New National Days Declared since 2014: Dates and Reasons

The correct answer is B, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who was born on 31 October 1875 and is remembered as the Iron Man of India for integrating the princely states after independence. The day was declared in 2014 and is marked by the Run for Unity; the Statue of Unity at Kevadia in Gujarat, 182 metres tall and the tallest statue in the world when it was built, was unveiled on this date in 2018. Option A is wrong because Jawaharlal Nehru was born on 14 November, observed as Children's Day. Option C is wrong because Lal Bahadur Shastri was born on 2 October, the same date as Mahatma Gandhi. Option D is wrong because Dr B. R. Ambedkar was born on 14 April, observed as Ambedkar Jayanti. Note that 31 October is also the death anniversary of Indira Gandhi, which papers sometimes use as a trap.

The correct answer is A, 25 December, the birth anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was born on 25 December 1924 and served three terms as Prime Minister. The Government began observing the day in 2014 to stress accountability and the delivery of services in administration. Option B is wrong because 26 November is Constitution Day, which marks the adoption of the Constitution in 1949 and was declared the following year, in 2015. Option C is wrong because 31 October is Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, declared in the same year as Good Governance Day. Option D is wrong because 23 January is Parakram Diwas, for Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, declared much later in 2021. Note that 25 December is also the birth anniversary of Madan Mohan Malaviya, the founder of Banaras Hindu University.

The correct answer is B, 2014. The proposal was placed before the General Assembly in an address on 27 September 2014, and the Assembly adopted the resolution on 11 December 2014 with a record number of co-sponsoring countries. Option A is wrong because nothing on yoga was before the Assembly in 2013. Option C is the standard trap, because 2015 is the year of the first observance, held on 21 June 2015 with a mass demonstration at Rajpath in New Delhi; the resolution came the previous December. Option D is wrong because by 2016 the day was already in its second year. The date 21 June was chosen because it is the summer solstice, the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, a day of significance in many traditions. Separate the year of the resolution from the year of the first observance in your notes.

The correct answer is B, the adoption of the Constitution by the Constituent Assembly, which happened on 26 November 1949. The day was declared Constitution Day in 2015, during the 125th birth anniversary year of Dr B. R. Ambedkar; the same date had earlier been observed as National Law Day. Option A is wrong and is the commonest error on this question, because the Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950, which is Republic Day. Option C is wrong because the Constituent Assembly first met on 9 December 1946, under Dr Sachchidananda Sinha as temporary chairman, with Dr Rajendra Prasad elected president two days later. Option D is wrong because India had no President in November 1949; Dr Rajendra Prasad took that office only in January 1950. Hold the three dates together: 9 December 1946, 26 November 1949 and 26 January 1950.

The correct answer is B, Subhas Chandra Bose, born at Cuttack on 23 January 1897. The day was declared in 2021, the year of his 125th birth anniversary, and is named Parakram Diwas, the day of valour, after the Azad Hind Fauj he led. Option A is wrong because Bhagat Singh was born on 28 September and was executed on 23 March 1931, a date observed as Shaheed Diwas along with Sukhdev and Rajguru. Option C is wrong because Chandra Shekhar Azad was born on 23 July and died at Alfred Park in Allahabad in February 1931. Option D is wrong because Lala Lajpat Rai was born on 28 January and died in November 1928 after the lathi charge during the Simon Commission protest. Bose gave the slogan Jai Hind and set up the Provisional Government of Free India at Singapore in 1943.

The correct answer is A, Birsa Munda, the tribal leader of the Chhotanagpur region who was born on 15 November 1875 and who led the Ulgulan, or Great Tumult, against colonial land settlement and forced labour; his followers called him Dharti Aba, the father of the earth. The day was approved in 2021 as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas, the day of tribal pride. Option B is wrong because Sidhu and Kanhu Murmu led the Santhal rebellion of 1855 and 1856, remembered separately as Hul Diwas on 30 June. Option C is wrong because Tilka Manjhi led an even earlier Santhal resistance in the 1780s. Option D is wrong because Rani Gaidinliu was the Naga spiritual and political leader of the Heraka movement in Manipur and Nagaland, honoured on her own birth anniversary. Note that 15 November is also the day Jharkhand was created, in 2000.

The correct answer is B, the younger two sahibzadas of Guru Gobind Singh, Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh, who were put to death at Sirhind in 1705 after refusing to give up their faith. The day was announced in 2022 on the Prakash Parv of Guru Gobind Singh and named Veer Bal Diwas, the day of the brave children. Option A is wrong because the elder two sahibzadas, Ajit Singh and Jujhar Singh, fell in the battle of Chamkaur, a separate event, and the day is named for the younger pair. Option C is wrong because Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru and the grandfather of the sahibzadas, was executed at Delhi in 1675, remembered on his own martyrdom day. Option D is wrong because Banda Singh Bahadur was the military commander who avenged Sirhind and was killed in 1716.

The correct answer is B, the soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 near the lunar south pole, achieved by the Vikram lander on 23 August 2023. With it India became the fourth country to land on the Moon and the first to land in that polar region, and the landing site was named Shiv Shakti Point. The day was declared in 2024 and observed for the first time that year. Option A is wrong because Chandrayaan-1 was launched on 22 October 2008 and was an orbiter that carried the Moon Impact Probe. Option C is wrong because the Mars Orbiter Mission, or Mangalyaan, was launched in November 2013 and entered Martian orbit on 24 September 2014. Option D is wrong because the Indian Space Research Organisation was formed in 1969, and the Department of Space was created later, in 1972. Pair this day with 23 August 2023 in your notes.

The correct answer is A, 14 August. The day was announced in 2021 to remember the suffering, violence and displacement that accompanied the Partition of 1947, and it falls on the eve of Independence Day. Option B is wrong because 15 August is Independence Day itself. Option C is wrong but has a real link that makes it tempting: the Radcliffe Line award, which fixed the boundaries in Punjab and Bengal, was published on 17 August 1947, two days after independence. Option D is wrong because 3 June 1947 is the date of the Mountbatten Plan, also called the June Third Plan, which proposed the division of British India and was given effect by the Indian Independence Act passed in July 1947. Partition questions often combine these four dates, so keep the plan, the award and the two days of August distinct.

The correct answer is B, the Startup India initiative was launched, on 16 January 2016, and the Government announced in 2022 that the date would be observed as National Startup Day. The initiative offers recognised startups tax benefits, easier compliance and funding support, and it is run by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. Option A is wrong because Make in India was launched on 25 September 2014. Option C is wrong because the Atal Innovation Mission was set up under the NITI Aayog in 2016 but is not what this day marks, and it has no single founding date of this kind. Option D is wrong because Digital India was launched on 1 July 2015. Questions on government schemes frequently use these four launch dates against one another, so learn the date beside each scheme name.

The correct answer is B, National Mathematics Day, which has been observed on 22 December since 2012, when it was announced to mark the 125th birth anniversary of the mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, who was born on 22 December 1887. It therefore predates 2014. Option A is wrong as a choice because Parakram Diwas, on 23 January, was declared in 2021 for the 125th birth anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose. Option C is wrong because Veer Bal Diwas, on 26 December, was announced in 2022 for the younger sahibzadas of Guru Gobind Singh. Option D is wrong because National Space Day, on 23 August, was declared in 2024 after the landing of Chandrayaan-3. Other days older than 2014 that appear in such questions are National Voters' Day of 2011, National Sports Day of 2012 and National Panchayati Raj Day of 2010.

The correct answer is A, the proclamation of the Emergency in 1975. The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification in 2024 declaring 25 June as Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas, to pay tribute to those who suffered during the Emergency, which was proclaimed on 25 June 1975 and withdrawn on 21 March 1977. The Emergency was declared under Article 352, on the ground of internal disturbance, a ground later replaced by armed rebellion through the Forty-fourth Amendment of 1978. Option B is wrong because the Quit India Movement began on 8 August 1942 with the resolution passed at Bombay. Option C is wrong because the Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on 13 April 1919, on Baisakhi. Option D is wrong because the partition of Bengal was announced in July 1905 and took effect on 16 October 1905, which was observed as a day of mourning.