Awards & Honours Mixed Quiz: Set 28

The correct answer is A, Major Somnath Sharma. He was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously for the action at Badgam near Srinagar in November 1947, during the first conflict in Kashmir, and the award itself was instituted in 1950 with effect from 15 August 1947, which is why the first recipient's action precedes the award's announcement. Option B, Captain Vikram Batra, received it posthumously for the Kargil conflict of 1999. Option C, Subedar Joginder Singh, received it posthumously for the war of 1962. Option D, Abdul Hamid, received it posthumously for destroying enemy tanks at Asal Uttar in the war of 1965. All four are genuine recipients, so the question turns entirely on the date, and 1947 with Badgam points to Somnath Sharma. The peacetime equivalent of this decoration is the Ashoka Chakra, instituted in 1952.

The correct answer is B, Three. The series runs as the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak, the Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak and the Jeevan Raksha Padak, in descending order, the class depending on how great the danger to the rescuer's own life was. Option A is wrong because two classes would leave out the middle grade, Uttam, which is a real and separately notified award. Option C is wrong because no fourth class exists, although candidates sometimes count the Kabir Puraskar as a fourth; that is a different award for courage during communal violence, and it too has three classes. Option D is wrong because five is the number of classes in no award of this family. The three-class pattern is worth noting as a habit of Indian awards: the wartime and peacetime gallantry Chakras also come in threes.

The correct answer is C, Article 18. Article 18 abolishes titles and forbids the State from conferring any title except a military or academic distinction; it also bars citizens from accepting a title from a foreign state. This is why the Supreme Court had to examine, in Balaji Raghavan versus Union of India in 1996, whether the Bharat Ratna and the Padma awards are titles, and it held that they are not, provided they are not used as a prefix or a suffix to the recipient's name. The same rule applies to state awards such as the Karnataka Ratna or the Maharashtra Bhushan. Option A, Article 15, prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Option B, Article 17, abolishes untouchability. Option D, Article 19, guarantees the six freedoms, including freedom of speech and expression.

The correct answer is C, 1954. The magazine Filmfare, published by The Times Group, held its first award ceremony in 1954 for the films released in 1953, which makes these the oldest film awards in India. Option A, 1947, is the year of independence and is offered only as a familiar date. Option B, 1952, is a strong distractor because that is the year the International Film Festival of India was first held, and papers often place the two years side by side. Option D, 1969, is the year the Dadasaheb Phalke Award was instituted, and its first recipient was Devika Rani. Note that the National Film Awards also began in 1954, as the State Awards for Films, so 1954 belongs to two institutions at once and a question may ask for either.

The correct answer is B, Ministry of Home Affairs, which administers the Jeevan Raksha Padak series along with the police, fire service, home guard and correctional service medals and the Kabir Puraskar. Option A is wrong because the Ministry of Defence deals with the gallantry Chakras and the distinguished service decorations of the armed forces, not with the civilian life-saving awards. Option C is wrong because the Ministry of Women and Child Development runs the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, under which bravery by children is now recognised, which makes it the most plausible wrong answer here. Option D is wrong because the Ministry of Culture handles cultural honours and institutions rather than awards for courage. Grouping the awards by ministry is the quickest way to answer a whole set of questions on this topic.

The correct answer is C, the Ministry of Women and Child Development. This ministry frames the scheme, invites and screens the nominations and arranges the ceremony at which the President confers the award on 8 March; the same ministry also administers the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar for children. Option A, the Ministry of Home Affairs, handles the Padma awards and the gallantry decorations, so it is the commonest wrong choice in award questions generally. Option B, the Ministry of Culture, administers the Gandhi Peace Prize and the Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony. Option D, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, administers the Vayoshreshtha Samman for senior citizens and the national awards for the empowerment of persons with disabilities. Matching each award to its ministry answers a whole family of questions.

The correct answer is B, Do Bigha Zamin. Bimal Roy's film about a farmer who goes to Calcutta to pull a rickshaw took the first Filmfare Award for Best Film, and Bimal Roy took the first award for Best Direction for the same film. Option A, Baiju Bawra, is the closest distractor, because Meena Kumari won the first Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her role in it. Option C, Mother India, came later and is remembered instead as the first Indian film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Option D, Awara, directed by Raj Kapoor, won no Filmfare Award for Best Film. Remember the first set together: Do Bigha Zamin for film and direction, Dilip Kumar for Daag, and Meena Kumari for Baiju Bawra.

The correct answer is C, 1996. The Government of Maharashtra instituted the Maharashtra Bhushan in 1996 as the highest civilian award of the state, open to work in literature, art, sport, science, social service, medicine and public administration, and the first award went to the Marathi writer and humorist Purushottam Laxman Deshpande, remembered as Pu La Deshpande. Option A, 1986, and option B, 1991, are earlier years in which the award did not yet exist. Option D, 2001, is after the institution of the award and after its first conferment. A useful way to hold the date is to pair the state honours by decade: Karnataka Ratna came in 1992 and Maharashtra Bhushan four years later in 1996, while the Assam and Kerala sets are far newer, dating from 2021.

The correct answer is C, 1995. The prize was instituted in 1995, the year of the one hundred and twenty-fifth birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, and it is given for social, economic and political transformation through non-violence and other Gandhian methods; it carries one crore rupees, a citation and a piece of traditional handicraft, and it is administered by the Ministry of Culture. Option A, 1969, was Gandhi's birth centenary year and also the year of the first Dadasaheb Phalke Award, which makes it a tempting choice. Option B, 1985, is the year of the Dronacharya Award for coaches. Option D, 2001, has no connection with the prize. The award may be given to individuals as well as institutions, and it is open to people of any nationality.

The correct answer is B, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The award is conferred by the Government of India through the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and is presented at the annual National Film Awards ceremony, the recipient being chosen by a committee of eminent persons from the film industry. Option A is wrong because the Ministry of Culture handles the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the Sahitya Akademi and the Lalit Kala Akademi, and the arts they cover, but not the film awards. Option C is wrong because the Ministry of Education is concerned with schools, universities and literacy. Option D is wrong because the Ministry of Home Affairs administers the Padma awards and the Bharat Ratna, which is a different family of honours and a common source of confusion.

The correct answer is B, Ashoka Chakra. The peacetime gallantry awards run as the Ashoka Chakra, the Kirti Chakra and the Shaurya Chakra in descending order, and the Ashoka Chakra may be conferred on civilians as well as on members of the armed forces, which is what makes it relevant to a question on civilian bravery. Option A is wrong because the Param Vir Chakra is the highest wartime gallantry award, given for the most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy. Option C is wrong because the Kirti Chakra is the second of the peacetime series and Option D is wrong because the Shaurya Chakra is the third. The distinction the examiner is testing is wartime against peacetime: Param Vir, Maha Vir and Vir Chakra in war, Ashoka, Kirti and Shaurya Chakra in peace.

The correct answer is A, Sachin Tendulkar. Until December 2011 the Bharat Ratna could be given only for art, literature, science and public service. The rules were then widened to cover any field of human endeavour, and in 2014 Sachin Tendulkar became the first sportsperson to receive the award, along with the scientist C. N. R. Rao. At forty he is also the youngest recipient. Option B is wrong because Major Dhyan Chand, the hockey player, has not received the Bharat Ratna, although his name is frequently proposed and he gives the national sports award its name. Option C is wrong because Milkha Singh received the Padma Shri, not the Bharat Ratna. Option D is wrong because Vishwanathan Anand, the chess grandmaster, received the Padma Vibhushan, a lower civilian honour.

The correct answer is C, Meena Kumari. She received the first Filmfare Award for Best Actress for Baiju Bawra, and the first Best Actor award of the same year went to Dilip Kumar for Daag. Option A, Nargis, is wrong for the first award, though she is strongly associated with the period through Mother India and later received the Padma Shri. Option B, Madhubala, won no Filmfare Award for Best Actress, which surprises students and makes her a useful distractor. Option D, Nutan, belongs to a slightly later phase and won several Filmfare awards, but not the first one. The pair to memorise is Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari as the first acting winners, both honoured at the ceremony of 1954 for films of 1953 and 1952.

The correct answer is B, Ashoka Chakra. India maintains two parallel chains of gallantry awards. For bravery in the presence of the enemy, that is in war, the order runs Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra and Vir Chakra. For gallantry otherwise than in the face of the enemy, that is in peacetime, the order runs Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra, and the Ashoka Chakra may also be conferred on civilians. The Ashoka Chakra therefore stands at the head of the peacetime chain exactly as the Param Vir Chakra stands at the head of the wartime one. Option A, the Maha Vir Chakra, is second in the wartime chain and is the commonest wrong answer here. Option C, the Kirti Chakra, is second in the peacetime chain and so corresponds to the Maha Vir Chakra. Option D, the Shaurya Chakra, is third in the peacetime chain and corresponds to the Vir Chakra.

The correct answer is A, Saving lives of members of another community during communal violence. The Kabir Puraskar, administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs and named after the poet who stood outside sectarian division, is given for conspicuous courage and humanity in saving the lives and property of members of another community during communal riots, and it too has three classes. Option B is wrong because literary honours are given by the Sahitya Akademi and the Jnanpith, and no literary award carries this name and purpose. Option C is wrong because handloom and craft work are recognised by the Sant Kabir Award and similar awards of the textile ministry, a genuinely confusing neighbour since the names are close; read the stem for the field. Option D is wrong because children's bravery is recognised under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar.

The correct answer is B, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. Known as the Frontier Gandhi and as Badshah Khan, he led the Khudai Khidmatgar movement in the North-West Frontier Province and became a citizen of Pakistan after partition; India honoured him with the Bharat Ratna in 1987, the first time the award went to someone who was not an Indian citizen. Option A, Nelson Mandela, was the second such recipient, honoured in 1990, which makes him the obvious trap. Option C, Mother Teresa, was born in Skopje but had taken Indian citizenship, so she is counted as the first naturalised Indian to be honoured, in 1980, and not as a foreigner. Option D, the Dalai Lama, has received many honours in India, but the Bharat Ratna is not among them.

The correct answer is A, 1952. The first edition was organised on behalf of the Government of India and travelled through Bombay, Madras, Delhi, Calcutta and Trivandrum, which made it the first international film festival held anywhere in Asia. Option B, 1954, is the year the Filmfare Awards and the National Film Awards began, so it is the most tempting wrong choice. Option C, 1969, is the year of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Option D, 1975, is offered because the festival changed its form more than once in its early decades, moving between competitive and non-competitive editions. A second fact goes with 1952: the festival is accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations, written as FIAPF, which is what permits its competitive section.

The correct answer is C, Ashoka Chakra. It is the highest peacetime gallantry award and is expressly open to civilians as well as to service personnel, which is why civilians who have fought armed attackers have received it. Option A is wrong because the Param Vir Chakra, like the rest of its series, is for gallantry in the presence of the enemy and belongs to the armed forces. Option B is wrong for the same reason, the Vir Chakra being the third of the wartime series. Option D is wrong on the nature of the act rather than on the question of civilians: the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak is indeed a civilian award, but it is given for saving a life from drowning, fire or a similar danger, not for gallantry against an adversary. Reading the act correctly, rescue or combat, decides every question of this kind.

The correct answer is C, Panaji in Goa. The thirty-fifth edition of 2004 was the first held in Goa, and the state has been the permanent venue since then, with the festival normally taking place in the last week of November. Option A, New Delhi, hosted the festival several times before 2004, which is why it appears here. Option B, Mumbai, is where the first edition of 1952 began, and the city holds its own festival, the Mumbai Film Festival, so it is a genuine distractor. Option D, Kolkata, also hosted early editions and runs the Kolkata International Film Festival, which is separate. The organisers are the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting together with the Government of Goa, and that partnership is the reason the venue is now fixed.

The correct answer is A, The Indian Council for Child Welfare, a voluntary organisation that ran the scheme from 1957 and gave within it the Bharat Award as the highest, the Geeta Chopra Award for a girl and the Sanjay Chopra Award for a boy, named after the sister and brother killed in a kidnapping in Delhi in 1978, and the Bapu Gaidhani Awards. Option B is wrong because the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is a statutory body for the protection of child rights and does not confer these awards. Option C is wrong because the Ministry of Home Affairs runs the Jeevan Raksha Padak and the police medals, not the children's award. Option D is wrong because the Bharat Scouts and Guides is a youth movement with awards of its own. Since 2018 bravery by children has been recognised under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar.