politicians and britishers it was divided as India and Pakistan.

Pt. Jawaherlala Nehru Became the first prime minister of india , in pakistan Mohammed Ali Jinnah Decorated as the founder of Pakistan.

Mahatma Gandhi’s fathers name was Mr. Karamchand Gandhi and Mother was Putlibai.

Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar a distric of gujrat state in India.

He got married to Kasturbai Makanji when he was 13 years old and was blessed with two children.

He studied law in London between 1888 and 1891 and went to South Africa in 1893 where he opened his own law office.

In 1906 Mahatma Gandhi began the Satyagraha movement in South Africa in protest to the law that all Indians should be finger printed and should also carry an identification card. He was joined by thousands of Indians in this civil disobedience movement.

Gandhi returned to India in 1915. He spent a year touring India on the advice of his political guru, Gopal Krishna Gokhale with the idea of knowing the ‘real India’.

On completing the tour, Gandhi chose to settle down on the banks of river Sabarmati on the outskirts of the city of Ahmedabad where he opened Satyagraha Ashram.

In India, Gandhi started the first Satyagraha in Champaran at the request of poor farmers as they were compelled by British indigo planters to grow indigo on 15% of their land and were then forced to part with the entire crop in lieu of rent.

The Satyagraha forced the British Government to setup an enquiry to evaluate the conditions of the farmers. A committee was setup of which Gandhi too was a part and the committee ruled in favor of the farmers. The success of the first Satyagraha movement in India played an immense role in increasing Gandhi’s popularity in India.

In 1921 Gandhiji called for a non-cooperation movement against the British rule, many Indians willingly renounced their honors and titles, lawyers gave up their practice and students left schools and colleges, womens also entered the field of freedom struggle for the first time. This movement seriously rocked the foundation of the British Empire in India.

After mob violence in Chauri Chaura which broke out in Feb 1922 Gandhiji ended non-cooperation movement abruptly and undertook a fast for five days to atone for the crime committed by the people during the mob hysteria.

Gandhi Ji devoted his time to the propagation of the basic needs such as unity among the Hindu-Muslims, equality of women, removal of the concept of untouchables and increasing the popularity of hand-spinning.

On March 12, 1930 Gandhiji started the historic Dandi March to break the law which stated that salt could not be made by Indians. He reached the beach at Dandi and broke the salt law on Aril 6, 1930.

The historic Dandi March gave strength to the entire nation to start a nation wide defiance of the law and helped start the ‘Civil Disobedience Movement’. Within a couple of weeks, thousands were arrested and put in jail further rocking the empire. The Viceroy Lord Irwin was forced to hold talks with Gandhi and on March 5, 1931 the Gandhi Irwin pact was signed. After signing this pact, Gandhi left for England to attend the First Round Table Conference.

During World War II the British Government in India wanted India’s help. The Congress agreed to help but wanted a promise of Independence in return, the British Government refused.

In 1942, Gandhi launched the ‘Quit India’ movement. This movement led to wide spread disorders and many violent demonstrations across India. Gandhi and other top leaders of the Congress were arrested. During that period his wife passed away and Gandhiji too suffered from a severe attack of Malaria. Considering his deteriorating health, in May 1944 the British Government released him from jail.

At the end of World War II, Britain emerged victorious and when general elections were held in 1945, the Labor Party came into power and Atlee became the Prime Minister. He promised that a self Government would soon be made available in India. A committee arrived from England and discussions were held with the leaders of India about the future of the free India but these meetings failed because of the differences in the opinion between the Congress and Muslims leaders.

In 1945 eventually India attain Independence but due to Jinnah’s obstinacy, the country was partitioned into India and Pakistan. The partition caused a large amount of bloodshed between the Hindus and the Muslims. During the entire saga, Gandhi worked relentlessly to promote the unity between the Hindus and the Muslims and kept a fast to promote indian government for providing aid to newly bulit muslim nation pakistan. This angered the Hindus to the extent of killing Gandhi.

On January 30, 1948 during a prarthna sabha he was shot by Nathu Ram Godse . The last words on his lips were ‘Hey Ram’ (Oh God).

Courtesy: freedom fighters India

It is a law offence to put livestock like cattles or pets on a school bus in Florida.

In Virginia a law code of 1930 prohibits corrupt practices or bribery by any person, but it is not same on political candidates according to a statue by code of 1930.

In the state of Colorado, a pet cat, if loose, must have a tail-light !

In Georgia, it’s against the law to spread a false rumor.

In Missouri, a man must have a permit to shave.

In Texas, it is a “hanging offense” to steal cattle.

In Michigan, married couples must live together or be imprisoned.

In Kentucky, it is illegal for a merchant to force a person into his place of business for the purpose of making a sale.

In New York, it is against the law for children to pick up or collect cigarette and cigar butts.

In New Jersey, cabbage can’t be sold on Sunday.

In Singapore, to maintain clinliness it is illegal to chew gum.

In Massachusetts, it is against the law to put tomatos in clam chowder.

In Washington State, you can’t carry a concealed weapon that is over 6 feet in length.

In New York, it is against the law for a blind person to drive an automobile.

In Texas, it’s against the law for anyone to have a pair of pliers in his or her possession.

A barber is not to advertise prices in the State of Georgia.

In Illinois, the law is that a car must be driven with the steering wheel.

In West Virginia, only babies can ride in a baby carriage.

In Arkansas it is against the law to mispronounce the name of the that State.

In Tennessee, it is against the law to drive a car while sleeping.

According to the legends and menuscripts the ancient Olympic Games were founded by Heracles a son of Zeus.

The very first Olympic race which was organised in 776 BC was won by Corubus by profession he was a chef.

The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896. There were 311 male but no female competitors.

The first Olympic games were held in 776BC and then after that every 4 years repeatedly until 339BC.

Golf is the only sport which was played on the surface of moon on 6 February 1971 when astronaut Alan Shepard hit a golf ball.

In ancient olympics There were no team events, relay races or the long distance race of Marathon these events were introduced in the modern Olympics

Earnier womens were not allowed in olympic games. At the first modern Olympic Games there were 311 male but no female competitors.

The first ever perfect score of 10 in Olympic gymnastics was achieved at the 1976 Montreal Olympics by Romanian Nadia Comaneci, she won 3 gold medals.

The youngest ever Olympian wasonly 10 years old when he competed in the 1896 Athens Olympics is a Greek gymnast Dimitrios Loundras.

The record for the most Olympic medals ever won is held by Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina.

Larissa Latynina won 18 medals ehich includes 9 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze after competing in three Olympics, between 1956 and 1964.

Australia is one of only two countries to have participated in every one of the Modern Olympics since the Games were established in 1896.

Ancient olympic racetracks were 192 meters long.

Electricity doesn’t move through a wire but through a field around the wire.

The computer mouse was invented 30 years ago.

Almost 20 years ago first test-tube baby born in England.

The longest cells in the human body are the motor neurons. They can be up to 4.5 feet (1.37 meters) long and run from the lower spinal cord to the big toe.

The sun is 330330 times larger than the earth.

The first American space stations name was Skylab, In 1979 skylab fell on the earth in thousands of pieces fortunately all in the oceans.

The Stegosaurus dinosaur measured up to 30 feet (9.1 meters).

An inch (2.5 centimeters) of rain water is equivalent to 15 inches (38.1 centimeters) of dry, powdery snow.

The average ice berg weighs 20,000,000 tons.

The Hubble Space Telescope weighs 12 tons (10,896 kilograms), is 43 feet (13.1 meters) long, and cost $2.1 billion to originally build.

The largest flying animal was the pterosaur which lived 70 million years ago. This reptile had a wing span of 36-39 feet (11-11.9 meters) and weighed 190-250 pounds (86-113.5 kilograms).

There are 206 bones in the adult human body and 300 in children

The most powerful laser in the world, the Nova laser at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, CA, USA, generates a pulse of energy equal to 100,000,000,000,000 watts of power for .000000001 second to a target the size of a grain of sand.

The fastest computer in the world is the CRAY Y-MP C90 supercomputer. It has two gigabytes of central memory and 16 parallel central processor units.

The cosmos contains approximately 50,000,000,000 galaxies.

Boron nitride (BN) is the second hardest substance known to man.

The only letter not appearing on the Periodic Table is the letter “J”.

The seeds of an Indian Lotus tree remain viable for 300 to 400 years.

The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.

No matter its size or thickness, no piece of paper can be folded in half more than 7 times.

A car traveling at 80 km/h uses half its fuel to overcome wind resistance.

The typewriter was invented in 1829, and the automatic dishwasher in 1889.

The wristwatch was invented in 1904 by Louis Cartier.

When glass breaks, the cracks move at speeds of up to 3,000 miles per hour.

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.

The Earth’s equatorial circumference (40,075 km) is greater than its polar circumference (40,008 km).

Flying from London to New York by Concord, due to the time zones crossed, you can arrive 2 hours before you leave.

The surface speed record on the moon is 10.56 miles per hour. It was set with the lunar rover.

Just twenty seconds worth of fuel remained when Apollo 11’s lunar module landed on the moon.

India, along the ages, came to be home for every religion of the world. So, despite being essentially a Hindu nation, it embraced Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, as well as gave rise to off shoots of Hinduism.

In the history the beginning of one of the richest civilisation of the world dates back to the 3200-1600 BC of Indus Valley Civilization.

The name `India’ is derived from the Indus River civilisation known as the sindhu valleys which were the home of the earlier inhabitents of indus valley.

Aryan Invaded india 1600-1500 BC, India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history. The Aryan worshippers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu.

India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.

India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.

The name `Hindustan’ combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.

Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the most precise, and therefore suitable language for computer software.

Chess was invented in India.

Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India.

The’ place value system’ and the ‘decimal system’ were developed in 100 BC in India.

The first six Mogul Emperor’s of India ruled in an unbroken succession from father to son for two hundred years, from 1526 to 1707.

The World’s First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The shikhara is made from a single ‘ 80-tonne ‘ piece of granite and built in just 5 years.

India is the Largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest country in the world AND one of the most ancient and living civilizations of at least 10, 000 years old.

The game of snakes & ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called ‘Mokshapat.’ The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowrie shells and dices.

The world’s highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.

India has the most post offices in the world .

The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people.

The World’s first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects.

The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.

India was one of the richest countries till the time of British in the early 17th Century.

The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6000 over years ago. The very word ‘Navigation’ is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Nou’.

Christopher Columbus was attracted by India’s wealth and was looking for route to India when he discovered America by mistake.

Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. His calculations in 5th century was the time taken by earth to orbit the sun was 365.258756484 days.

The value of “pi” was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana in the 6th century, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem.

Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also orignated from India.

Quadratic equations were used by Sridharacharya in the 11th century.

The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10*53 ( i.e 10 to the power of 53 ) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C. during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12( 10 to the power of 12 ).

India was the only source for diamonds to the world untill 1896

The Baily Bridge built by the Indian Army in August 1982 is the highest bridge in the world located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains.

Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain surgeries.

Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism, physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.

India celebrates the birthday of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former President and Vice-President and great statesman, as “Teachers’ Day”.

The North Atlantic gets 1 inch wider every year.

It takes approximately 12 hours for food to entirely digest.

The only rock that floats in water is pumice.

The first ten feet of the ocean hold as much heat as the Earth’s entire atmosphere.

Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone, also set a world water-speed record of over seventy miles an hour at the age of seventy two.

The United States consumes 25% of all the world’s energy.

The planet Saturn has a density lower than water. So, if placed in water it would float.

It takes 70% less energy to produce a ton of paper from recycled paper than from trees.

Hawaii is moving toward Japan 4 inches every year.

The rocket engine has to supply its own oxygen so it can burn its fuel in outer space.

The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

Everyone’s tongue print is different.

Moths have no stomach.

Hummingbirds can’t walk.

On average, our bodies constantly resist an atmospheric pressure of about 1 kilogram per square inch.

Cheetah’s can accelerate from 0 to 70 km/h in 3 seconds.

The highest temperature on Earth was 136°F (58°C) in Libya in 1922.

Sunlight can penetrate clean ocean water to a depth of 240 feet.

The temperature can be determined by counting the number of cricket chirps in fourteen seconds and adding 40.

The moon is one million times drier than the Gobi Desert.

Ten minutes of one hurricane contains enough energy to match the nuclear stockpiles of the world.

Its a common perception that the earth began billions of years ago as a huge ball of swirling dust and gases.

Lightning strikes about 6,000 times per minute on earth. and atleast 2000 Number of lightning strikes over the earth per second.

A bolt of lightning is about 54,000°F (30,000°C) which is actually six times hotter than the surface of the sun.

Russia, Canada, USA, China, Brazil are the five countries with the biggest area on Earth.

The earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago.

As the sun warms the earth’s surface, the atmosphere warms too. Some parts of the earth receive direct rays from the sun all year and are always warm.

Warm air, which weighs less than cool air, rises. Then cool air moves in and replaces the rising warm air. This movement of air is what makes the wind blow.

The average lightning bolt is about an inch wide and five miles long.

The names of the continents all end with the same letter with which they start.

Scientists believes the invertebrate life began on earth about 600 million years ago.

Fish evolved about 300 million years ago on the earth.

Humans began to use clothing about 70 million years ago.

The first words were spoken by humans about 40 thousand years ago.

Cave paintings have been identified from about 30 million years ago.

pyramids were build about 4.5k years ago.

the Roman empire lasted about 500 years ago, from 0 to 500 AD

the Greek civilization lasted about 2k years, from about 4k years ago to 2k years ago

Agricultural habits began about 11k years ago when most of the large animals had been killed.

Tools began to be used about 180k years ago

100 years ago the first virus was found in both plants and animals.

The oldest known fossil is of a single-celled organism, blue-green algae, found in 3.2 billion year-old stones in South Africa.

Oxygen is the most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, waters, and atmosphere (about 49.5%)

According to a servay around 168,000 bibles are distributed in the US on any given day and its a best best selling book in the world.

Christianity is considered as the world’s most widespread religion and due to its popularity a servay reveals that 50 holy bibles sold in an average minute .

The Bible were written in three main languages respectively Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek.

The 12 disciples were not were not allowed to carry food, money, or extra clothing.

The oldest almost complete manuscript of the Bible still existing is the Codex Vaticanus, dating from the first half of the 4th century, now held in the Vatican library.

Dogs are mentioned 14 times in the Bible, and lions 55 times, but domestic cats are not mentioned at all.

The longest book chapter in the Bible is Psalm 119, the shortest is Psalm 117.

The word “God” appears in every book except Esther and Song of Solomon.

The raven is the first bird mention in the Bible. It appears in Genesis 8:7, when it is sent out from the ark by Noah to see if the flood waters have abated. The second bird was a dove, in verse 8.

Almonds and pistachios are the only nuts mentioned in the Bible.

Whilst the Bible is the world’s best-selling book, it’s also the world’s most shoplifted book.

The word ‘Lord’ appears in the bible 7,736 times.

Hinduism The dominant religion of India, Hinduism has a broad variety of forms, ranging from simple folk practices to abstruse metaphysical systems.

Hindus regard the sacred texts known as the Vedas (composed around 1500 B.C.) as central to their tradition.

Shaivism One of the three primary traditions of Hinduism, Shaivism focuses on the god Shiva, the lord of transformative power in the universe.

Shaktism Shaktism focuses on worship of Shakti, the Divine Mother embodying the power of universal manifestation, sometimes known under her names Devi or Kali.

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism focuses on Vishnu, the Supreme Lord, and his incarnations Krishna and Rama. Vaishnavism is divided into various sampradayas (sects), each of which has been founded by a particular acharaya (guru).

The Vedas Meaning “knowledge” in Sanskrit, the Vedas are the oldest and most authoritative texts of Hinduism. Composed around 1500 B.C.E., they are among the world’s oldest surviving.

Vedas consist of four parts. The Rig Veda contains verses of praise to the gods; the Yajur Veda discusses the requirements of ritual offerings; the Sama Veda, verses and chants for ritual offerings, and Atharva Veda, magical verses.

The Upanishads Among the principal texts of the Hindu tradition, the Upanishads are metaphysical treatises that are concerned with the origin and destiny of humanity and the universe.

In Old Testament times the Mediterranean Sea was called the Great Sea.

Revelation, written about 95 AD, is the youngest book in the New Testament.

Uncle Pai is a successful publisher who was associated with Amar Chitra Katha once roaringly successful children’s literature.

Indra Nooyi is the top executive of Indian origin with Pepsi Cold Drinks who regarded as the 50 most powerful women in corporate America by a leading corporate magazine.

Royal Dutch Shell commonly known as Shell is the biggest Petroleum Company in the world.

Dhunji Rana the robust male model who have a stylish and sophisticated presence was the model for Zodiac Man for the brands indian advertising promotions.

CEAT tyre company which gives cricket ratings are belongs to RPG Enterprises group is an indian company which manages various business areas such as Power, Transmission, IT, Speciality, Carbon Black, Tyre, Retail and Entertainment.

Living Media India Ltd is the media group has launched India’s first electronic newspaper, or e-paper.

Sunil Mittal of Bharti Telecom was an Indian businessman who has been named among businessweek’s top entrepreneurs for 2000.

The beautiful Ekta Kapoor, daughter of film star Jeetendra, is a highly successful producer of television serials owns Balaji Telefilms.

Epson company has the advertising punchline “The Power To Create”.

Tata Finance has launched a credit card with a tie up with American Express credit card company.

Stanford University Network is the first three letters of ‘Sun Microsystems’ stand for.

The beer brand cobra is the most preferred as an accompaniment to India food.

C. K. Prahlad the Management Guru of Indian Origin is most associateed with the phrase “Core Competence”.

Maruti Udyog is the largest ‘unlisted’ company in India in terms of turnover.

L. N. Mittal is the only Asian to be included in Sunday Times list of “The Wealthiest 200 in Britain since 1066″.

Raymond is the Indian textile brand who proudly proclaims “Since 1925″in its advertisements.

Mumbai-born Fareed Zackaria has been appointed the editor of Newsweek an international news magazine.

Bombay Dyeing textile company of India is head quartered at “Neville House”.

The Hollywood horror flick “Crocodile 2 Death Roll” was recently shot in Ramoji film studio in India

The Department of Telecommunications (DOT has been transformed in to a corporation and namedas Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited.