On whose recommendation were the Hindi-speaking districts of Punjab constituted into the state of Haryana?

The correct answer is B, 44,212 square kilometres. Haryana covers 44,212 square kilometres, about 1.34 per cent of the area of India, which makes it one of the smaller states by size even though it is among the most urbanised and the most productive per hectare in the country.

Option A, 38,863 square kilometres, is the area of Kerala. Option C, 50,362 square kilometres, is the area of Punjab, the state from which Haryana was carved out in 1966, and it is the commonest wrong answer here because candidates remember that Punjab kept the larger share. Option D, 55,673 square kilometres, is the area of Himachal Pradesh, which also received hill areas of the old Punjab in the same reorganisation. The three figures are worth learning as a set, since questions often ask which of the successor states is the largest.

The correct answer is C, 27 degrees 39 minutes north to 30 degrees 55 minutes north. Haryana lies between these parallels and between 74 degrees 28 minutes east and 77 degrees 36 minutes east longitude. Its position far north of the Tropic of Cancer and far from the sea explains the state's continental climate, with very hot summers and cold winters.

Option A, 23 degrees 52 minutes to 30 degrees 24 minutes north, is the latitudinal extent of Uttar Pradesh. Option B, 24 degrees 20 minutes to 27 degrees 31 minutes north, is the extent of Bihar and lies well to the south-east. Option D, 29 degrees 30 minutes to 32 degrees 32 minutes north, is close to the range of Himachal Pradesh, the hill state to the north, and is the usual distractor for candidates who overestimate how far north Haryana reaches. Fix the pair as roughly 27 and a half degrees to 31 degrees north.

The correct answer is B, 1 November 1966. Haryana came into being on 1 November 1966 under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, when the Hindi-speaking districts of the old Punjab were formed into a new state, the hill areas went to Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh was made a union territory to serve as capital of both Punjab and Haryana.

Option A, 1 November 1956, is the date of the States Reorganisation Act, under which Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka took shape; the shared day of the month is what makes it a trap. Option C, 1 May 1960, is the date Bombay State was divided into Maharashtra and Gujarat. Option D, 15 August 1966, is not the date of any state's creation and is offered only because the day is familiar. Remember 1 November 1966 together with the Punjab Reorganisation Act and the Shah Commission.

The correct answer is A, Karoh peak in the Morni hills. Karoh peak, 1,467 metres, stands in the Morni hills of Panchkula district, where the Shivalik ranges enter Haryana in the extreme north-east. Morni is the state's only hill resort, and the whole belt around it is the highest and wettest part of Haryana.

Option B, Dhosi hill in Mahendragarh, is an isolated Aravalli hill in the south, well known in the Puranic tradition but only a few hundred metres high. Option C, Tosham hill in Bhiwani, is another low Aravalli outcrop in the sandy south-west. Option D, the Delhi Ridge continuing into Faridabad, is the worn northern end of the Aravalli and is lower still; candidates pick it because the Aravalli is the famous range of the state's south. Hold the pairing Karoh, 1,467 metres, Morni hills, Panchkula, Shivalik.

The correct answer is C, Yamuna. The Yamuna flows along the eastern boundary of Haryana with Uttar Pradesh and is the only river of the state that carries water throughout the year, because it is fed by Himalayan snow. The Western Yamuna Canal, which irrigates much of the eastern plain, is drawn from it at Tajewala in Yamunanagar district.

Option A, the Ghaggar, is the largest river of the state in length within Haryana, but it is seasonal: it rises in the Shivalik, swells in the monsoon and ends in the Ottu weir near Sirsa. Option B, the Markanda, is another Shivalik stream, violent in the rains and dry for the rest of the year. Option D, the Sahibi, rises in the Aravalli of Rajasthan, flows past Rewari towards Delhi and is also seasonal. The rule to carry into the exam is simple: in Haryana only the Yamuna is perennial, every other river is rain-fed.