Learn about Maharashtra, India

Maharashtra

Some Quick Facts about Maharashtra

1. Capital: Mumbai

2. Formation Day: 1 May 1960

3. Official Language: Marathi

4. Total Districts: 36

5. Famous Rivers: Godavari River, Krishna River, Narmada River, Tapti River 

6. Tourist Places: Gateway of Inida, Elephanta Caves, Marine Drive, Chhatrapati Shivaji Termius, Ajanta and Ellora Caves, Devgiri Fort, Ghishneshwar Temple, Panchvati And Duarwadi waterfall, Baba Umer Dargah, Mahalakshmi Temple, Lonavala

7. Famous Festivals: Ganesh Chathurthi,  Gudhi Padwa

8. Famous Celebrities: Shivaji Bhosale, Sant Tukaram, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Rani Lakshmibai, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Dadasaheb Phalke, Lata Mangeshkar, Sachin Tendulkar

9. Famous Food: Pohay (Pohe), Misal Pav, Pithla Bhakri, Vada Pav, Puran Poli, Shrikhand

General Knowledge Questions on Maharashtra

Question: When was Maharashtra formed?
Answer: 1 May 1960

Explanation: Maharashtra was formed on 1 May 1960 by splitting the bilingual Bombay State, which had existed since 1956, into majority Marathi speaking Maharashtra, and Gujarati speaking Gujarat respectively.


Question: Which sea is to the west of Maharashtra?
Answer: Arabian

Explanation: Maharashtra is bordered by the states of Madhya Pradesh to the north, Chhattisgarh to the east, Telangana to the southeast, Karnataka to the south and Goa to the southwest. The state of Gujarat lies to the northwest, with the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli sandwiched between the borders. Maharashtra has coastline of 720 km.The Arabian Sea makes up Maharashtra's west coast.


Question: Which is the official language of Maharashtra?
Answer: Marathi

Explanation: Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken predominantly by around 100 million Marathi people of Maharashtra, India. It is the official language and co-official language in the Maharashtra and Goa states of Western India, respectively, and is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. With 83.1 million speakers in 2019, Marathi ranks 10th in the list of most spoken languages in the world. Marathi has the third largest number of native speakers in India, after Hindi and Bengali.


Question: What is the name of the first Marathi talkie film?
Answer: Ayodhyecha Raja

Explanation: Marathi cinema refers to Indian films produced in Marathi, the language of the state of Maharashtra, India. The first Marathi film to be released in India was Shree Pundalik by Dadasaheb Torne on 18 May 1912 at Coronation Cinematograph, Mumbai. Although, the first Marathi talkie film, Ayodhyecha Raja, was released in 1932, just one year after Alam Ara the first Hindi talkie.


Question: Where did Thibaw, last king of Burma, live in Maharashtra?
Answer: Ratnagiri

Explanation: Thibaw, also spelled Theebaw, (born 1858, Mandalay, Burma—died Dec. 19, 1916, Ratnagiri Fort, India), last king of Burma, whose short reign (1878–85) ended with the occupation of Upper Burma by the British. He lived in Ratnagiri in his last days. It is a port city on the Arabian Sea coast in Ratnagiri District in the southwestern part of Maharashtra, India. The district is a part of Konkan division of Maharashtra. Its famous for Mango production.


Question: Which caves in Maharashtra are in UNESCO World Heritage sites list?
Answer: Ajanta, Ellora and Elephanta Caves

Explanation: The Ajanta Caves are 30 (approximately) rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments which date from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 CE in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state of India. The caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive paintings that present emotions through gesture, pose and form.

Ellora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. It is one of the largest rock-cut monastery-temple cave complexes in the world, featuring Hindu, Buddhist and Jain monuments, and artwork, dating from the 600–1000 CE period.

Elephanta Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a collection of cave temples predominantly dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.They are on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri, in Mumbai Harbour, 10 kilometres east of Mumbai in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

Question: Who was first cheif Minister of Maharashtra State?

Answer: Yashwantrao Chavan

Explanation: Maharashtra was formed by dissolution of Bombay State on 1 May 1960. Yashwantrao Chavan, who was serving as the third CM of Bombay State since 1956, became the first CM of Maharashtra. He belonged to the Indian National Congress and held the office until the 1962 Assembly elections.

Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher (24 August 1888 – 8 March 1957) was the first chief minister of Bombay State which consisted of present-day Maharashtra and Gujarat States of India. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India in 1954.

Question: What was the birthplace of Shivaji Maharaj ?
Answer: Shivneri Fort

Explanation: Shivaji Bhosale I (19 February 1630 – April 3, 1680) was an Indian warrior-king and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out an enclave from the declining Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the Maratha Empire. In 1674, he was formally crowned as the chhatrapati (emperor) of his realm at Raigad.

Shivneri Fort is a 17th-century military fortification located near Junnar in Pune district in Maharashtra, India. It is the birthplace of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of Maratha Empire.

Question: When was Bombay renamed as Mumbai?

Answer: 1995

Explanation: Bombay’s official name change, to Mumbai from Bombay happened when regional political party Shiv Sena came into power in 1995. The Shiv Sena saw Bombay as a legacy of British colonialism and wanted the city’s name to reflect its Maratha heritage, hence renaming it to pay tribute to the goddess Mumbadevi. 

Question: when was Bombay Stock Exchange was established?

Answer: 1875

Explanation: The BSE, formerly known as the Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd., is an Indian stock exchange located at Dalal Street, Mumbai. Established in 1875, it is Asia's oldest stock exchange. The BSE is the world's 10th largest stock exchange with an overall market capitalization of more than $2.2 trillion on as of April 2018.

GK Questions on West Bengal

West Bengal

General Knowledge Questions on West Bengal 

Question 1: Who is Chief Minister of West Bengal?

Answer: Mamata Banerjee

Mamata Banerjee also known as Didi, born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician of Bengali descent who serves as the 8th and current Chief Minister of West Bengal since 2011. She is the first woman to hold the office. She founded the party All India Trinamool Congress (AITC or TMC) in 1998 after separating from the Indian National Congress, and became its chairperson. She is often referred to as Didi (meaning: elder sister in Hindi and Bengali).

Banerjee has previously served twice as the Minister of Railways, the first woman to do so. She is also the first female Minister of Coal, and Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Youth Affairs, Sports, Women and Child Development in the cabinet of the Indian government. She rose to prominence after opposing the erstwhile land acquisition policies for industrialisation of the Communist government in West Bengal for Special Economic Zones at the cost of agriculturalists and farmers at Singur. In 2011 Banerjee pulled off a landslide victory for the TMC Congress alliance in West Bengal, defeating the 34-year-old Communist Party of India (Marxist)- led Left Front government, the world's longest-serving democratically elected communist government in the process.

In 2012, Time magazine named her as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Bloomberg Markets magazine listed her among the 50 most influential people in the world of finance in September 2012.

Question 2: When did West Bengal become a state?

Answer: 26 January 1950

The history of West Bengal began in 1947, when the Hindu-dominated western part of British Bengal Province became the Indian state of West Bengal.

When India gained independence in 1947, Bengal was partitioned along religious lines. The western part went to India (and was named West Bengal) while the eastern part joined Pakistan as a province called East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan, giving rise to independent Bangladesh in 1971)

In 1950, the Princely State of Koch Bihar merged with West Bengal after King Jagaddipendra Narayan had signed the Instrument of Accession with India. In 1955, the former French enclave of Chandannagar, which had passed into Indian control after 1950, was integrated into West Bengal. Portions of Bihar were subsequently merged with West Bengal

Question 3: What is the capital of West Bengal?

Answer: Kolkata

Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River approximately 75 kilometres (47 mi) west of the border with Bangladesh, it is the principal commercial, cultural, and educational centre of East India, while the Port of Kolkata is India's oldest operating port and its sole major riverine port. The city is widely regarded as the "cultural capital" of India, and is also nicknamed the "City of Joy". According to the 2011 Indian census, it is the seventh most populous city; the city had a population of 4.5 million, while the suburb population brought the total to 14.1 million, making it the third-most populous metropolitan area in India. Recent estimates of Kolkata Metropolitan Area's economy have ranged from $60 to $150 billion (GDP adjusted for purchasing power parity) making it third most-productive metropolitan area in India, after Mumbai and Delhi.

Question 4: Who is governor of West Bengal?

Answer: Keshari Nath Tripathi

Keshari Nath Tripathi (born 10 November 1934) is an Indian politician and the present Governor of West Bengal. He took oath as Governor of West Bengal on 24 July 2014 and as Governor of Bihar on 27 November, same year. He was sworn in as the Governor of Mizoram on 4 April 2015. He is a Veteran BJP leader. Earlier, he was the speaker of Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly and the president of Uttar Pradesh unit of Bharatiya Janata Party.

Question 5: Which is the largest city in West Bengal? 

Answer: Kolkata

Question 6:  Which is the official language of West Bengal?

Answer: Bengali

Bengali, also known by its endonym Bangla, is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Bengalis in South Asia. It is the official and most widely spoken language of West Bangal and Bangladesh. Its second most widely spoken of the 22 scheduled languages of India, behind Hindi.

Question 7: Which city in West Bengal was a Danish Colony?

Answer: Serampore

Serampore (also called Serampur, Srirampur, Srirampore, Shreerampur, Shreerampore, Shrirampur, Shrirampore) is a city and a municipality of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarter of the Srirampore subdivision. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). It is a pre-colonial city on the west bank of the Hooghly River. It was part of Danish India under the name Frederiknagore from 1755 to 1845.

Question 8: Where did the Portuguese have a factory in West Bengal?

Answer: Hooghly

The district of Hooghly derived its name from the town of Hooghly on the west bank of the Hooghly River about 40 km north of Kolkata. This town was a river port in the fifteenth century.

The district has thousands of years of rich heritage as part of the Bengali kingdom of Bhurshut. The first European to reach this area was the Portuguese sailor Vasco da Gama. In 1536 Portuguese traders obtained a permit from Sultan Mahmud Shah to trade in this area. In those days the Hooghly River was the main route for transportation and Hooghly served as an excellent trading port.

Within a few decades the town of Hooghly turned into a major commercial centre and the largest port in Bengal. Later in 1579–80 Emperor Akbar gave permission to a Portuguese captain Pedro Tavares to establish a city anywhere in the Bengal province. They chose Hooghly, and it became the first European settlement in Bengal. In 1599 the Portuguese traders built a convent and a church in Bandel. This is the first Christian church in Bengal known as ‘Bandel Church’ today.

Question 9: Who founded Calcutta?

Answer: Job Charnock

Job Charnock (1630–1692/1693) was an employee and administrator of the English East India Company, and traditionally regarded as the founder of the city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). However, his status as official founder is not universally accepted.

Question 10: Who is the first Indian and Asian to receive the Nobel Prize in literature?

Answer: Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore FRAS (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941), also known by his sobriquets Gurudev, Kabiguru, and Biswakabi, was a Bengali polymath, poet, musician, and artist from the Indian subcontinent. He reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Author of the "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse" of Gitanjali, he became in 1913 the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Tagore's poetic songs were viewed as spiritual and mercurial; however, his "elegant prose and magical poetry" remain largely unknown outside Bengal. He is sometimes referred to as "the Bard of Bengal".

Question 11: Who is the first Indian to receive the miss universe award?

Answer: Sushmita Sen

Sushmita Sen (born 19 November 1975) is an Indian film actress and model who was crowned Femina Miss India Universe in 1994 and she later won the Miss Universe 1994 contest at the age of 18. Sen is the first Indian woman to win the competition. Primarily known for her work in Hindi films, she has also appeared in Tamil and Bengali language films. She has won several accolades including a Filmfare Award.

Sen was born into a Bengali Baidya family in Hyderabad. Her parents are Shubeer Sen, a former Indian Air Force Wing Commander, and Subhra Sen, a jewelry designer and owner of a Dubai-based store. She has two siblings, a sister named Neelam and a brother named Rajeev.She has attended Air Force Golden Jubilee Institute in New Delhi and St. Ann's High School in Secunderabad, but did not pursue higher education

Question 12: Indian Museum a heritage site located in which state of india?

Answer: Kolkata

The Indian Museum in Kolkata, also referred to as the Imperial Museum at Calcutta in British India era texts, is the largest and oldest museum in India and has rare collections of antiques, armour and ornaments, fossils, skeletons, mummies, and Mughal paintings. It was founded by the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Kolkata (Calcutta), India, in 1814 C.E. The founder curator was Nathaniel Wallich, a Danish botanist.

GK Questions on Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh 

Madhya Pradesh is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Gwalior,Ujjain and Sagar being the other major cities. Nicknamed the "Heart of India" due to its geographical location, Madhya Pradesh is the second largest Indian state by area and the fifth largest state by population with over 75 million residents. It borders the states of Uttar Pradesh to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the southeast, Maharashtra to the south, Gujarat to the west, and Rajasthan to the northwest. Its total area is 308,252 km2. Before 2000, when Chhattisgarh was a part of Madhya Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh was the largest state in India and the distance between the two furthest points inside the state, Singoli and Konta, was 1500 km. Konta is presently in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh state.

Rich in mineral resources, MP has the largest reserves of diamond and copper in India. More than 30% of its area is under forest cover. Its tourism industry has seen considerable growth, with the state topping the National Tourism Awards in 2010–11. In recent years, the state's GDP growth has been above the national average.

[Source: https://en.wikipedia.org]

General Knowledge Questions on Madhya Pradesh State

Question 1: Who is Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh?

Answer: Kamal Nath

Kamal Nath (born 18 November 1946) is an Indian politician and the 18th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, a central Indian state. As a leader of the Indian National Congress he has served as the Minister of Urban Development. He is one of the longest serving and most senior members of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament. He was appointed the Pro Tem Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha. He has been elected nine times from the Chhindwara Lok Sabha constituency of Madhya Pradesh. Nath was elected president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee in May 2018, leading the party in the November-December 2018 assembly election. He assumed the office of Chief Minister on 17 December 2018.

Question 2: When did Madhya Pradesh become a state?

Answer: 1 November 1956

By the early 18th century, the region was divided into several small kingdoms which were captured by the British and incorporated into Central Provinces and Berar and the Central India Agency. After India's independence, Madhya Pradesh state was created with Nagpur as its capital: this state included the southern parts of the present-day Madhya Pradesh and northeastern portion of today's Maharashtra. In 1956, this state was reorganised and its parts were combined with the states of Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal to form the new Madhya Pradesh state, the Marathi-speaking Vidarbha region was removed and merged with the then Bombay State. This state was the largest in India by area until 2000, when its southeastern Chhattisgarh region was made as a separate state.

Question 3: What is the capital of Madhya Pradesh?

Answer: Bhopal

Bhopal is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Bhopal district and Bhopal division. The city was the capital of the former Bhopal State. Bhopal is known as the City of Lakes for its various natural as well as artificial lakes and is also one of the greenest cities in India. It is the 17th largest city in the country and 131st in the world.

Question 4: Who is governor of Madhya Pradesh?

Answer: Anandiben Patel

Anandiben Patel (born 21 November 1941) is an Indian politician and the current Governor of Madhya Pradesh and Governor of Chhattisgarh and former Chief Minister of Gujarat, a western state of India. She was the first woman chief minister of the state. She is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 1987. She was the Cabinet Minister for Education from 2002 to 2007.

She was the cabinet Minister of Road and Building, Revenue, Urban development and Urban Housing, Disaster Management and Capital Projects in the Government of Gujarat from 2007 to 2014.In January 19, 2018, she became the Governor of Madhya Pradesh replacing Om Prakash Kohli who was holding additional charge since September 2016.

Question 5: Which is the largest city in Madhya Pradesh? 

Answer: Indore

Indore is the most populous and the largest city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and first city to have campuses of both the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Management. Located on the southern edge of Malwa Plateau, at an average altitude of 550 meters (1,800 ft) above sea level, it has the highest elevation among major cities of Central India. The city is 190 km (120 mi) west of the state capital of Bhopal. Indore had a census-estimated 2011 population of 1,994,397 (municipal corporation) and 2,170,295 (urban agglomeration). The city is distributed over a land area of just 530 square kilometres (200 sq mi), making Indore the most densely populated major city in the central province. It comes under Tier 2 cities in India.

Indore has been selected as one of the 100 Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under the Smart Cities Mission. It also qualified the first round of Smart Cities Mission and was selected as one of the first twenty cities to be developed as Smart Cities. Indore has been elected as the cleanest city of India two years in a row as per the Swachh Survekshan 2017 and the Swachh Survekshan 2018, respectively.

Question 6:  Which is the official language of Madhya Pradesh?

Answer: Hindi

Hindi, or Modern Standard Hindi is a standardised and Sanskritised register of the Hindustani language. Hindi, written in the Devanagari script, is one of the official languages of India, along with the English language. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of the Republic of India. However, it is not the national language of India because no language was given such a status in the Indian constitution.

Question 7: In which year Bhopal gas treagidy occurred? 

Answer: 2–3 December 1984

The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a gas leak incident on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is considered to be the world's worst industrial disaster. Over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas. The highly toxic substance made its way into and around the small towns located near the plant. Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate death toll was 2,259. The government of Madhya Pradesh confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release.

The owner of the factory, UCIL, was majority owned by UCC, with Indian Government-controlled banks and the Indian public holding a 49.1 percent stake. In 1989, UCC paid $470 million ($929 million in 2017 dollars) to settle litigation stemming from the disaster. In 1994, UCC sold its stake in UCIL to Eveready Industries India Limited (EIIL), which subsequently merged with McLeod Russel (India) Ltd. Eveready ended clean-up on the site in 1998, when it terminated its 99-year lease and turned over control of the site to the state government of Madhya Pradesh. Dow Chemical Company purchased UCC in 2001, seventeen years after the disaster.

Question 8: In which year, Kanha National park was declared as Kanha Tiger Reserve?

Answer: 1973

Kanha Tiger Reserve, also called Kanha National Park, is one of the tiger reserves of India and the largest national park of Madhya Pradesh, state in the heart of India. The present-day Kanha area is divided into two sanctuaries, Hallon and Banjar, of 250 and 300 km2 respectively. Kanha National Park was created on 1 June 1955 and in 1973 was made the Kanha Tiger Reserve. Today it stretches over an area of 940 km2 in the two districts Mandla and Balaghat.

The park has a significant population of the Royal Bengal tiger, Indian leopards, the sloth bear, barasingha and Indian wild dog. The forest depicted in the famous novel by Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book is based on jungles including this reserve. It is also the first tiger reserve in India to officially introduce a mascot, "Bhoorsingh the Barasingha".

Question 9: Why Khajuraho is popular tourist destination in India? 

Answer: Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for their erotic sculpture.

Khajuraho is a town in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, located in Chhatarpur District.One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for their erotic sculpture. The Khajuraho Group of Monuments has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986 and is considered one of the "seven wonders" of India. The town's name, anciently "Kharjuravahaka", is derived from the Sanskrit word kharjur meaning "date palm"

Question 10: Which hills of Madhya Pradesh is known as ‘Queen of Satpuras’?

Answer: Pachmarhi hill

Pachmarhi is a hill station in Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. It has been the location of a cantonment (Pachmarhi Cantonment) since British Raj. It is widely known as Satpura ki Rani ("Queen of Satpura"), situated at a height of 1067 m in a valley of the Satpura Range in Hoshangabad district. Dhupgarh, the highest point (1,352 m) in Madhya Pradesh and the Satpura range, is located here. It is a part of Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve.

Question 11: What is the nick name of M.P.? 

Answer: "Heart of India"

Madhya Pradesh is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Gwalior,Ujjain and Sagar being the other major cities. Nicknamed the "Heart of India" due to its geographical location, Madhya Pradesh is the second largest Indian state by area.

Question 12: Who built the Famous Stupa Sanchi ?

Answer: Emperor Ashoka

Sanchi Stupa, also written Sanci, is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located in 46 kilometres (29 mi) north-east of Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh. The Great Stupa at Sanchi is one of the oldest stone structures in India, and an important monument of Indian Architecture. It was originally commissioned by the emperor Ashoka in the 2nd century BCE. Its nucleus was a simple hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of the Buddha. It was crowned by the chhatri, a parasol-like structure symbolising high rank, which was intended to honour and shelter the relics. The original construction work of this stupa was overseen by Ashoka, whose wife Devi was the daughter of a merchant of nearby Vidisha. Sanchi was also her birthplace as well as the venue of her and Ashoka's wedding. In the 1st century BCE, four elaborately carved toranas (ornamental gateways) and a balustrade encircling the entire structure were added. The Sanchi Stupa built during Mauryan period was made of bricks. The composite flourished until the 11th century.

GK Questions on Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh ("snow-laden province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is bordered by states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west, Haryana on the southwest, Uttarakhand on the southeast, and Tibet on the east. At its southernmost point, it also touches the state of Uttar Pradesh. The state's name was coined from the Sanskrit—Him means 'snow' and achal means 'land' or 'abode'—by acharya Diwakar Datt Sharma, one of the state's eminent Sanskrit scholars.

Prior to India's independence from British, Himachal comprised the hilly regions of Punjab Province of British India. After independence, many of the hilly territories were organized as the Chief Commissioner's province of Himachal Pradesh which later became a union territory. In 1966, hilly areas of neighboring Punjab state were merged into Himachal and it was ultimately granted full statehood in 1971.

The hilly state is almost universally electrified with 99.5% of the households having electricity as of 2016. The state was declared India's second open-defecation free state in 2016. According to a survey of CMS - India Corruption Study 2017, Himachal Pradesh is India's least corrupt state.

[Source: https://en.wikipedia.org]

General Knowledge Questions on Himachal Pradesh State

Question 1: Who is Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh?

Answer: Jai Ram Thakur

Jai Ram Thakur (born 6 January 1965)[1] is an Indian politician, who is the 14th and the current Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. He was elected BJP legislative party leader on 24 December 2017 after the defeat of Chief Ministerial candidate of BJP, Prem Kumar Dhumal in the assembly elections held in November 2017. He has been an MLA in Himachal Pradesh Assembly since 1998 and previously served as Cabinet Minister in BJP Government of Himachal Pradesh. He was Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj from 2009-2012. He is elected to Himachal Pradesh Assembly from Seraj in Mandi. He won his first election in the year of 1998 from now delimited constituency of Chachiot (Seraj).

Question 2: When did Himachal Pradesh become a state?

Answer: 25 January 1971

After independence, the Chief Commissioner's Province of Himachal Pradesh was organized on 15 April 1948 as a result of the integration of 28 petty princely states (including feudal princes and zaildars) in the promontories of the western Himalayas. These were known as the Simla Hills States and four Punjab southern hill states under the Himachal Pradesh (Administration) Order, 1948. The State of Bilaspur was merged into Himachal Pradesh on 1 July 1954 by the Himachal Pradesh and Bilaspur (New State) Act, 1954.

Himachal became a Part 'C' state on 26 January 1950 with the implementation of the Constitution of India and the Lieutenant Governor was appointed. The Legislative Assembly was elected in 1952. Himachal Pradesh became a union territory on 1 November 1956. Some areas of Punjab State— namely Simla, Kangra, Kullu and Lahul and Spiti Districts, Nalagarh tehsil of Ambala District, Lohara, Amb and Una kanungo circles, some area of Santokhgarh kanungo circle and some other specified area of Una tehsil of Hoshiarpur District, besides some parts of Dhar Kalan Kanungo circle of Pathankot tehsil of Gurdaspur District—were merged with Himachal Pradesh on 1 November 1966 on enactment by Parliament of Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966. On 18 December 1970, the State of Himachal Pradesh Act was passed by Parliament, and the new state came into being on 25 January 1971. Himachal became the 18th state of the Indian Union with Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar as its first chief minister.

Question 3: What is the capital of Himachal Pradesh?

Answer: Shimla and Dharamshala

Shimla , also known as Simla, is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Shimla is also a district which is bounded by the state of Uttarakhand in the south-east, districts of Mandi and Kullu in the north, Kinnaur in the east, Sirmaur in the south and Solan in the west. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India, succeeding Murree, northeast of Rawalpindi. After independence, the city became the capital of Punjab and was later named the capital of Himachal Pradesh. It is the principal commercial, cultural and educational centre of the state.

Dharamshala (also spelled Dharamsala) is the district headquarters of Kangra district in India. It was formerly known as Bhagsu. The Dalai Lama's residence and the headquarters of the Central Tibetan Administration (the Tibetan government in exile) are in Dharamshala. Dharamshala is 18 kilometers from Kangra. Dharamshala has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under PM Narendra Modi's flagship Smart Cities Mission. On 19 January 2017, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh declared Dharamshala as the second capital of Himachal Pradesh state, making Himachal Pradesh the third state of India with two capitals after Jammu and Kashmir and Maharashtra.

Question 4: Who is governor  of Himachal Pradesh?

Answer: Acharya Dev Vrat 

Acharya Dev Vrat (born 18 January 1959) is an Indian politician currently serving as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, since August 2015. He is an [ Vishnoi or Bishnoi Samaj ] pracharak and served previously as the principal of a Gurukul in Kurukshetra, Haryana. Being the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, he is also the Chancellor of state universities of Himachal Pradesh.

Question 5: Which is the largest glacier in Asia located in Himachal? 

Answer: Bara Shigri

Bara Shigri is the largest glacier located in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India, Bara-Sigri glacier which is the second longest glacier in Himalaya (Indian side) after Gangotri, both are around 30 km long. The glacier is located in the Chandra Valley of Lahaul. The glacier feeds the Chenab River. The name comes from the Lahaul dialect, where Bara means big and Shigri means glacier.

The Bara Shigri glacier attracted much attention for many years because of the valuable antimony deposits found there. The glacier was first surveyed in 1906 by H. Walker and E.H. Pascoe of the Geological Survey of India. In 1955, the Geological Survey of India sponsored an expedition to this glacier as part of the Indian programme for the International Geophysical Year 1956-57, when a number of Himalayan glaciers were examined and their snout position fixed.

Question 6: Who is popularly known as 'Pahari Gandhi'? 

Answer: Baba Kanshi Ram

Baba Kanshi Ram (11 July 1882 – 15 October 1943) was an Indian poet and activist for independence born in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.

Question 7:  Which is the official language of Himachal Pradesh?

Answer: Hindi

Hindi, or Modern Standard Hindi is a standardised and Sanskritised register of the Hindustani language. Hindi, written in the Devanagari script, is one of the official languages of India, along with the English language.[8] It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of the Republic of India. However, it is not the national language of India because no language was given such a status in the Indian constitution.

Question 8: Which fort in Himachal Pradesh was attacked by Mahmud Gaznavi in 1019 A.D.? 

Answer: Kangra fort

It is believed that the Kangra fort was built by Susharma Chandra after the grand battle of Mahabharata. The earliest records of foreign invasions on Kangra fort have the reference of attack by Mahmud of Ghazni back in AD 1009. The Persian ruler was engrossed by the immense treasure of Nagarkot and could not help acting on the idea of robbing the fort.

Muhammad Bin Tughlaq, the Turkic Sultan of Delhi, was the next ruler to capture the fort later in 1337. And after his death in 1351, his successor Firoz Shah Tughlaq conquered Nagarkot in the same year.In 1621, however, Mughals regained their control of the fort with Jahangir conquering it after a long siege of 14 months.Later, Jai Singh Kanhaiya, the Sikh general of Batala succeeded in capturing the fort.

Question 9:  Where is Tibet’s government-in-exile?

Answer: Dharmshala

The Central Tibetan Administration, also known as CTA  is an organisation based in Dharmshala, India. It was originally called Tibetan Kashag Government in 1960, then later renamed to "the Government of the Great Snow Land". The CTA is also referred to as the Tibetan Government in Exile which has never been recognized by China. Its internal structure is government-like; it has stated that it is "not designed to take power in Tibet"; rather, it will be dissolved "as soon as freedom is restored in Tibet" in favor of a government formed by Tibetans inside Tibet. In addition to political advocacy, it administers a network of schools and other cultural activities for Tibetans in India. On 11 February 1991, the CTA became a founding member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) at a ceremony held at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.

Question 10: Which is the largest temple of Himachal Pradesh? 

Answer: Lakshna Devi Temple (Bharmour)

The Lakshana Devi Temple in Bharmour is a post-Gupta era Hindu temple in Himachal Pradesh dedicated to Durga in her Mahishasura-mardini form. It is dated to the second half of the 7th-century, and is in part one of the oldest surviving wooden temples in India.

Question 11: Who built the new town of Mandi? 

Answer: Ajbar Sen

Princely state of Mandi was founded by Bahu Sen in 1200 AD. But Ajbar Sen was the one who founded historical city of Mandi in 1526 AD. 

Question 12: Bhakhra Dam is loacated on which river? 

Answer: Satluj River

Bhakra Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Sutlej River in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The dam forms the Gobind Sagar reservoir.Described as "New Temple of Resurgent India" by Jawaharlal Nehru,[2] the first prime minister of India, the dam attracts tourists from all over India. Bhakra dam is 15 km from Nangal city and 20 km from Naina Devi town.

Nangal Dam is another dam in Punjab downstream of Bhakra Dam. However, sometimes both the dams together are called Bhakra-Nangal Dam though they are two separate dams.

Question 13: Which is the largest World Bank financed hydro-electric project in Himachal Pradesh? 

Answer: Nathpa Jhakri (1500 MW, in Kinnaur)

The Nathpa Jhakri Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Sutlej river in Himachal Pradesh, India. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production and it supplies a 1,500 megawatts (2,000,000 hp) underground power station with water. Before reaching the power station, water is diverted through a 27.4 km (17 mi) headrace tunnel. Construction on the project began in 1993 and it was complete in 2004. The last two of the 250 megawatts (340,000 hp) Francis turbine-generators went online in March 2004. It is owned by SJVN Ltd.

GK Questions on Jammu and Kashmir (JK)

Q1. Which country is to the west of Jammu and Kashmir?
Q2. Who bought Kashmir from the British?
Q3. Who signed Jammu and Kashmir’s Instrument of Accession?
Q4. What is the term of Jammu and Kashmir’s Legislative Assembly?
Q5. Which is the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir?
Q6. Which is the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir?
Q7. Which is the official language of Jammu and Kashmir?
Q8. Who was Jammu and Kashmir’s chief minister in 1983?
Q9. When was Kargil War?
Q10. Which article in Indian constitution is a temporary provision for Jammu and Kashmir?

Questions with Answers

Q1. Which country is to the west of Jammu and Kashmir?
A: Pakistan

Q2. Who bought Kashmir from the British?
A: Gulab Singh

Q3. Who signed Jammu and Kashmir’s Instrument of Accession?
A: Hari Singh

Q4. What is the term of Jammu and Kashmir’s Legislative Assembly?
A: Six years

Q5. Which is the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir?
A: Srinagar

Q6. Which is the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir?
A: Jammu

Q7. Which is the official language of Jammu and Kashmir?
A: Urdu

Q8. Who was Jammu and Kashmir’s chief minister in 1983?
A: Farooq Abdullah

Q9. When was Kargil War?
A: 1999

Q10. Which article in Indian constitution is a temporary provision for Jammu and Kashmir?
A: 370

GK Questions on Haryana

Haryana, India

[Source:https://en.wikipedia.org]

Haryana, carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 November 1966 on linguistic as well as on cultural basis, is one of the 29 states in India. Chandigarh is the state capital, Faridabad in National Capital Region is the most populous city of the state and Gurugram is a leading financial hub of NCR with major Fortune 500 companies located in it. Haryana has 6 administrative divisions, 22 districts, 72 sub-divisions, 93 revenue tehsils, 50 sub-tehsils, 140 community development blocks, 154 cities and towns, 6,848 villages and 6222 villages panchayats.

As the largest recipient of investment per capita since 2000 in India, and among one of the wealthiest and most economically developed regions in South Asia. Faridabad has been described as eighth fastest growing city in the world and third most in India by City Mayors Foundation survey. In services, Gurugram ranks number 1 in India in IT growth rate and existing technology infrastructure, and number 2 in startup ecosystem, innovation and livability (Nov 2016).

Among the world's oldest and largest ancient civilizations, the Indus Valley Civilization sites at Rakhigarhi village in Hisar district and Bhirrana in Fatehabad district are 9,000 years old. Rich in history, monuments, heritage, flora and fauna, human resources and tourism with well developed economy, national highways and state roads, it is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the north-east, by river Yamuna along its eastern border with Uttar Pradesh, by Rajasthan to the west and south, and Ghaggar-Hakra River flows along its northern border with Punjab. Since Haryana surrounds the country's capital Delhi on three sides (north, west and south), consequently a large area of Haryana is included in the economically-important National Capital Region for the purposes of planning and development.

[Source:https://en.wikipedia.org]

General Knowledge Questions on Haryana State

Question 1: What is the capital of Haryana?

Answer: Chandigarh

Chandigarh is the capital of Haryana. Haryana shares its capital with neighbouring state Punjab. Chandigarh is a union territory and internationally known for its architecture. 

Question 2: Who is the current Chief Minister of Haryana?

Answer: Manohar Lal Khattar

Manohar Lal Khattar (born 5 May 1954) is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician, is the 10th Chief Minister of Haryana. He is a former RSS pracharak. He represents Karnal constituency in Haryana Legislative Assembly, and was sworn-in as Chief Minister of Haryana after BJP's win in the Haryana Legislative Assembly election, 2014. Khattar completed his matriculation (final year of high school) from Pandit Neki Ram Sharma Government College, Rohtak. He then moved to Delhi, and ran a shop near Sadar Bazar[2] while completing his bachelor's degree from Delhi University.

Question 3: Who is the current governor of Haryana?

Answer: Satyadev Narayan Arya

Satyadev Narayan Arya is the current governor of Haryana. He is a leader of BJP from Bihar. He is a former Minister of Mines and Geology of Bihar. He is an eight-time winning Member of Bihar Legislative Assembly from Rajgir

Question 4: When was Haryana State formed in India.

Answer: 1st November 1966

The Indian Punjab as well as PEPSU (Patiala and East Punjab States Union) was divided into three parts on the basis of language in 1966. Haryanvi-speaking areas (a dialect of Hindi) as Haryana, Punjabi-speaking area was remained as Punjab, while the hilly regions and Pahari-speaking areas formed as Himachal Pradesh.

Question 5: What is the official language of Haryana?

Answer: Hindi

Hindi, written in the Devanagari script, is one of the official languages of Hariyana, along with the Punjabi language. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of the Republic of India. However, it is not the national language of India because no language was given such a status in the Indian constitution.

Question 6: Which is the largest city in the state of Haryana?

Answer: Faridabad

Faridabad is the most populous and largest city in the north Indian state of Haryana. Its a leading industrial centre and situated in the National Capital Region bordering the Indian capital New Delhi and located 284 kilometres south of the state capital Chandigarh. The river Yamuna forms the eastern district boundary with Uttar Pradesh. Government of India included it in the second list of Smart Cities Mission on 24 May 2016. Faridabad has been described as eighth fastest growing city in the world and third most in India by City Mayors Foundation survey. As per the 2001 Delhi regional plan, Faridabad is part of the Delhi Metropolitan Area (DMA).

Question 7: When was the famous battle of Panipat fought?

Answer: First Battle of Panipat, on 21 April 1526, Second Battle of Panipat was fought on November 5, 1556, Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761.

The First Battle of Panipat, on 21 April 1526, was fought between the invading forces of timurid ruler Babur and the Lodi dynasty. It took place in north India and marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire and the end of the Delhi Sultanate. This was the very first battle involving gunpowder firearms and field artillery in the Indian subcontinent which were introduced by Mughals in this battle.

The Second Battle of Panipat was fought on November 5, 1556, between the forces of Emperor Sikandar Shah Suri, led by suri chief minister Hem Chandra Vikramaditya and forces of Mughal Emperor Akbar. Hemu had conquered the states of Delhi and Agra a few weeks earlier by defeating the Mughals led by Tardi Beg Khan at the Battle of Delhi and proclaimed himself Raja Vikramaditya. Akbar and his guardian Bairam Khan who, after listening the news of loosing Agra and Delhi, had marched to Panipat to reclaim the lost territories. The two armies clashed at Panipat not far from the site of the First Battle of Panipat of 1526.

The Third Battle of Panipat took place on 14 January 1761 at Panipat, about 60 miles (97 km) north of Delhi, between a northern expeditionary force of the Maratha Empire and invading forces of the King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali, supported by two Indian allies—the Rohillas Najib-ud-daulah, Afghans of the Doab region and Shuja-ud-Daula-the Nawab of Awadh. Militarily, the battle pitted the artillery and cavalry of the Marathas against the heavy cavalry and mounted artillery (zamburak and jezail) of the Afghans and Rohillas led by Abdali and Najib-ud-Daulah, both ethnic Afghans. The battle is considered one of the largest and most eventful fought in the 18th century, and has perhaps the largest number of fatalities in a single day reported in a classic formation battle between two armies.

Question 8: At which place of Haryana did Lord Krishna preach the message of Geeta ?

Answer: Kurukshetra 

Kurukshetra is a city in the state of Haryana, India. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Holy Place"). It is also known as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Kurukshetra lies at distance of 160 km from New Delhi and about 93 km from Chandigarh - city with the nearest airport.

According to the Puranas, Kurukshetra is a region named after King Kuru, the ancestor of Kauravas and Pandavas, as depicted in epic Mahabharata. The importance of the place is attributed to the fact that the Kurukshetra War of the Mahabharata was fought on this land and the Bhagavad Gita was preached here during the war when Lord Krishna found Arjuna in a terrible dilemma. The population of Kurukshetra was 964,655 in 2016.

Question 9: Where has the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) in Haryana been established?

Answer: Karnal 

The National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal is India's premier institute for dairy research. The institute was accorded the status of Deemed University in the year 1989.

Question 10: Name the famous Indian Cricket Captain who won the 1983 Cricket world cup?

Answer: Kapil Dev 

Kapil Dev Nikhanj, born 6 January 1959), better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He was named by Wisden as the Indian Cricketer of the Century in 2002.

Dev captained the Indian cricket team that won the 1983 Cricket World Cup. He was India's national cricket coach between October 1999 and August 2000. He retired in 1994, holding the world record for the greatest number of wickets taken in Test cricket, a record subsequently broken by Courtney Walsh in 2000. At the time, he was also India's highest wicket taker in both major forms of cricket, Tests and ODIs. He is the first player to take 200 ODI wickets. He is the only player in the history of cricket to have taken more than 400 wickets (434 wickets) and scored more than 5000 runs in Tests, making him one of the greatest all-rounders to have played the game. On 11 March 2010, Dev was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Question 11: Which city of Haryana is known as 'City of Weavers' ?

Answer: Panipat

Panipat is a historic city in Haryana, India. It is 90 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on NH-1. The three battles fought near the city in 1526, 1556 and 1761 were all turning points in Indian history. The city is famous in India by the name of "City of Weavers" and "Textile City". It is also known as the "cast-off capital" due to being "the global centre for recycling textiles".

Question 12: In which district of Haryana the Sultanpur National Park is located?

Answer: Gurgaon, Haryana

Sultanpur National Park (formerly Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary) is located at mirzapur fifteen kilometres from Gurgaon, mizorama and 50 km from Delhi in India.

Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary is designed by the alokendu mondal a very popular national park located in gurgaon (facebook district) in Haryana State. Sultanpur is located 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Dhaula Kuan in Delhi and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from tantan city on the Gurgaon – Farrukhnagar Road. This Bird Sanctuary, ideal for birding and bird lookers, is best visited in winters when a large number of migratory birds come here.