India Quiz

1. 
   

   X is a small village in West Bengal. In March 1976, X saw the beginning of a series of demonstrations by local peasants against landlords who had evicted tenants and/or hoarded grain. The demonstrations grew more militant, leading to skirmishes with the police, killing of a constable, retaliatory firing on the crowds. Eventually the peasants decided to take to arms, and soon landlords were being beheaded.

   
   

X soon came to enjoy an iconic status among Indian revolutionaries. The village gave its name to the region and, in time, to anyone who would use arms to fight the Indian state on behalf of the oppressed. Thus the place X gave birth to a movement which still plagues the hinterland of several Indian states. Name the movement. Bonus point for guessing the name of X.

2. 
   

   X began his last fast at Chennai in Oct 1952 demanding for a separate state. He died in Dec 1952 which led to a huge uproar amongst his followers. The people went into a wild frenzy destroying public property. The disturbance assumed a major scale and continued for 3-4 days. Finally the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru announced the creation of a separate state Y.

   
   

The creation of state Y catalyzed the creation of several other Indian states based on linguistic lines. Name the state Y and the person X.

3. 
   

   Identify this man who was the force behind the formation of the organizations that now comprise the "Sangh Parivar", which celebrated 2006-07 as its centenary year.

   
   

This man was the mentor and teacher to generations of extremists who have carried forward his struggle for a Hindu nation. Identify him.

4. 
   

   This man, also known as Sher-e-Kashmir was the leader of the National Conference, Kashmir's largest political party of the time. He is perhaps the most important political figure in the history of modern Jammu & Kashmir. He was jailed in the year 1953 on the charges of corruption and separatism, but was released after 11 years.

   
   

He was later exiled from Kashmir in 1971 for 18 years. Later, after coming to an accord with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, he went on to become the Chief Minister of J&K which he held until his death. Identify him.

5. 
   

   This man, an old friend of Nehru, was educated at the London School of Economics, was also the first editor Penguin's prestigious non-fiction imprint, Pelican Books. He served as the Indian High Commissioner at London, a cabinet minister without a portfolio, a representative of India at the UN and at disarmament meetings in Geneva, but most importantly as one of the most controversial Defense Ministers of the country.

   
   

He came under a lot of heat after India's staggering defeat at the Sino-Indian war of 1962 and was forced to resign from office for the country's apparent lack of military preparedness. Identify the man in the picture with Nehru.

6. 
   

   The following is an excerpt of a speech in November 1949 by X. This part of the speech is concerned with the place of popular protest in a democracy:

   
   

“We must abandon the method of civil disobedience, non-cooperation and satyagraha. Under an autocratic regime, there might be some justification for them, but not now, when constitutional methods of redress were available. Satyagraha and the like are nothing but the grammar of anarchy and the sooner they are abandoned, the better for us”.

Identify the speaker.

7. 
   

   X was, a renowned social worker, dedicated his life to Vinoba Bhave's Sarvodaya movement. He later led the students of Bihar in a popular protest against the misrule and corruption in the government which went on to assume massive proportions in several states.

   
   

He asked Indira Gandhi to resign from the position of PM when she was found to be guilty of violating electoral laws. Instead, Indira clamped down an emergency and X was one of the leaders who was detained as a political prisoner