Skip to content
GK24
Art & CultureEasyAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2023, GK

Manav is planning to visit all UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Delhi. He will be visiting

  1. A.Red Fort, Qutab Minar, Jama Masjid
  2. B.Red Fort, India Gate, Qutab Minar
  3. C.Red Fort, Qutab Minar, Humayun Tomb
  4. D.Red Fort, Humayun Tomb, India Gate

Correct answer

C. Red Fort, Qutab Minar, Humayun Tomb

Explanation

The correct answer is C, Red Fort, Qutab Minar, Humayun Tomb. Delhi has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and they are exactly these three. Humayun's Tomb was inscribed in 1993; built in the 1560s at the wish of his widow Bega Begum, it was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent and a model for the Taj Mahal. The Qutb Minar and its Monuments were also inscribed in 1993; the minar was begun by Qutbuddin Aibak and completed by Iltutmish, and the complex holds the famous rust-free Iron Pillar. The Red Fort Complex, built by Shah Jahan as the palace-fort of Shahjahanabad and completed in 1648, was inscribed in 2007. Option A is wrong because the Jama Masjid of Delhi, though a great Mughal mosque, is not a World Heritage Site. Option B is wrong because India Gate, a war memorial designed by Edwin Lutyens, is not on the list. Option D is wrong for the same reason, as it again includes India Gate. Exam tip: Delhi's three World Heritage Sites are Humayun's Tomb and Qutb Minar (1993) and the Red Fort (2007).

View all
Q1.Art & CultureAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2024, GKHard

Which of the following is/are the correct components of the "Lion Capital" at Sarnath ? 1. The shaft (stambha-yashti) or the tall tapering column 2. An elliptical top part - the abacus, devoid of any carvings 3. Overflowing inverted petals below the abacus Select the answer using the code given below :

  1. A.1 only
  2. B.1 and 3 only
  3. C.2 and 3 only
  4. D.1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 1 and 3 only

Statements 1 and 3 describe real parts of the Sarnath pillar, while the abacus is neither elliptical nor plain. The Mauryan pillar at Sarnath, set up by Ashoka, had a tall, smooth, tapering shaft of polished Chunar sandstone.

Q2.Art & CultureAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2021, GS Paper IMedium

With reference to India, the terms 'Halbi, Ho and Kui' pertain to

  1. A.dance forms of Northwest India
  2. B.musical instruments
  3. C.pre-historic cave paintings
  4. D.tribal languages
Show answer
Correct answer: D. tribal languages

Halbi, Ho and Kui are languages spoken by tribal communities of central and eastern India. Halbi is an Indo-Aryan language used by the Halba tribe and as a link language among many tribes of the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh and nearby parts of Odisha and Maharashtra.

Q3.Art & CultureAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2019, GKHard

Who designed the Bombay Secretariat in the 1870s?

  1. A.H. St. Clair Wilkins
  2. B.Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Readymoney
  3. C.Purushottamdas Thakurdas
  4. D.Nusserwanji Tata
Show answer
Correct answer: A. H. St. Clair Wilkins

Henry St. Clair Wilkins, an officer of the Royal Engineers, designed the Bombay Secretariat, completed in 1874 as part of the grand row of public buildings that rose along the Oval in Bombay after the old fort walls were pulled down in the 1860s. The building is in the Venetian…

Q4.Art & CultureAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2016, GS Paper IHard

With reference to the cultural history of India, the memorizing of chronicles, dynastic histories and epic tales was the profession of who of the following?

  1. A.Shramana
  2. B.Parivraajaka
  3. C.Agrahaarika
  4. D.Maagadha
Show answer
Correct answer: D. Maagadha

In ancient India the Magadhas were professional bards. Along with the Sutas, they memorised and recited genealogies of kings, dynastic histories and heroic tales, and sang the praises of rulers at court and on ceremonial occasions.