Indian States & UTs Mixed Quiz: Set 13

The correct answer is C, Kullu Dussehra. Kullu Dussehra begins on Vijayadashami, the day the Dussehra of the plains ends, runs for seven days at the Dhalpur maidan and centres on the chariot of Raghunath ji, whom the village deities of the valley come to attend; it is recognised as an international festival. Option A is wrong because the Minjar fair is held at Chamba in the rainy season, when a silk tassel is offered to the Ravi. Option B is wrong because the Lavi fair at Rampur Bushahr is a November trade fair for wool, dry fruit and horses, dating from a treaty with Tibet. Option D is wrong because the Renuka fair in Sirmaur is held at the lake on Kartik Ekadashi. Mandi holds the Shivratri fair, the fourth of the great fairs, and all four are asked as a set with their districts.

The correct answer is D, Blackbuck. The blackbuck, called Krishna Jinka in Telugu, is the state animal of Andhra Pradesh. It is an antelope of open grassland and scrub; the male turns dark brown to black with age and carries long spiral horns, while the female stays fawn coloured and usually hornless. It is among the fastest Indian animals and is protected under Schedule I of the Wild Life Protection Act of 1972. Punjab and Haryana also carry the blackbuck as their state animal. A is wrong because the mithun, a domesticated bovine of the hills, is the state animal of Arunachal Pradesh and of Nagaland. B is wrong because the ox is a domestic draught animal and is not named as any state animal. C is wrong because the one-horned rhinoceros is the state animal of Assam, where Kaziranga protects most of its population. Exam tip: blackbuck for Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana; rhinoceros for Assam; mithun for Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

The correct answer is C, Dumka. Ranchi is the capital of Jharkhand and the seat of its High Court, while Dumka, the headquarters of the Santhal Pargana division in the east of the state, was named the sub-capital so that administration would not be concentrated entirely in one city. Option A is wrong because Jamshedpur is the largest city and the industrial centre of the state, built around the Tata iron and steel works, but it holds no capital status. Option B is wrong because Dhanbad is the coal city, sitting on the Jharia coalfield, again without capital status. Option D is wrong because Hazaribagh is known for its wildlife sanctuary and for Sohrai and Khovar painting. The pairing to carry is Ranchi as capital, Dumka as sub-capital and Jamshedpur as the largest city.

The correct answer is C, 15 November 2000. Jharkhand was created on that day under the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000, becoming the twenty-eighth state of India, and the date was chosen because it is the birth anniversary of the tribal leader Birsa Munda, now observed nationally as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas. Option A is wrong because 1 November 2000 is the formation day of Chhattisgarh, carved out of Madhya Pradesh. Option B is wrong because 9 November 2000 is the formation day of Uttarakhand, then called Uttaranchal, carved out of Uttar Pradesh. Option D is wrong because 2 October is Gandhi Jayanti and has no connection with the reorganisation. The three new states of that year are almost always asked together, so hold the order as Chhattisgarh first, Uttarakhand second and Jharkhand third.

The correct answer is B, Bilaspur. When the state was formed in 2000 the High Court was established at Bilaspur, so the capital and the seat of the High Court are in different cities, a split the examiner likes. Option A is wrong because Raipur is the capital of the state and the seat of the government and the Legislative Assembly, with Nava Raipur Atal Nagar built beside it as the planned new capital city, but it does not house the High Court. Option C is wrong because Jagdalpur is the principal town of the Bastar region, known for Bastar Dussehra and as the base for Chitrakote Falls, not for the judiciary. Option D is wrong because Durg is an industrial district and the location of the Bhilai Steel Plant. Remember the pairing: Raipur governs, Bilaspur judges.

The correct answer is A, 1 November 2000. Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh under the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000, becoming the twenty-sixth state of India and the first of the three states created that year. Option B is wrong because 9 November 2000 is the formation day of Uttarakhand, then named Uttaranchal, separated from Uttar Pradesh. Option C is wrong because 15 November 2000 is the formation day of Jharkhand, separated from Bihar, and that date was chosen as the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda. Option D is wrong because 1 November 1956 is the date on which the States Reorganisation Act came into force and several states, including Madhya Pradesh in its older form, were reconstituted on linguistic lines. Fix the order of the year 2000 as Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand.

The correct answer is B, Parasnath Hill. Standing in the Giridih district on the Chhotanagpur plateau, Parasnath is the highest point in Jharkhand and is revered by Jains as Sammed Shikhar, the place where a number of their Tirthankaras are believed to have attained liberation, which makes it one of the most important Jain pilgrimage sites in India. Option A is wrong because Netarhat in Latehar district is called the Queen of Chhotanagpur and is famous for its sunrise and sunset points, but it is not the highest. Option C is wrong because Dalma Hill near Jamshedpur gives its name to a wildlife sanctuary. Option D is wrong because Trikut Hill near Deoghar is a pilgrimage spot of modest height. Papers often combine the highest point with the faith it is sacred to, so learn the two together.

The correct answer is B, Kerala. Kolathunadu, Valluvanad and Thekkumkoor were small medieval kingdoms, or swaroopams, of Kerala. Kolathunadu, ruled by the Kolathiri rajas, lay in north Malabar around present-day Kannur; Valluvanad spread over the Palakkad and Malappuram area and is remembered for the Mamankam festival at Tirunavaya; Thekkumkoor lay in the Kottayam region and was absorbed by Travancore under Marthanda Varma in the eighteenth century. Before unification, Kerala was split among such chiefdoms along with Travancore, Cochin and Calicut, and the present state was formed on 1 November 1956 from Travancore-Cochin and the Malabar district of Madras. Option A is wrong because Karnataka's old kingdoms were the Kadambas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagara. Option C is wrong because ancient Bihar was home to Magadha, Anga and Videha. Option D is wrong because Gujarat was ruled by the Solankis of Anhilwada and the Chaulukyas. Exam tip: names ending in nadu or koor in this list point to the medieval chiefdoms of Kerala.

The correct answer is C, the Indravati. Chitrakote Falls is in the Bastar region on the Indravati, a tributary of the Godavari, and its broad horseshoe curve, the widest fall in India, earns it the name Niagara of India. Option A is wrong because the Mahanadi is the main river of the central plain, rising at Sihawa in Dhamtari district; it is the lifeline of the state but does not carry this fall. Option B is wrong because the Shivnath is the longest tributary of the Mahanadi and flows through the plain without such a drop. Option D is wrong because the Hasdeo is another Mahanadi tributary, better known for the coalfield and the dense forest along it. Keep the second waterfall of the state in mind too: Tirathgarh, which is on the Kanger river inside Kanger Valley National Park.

The correct answer is D, Tripura. The Manikya dynasty ruled Tripura for centuries, and its kings all took the title Manikya. Their history is recorded in the Rajmala, a chronicle in Bengali verse first compiled in the fifteenth century under Dharma Manikya. The Ujjayanta Palace at Agartala, built by Radha Kishore Manikya at the beginning of the twentieth century, was their seat and now houses a state museum, and the lake palace Neermahal was raised by Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya, the last ruling king, after whom Agartala's airport is named. The princely state signed the merger agreement and joined the Indian Union in October 1949. Option A is wrong because Gujarat was ruled by the Solanki or Chaulukya line. Option B is wrong because Rajasthan had the Sisodia, Kachwaha and Rathore houses. Option C is wrong because Manipur was ruled by the Ningthouja or Meitei dynasty. Exam tip: Manikya means Tripura, its chronicle is the Rajmala, and it merged with India in 1949.

The correct answer is A, Ulgulan. The word means the great tumult, and it is the name given to the movement Birsa Munda led in the Chhotanagpur region in 1899 and 1900 against landlords, moneylenders, missionaries and the colonial administration, demanding the restoration of tribal land rights; Birsa died in Ranchi jail in June 1900, and the agitation contributed to the passing of the Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act in 1908. Option B is wrong because Hul is the name of the Santhal rebellion of 1855 and 1856. Option C is wrong because Fituri refers to tribal risings in the Andhra region. Option D is wrong because the Kol Uprising of 1831 and 1832, led by figures such as Buddhu Bhagat, came earlier and involved the Kol tribes. Keep Hul with the Santhals and Ulgulan with the Mundas.

The correct answer is C, Lakshadweep. With an area of only about 32 square kilometres, Lakshadweep is the smallest Union Territory of India. It is a group of 36 coral islands in the Arabian Sea, of which only ten are inhabited, and its capital is Kavaratti. Being coral atolls, the islands are tiny and low lying, which is why the total land area stays so small even though the lagoons and waters around them stretch very wide. Option A is wrong because Daman and Diu covers about 112 square kilometres, more than three times Lakshadweep, and since 2020 it is part of the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Option B is wrong because Ladakh is the largest Union Territory by area. Option D is wrong because Jammu and Kashmir is also far larger and is the Union Territory with the biggest population. Exam tip: Lakshadweep is the smallest by area, Ladakh the largest.

The correct answer is B, Dantewada. The Bailadila range in Dantewada district holds some of the finest haematite iron ore in the world, mined by the National Mineral Development Corporation, and the name is said to come from the hump of an ox, which the range resembles. Option A is wrong because Korba is the coal and power district, with large thermal stations and the BALCO aluminium smelter, which makes it the power capital of the state. Option C is wrong because Durg is where the Bhilai Steel Plant stands; it consumes iron ore rather than producing it. Option D is wrong because Raigarh is associated with coal mining and with the Raigarh gharana of Kathak, not with Bailadila. The clean pairing to memorise is Bailadila for iron ore, Korba for coal and power, Bhilai for steel.

The correct answer is D, Shipki La. The Sutlej, which rises from the Rakshastal near Mansarovar in Tibet, crosses into India at Shipki La in Kinnaur district, and it is the longest river of Himachal Pradesh, carrying the Bhakra, Nathpa Jhakri and Kol Dam projects. Option A is wrong because the Rohtang Pass on the Pir Panjal connects Kullu with Lahaul and Spiti and is now bypassed by the Atal Tunnel. Option B is wrong because Baralacha La in Lahaul lies on the Manali Leh road near Suraj Tal. Option C is wrong because the Kunzum Pass joins the Lahaul valley with Spiti. The Sutlej is the only one of the Indus tributaries that cuts through the Greater Himalaya in this way. The Sutlej is called Satadru in the Vedas and Langchen Khambab in Tibet, and below Bhakra it leaves the state for Punjab.

The correct answer is B, Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu. The Santhal Hul of 1855 and 1856 was raised in the Santhal Pargana region against revenue officials, moneylenders and the police, and was led by Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu along with their brothers Chand and Bhairav; its suppression led the colonial government to create a separately administered Santhal Pargana. Option A is wrong because Buddhu Bhagat was a leader of the Kol Uprising of 1831 and 1832 and Jatra Oraon began the Tana Bhagat movement in 1914. Option C is wrong because Tilka Manjhi led an earlier rising in the Bhagalpur region and Birsa Munda belongs to 1899 and 1900. Option D is wrong because Jaipal Singh Munda and later leaders belong to the political movement for a separate state, not to a nineteenth century rebellion.

The correct answer is C, Gujarat. Gir lies in the Junagadh region of the Saurashtra peninsula and is the last place where the Asiatic lion survives in the wild; the lion is the state animal of Gujarat. Option A is wrong because Rajasthan is known for the tiger reserves of Ranthambhore and Sariska and for the Keoladeo bird park at Bharatpur. Option B is wrong because Madhya Pradesh has Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Kuno, and Kuno has been discussed as a second home for lions, which is the reason this option looks attractive. Option D is wrong because Maharashtra has Tadoba and Melghat, both tiger reserves. Along with Gir, remember the Wild Ass Sanctuary in the Little Rann of Kachchh and the Blackbuck National Park at Velavadar.

The correct answer is C, Kanger Valley National Park, in the Bastar region. The park is unusual because it protects limestone caves as well as forest: Kutumsar and Kailash are its best known caves, and it also holds the Tirathgarh waterfall on the Kanger river and the hill myna, the state bird. Option A is wrong because Indravati National Park lies in Bijapur district along the Indravati and is known as a tiger reserve and a refuge of the wild buffalo, the state animal. Option B is wrong because Guru Ghasidas National Park is in the north of the state and is named after the founder of the Satnami sect. Option D is wrong because Sanjay National Park lies in Madhya Pradesh, the area from which the Guru Ghasidas park was separated at reorganisation.

The correct answer is A, Latehar. Betla National Park lies in the Latehar district on the Chhotanagpur plateau and forms the core of the Palamu Tiger Reserve, which was among the first group of tiger reserves notified when Project Tiger was launched in 1973 and is often cited as the place where an early census of tigers by pugmark counting was attempted. Option B is wrong because Giridih is the district of Parasnath Hill. Option C is wrong because Dumka is the sub-capital and headquarters of Santhal Pargana. Option D is wrong because Bokaro is known for its steel plant and for the Bokaro thermal power station. The state's other protected areas, the Hazaribagh and Dalma wildlife sanctuaries, are asked in the same group, so keep the district with each name.

The correct answer is A, Teejan Bai. She is the best known performer of Pandwani, the sung narration of the Mahabharata, which has two styles, Kapalik and Vedamati, and she carried the form from village gatherings to stages abroad; she has received the Padma Shri, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan. Option B is wrong because Ritu Verma is also a noted Pandwani singer of the state but has not been given the Padma Vibhushan. Option C is wrong because Habib Tanvir of Raipur was a towering figure of Indian theatre, who built Naya Theatre on the folk form Nacha and wrote Charandas Chor, but he belongs to theatre rather than Pandwani. Option D is wrong because Minimata was a political figure, the first woman member of Parliament from the region, and not a performer.

The correct answer is B, 1948. The Damodar Valley Corporation was created by an Act of Parliament in 1948 as independent India's first multipurpose river valley project, built on the American Tennessee Valley Authority model to control the floods of the Damodar, generate power and supply water across what is now Jharkhand and West Bengal; its dams include Maithon and Panchet on the Barakar and Damodar, and Tilaiya and Konar. Option A is wrong because 1938 precedes independence and the Act. Option C is wrong because 1956 is the year of the States Reorganisation Act, a date candidates transfer here by mistake. Option D is wrong because 1964 is associated with the agreement for the Bokaro Steel Plant, built with Soviet assistance. The Damodar was long called the sorrow of Bengal for its floods.