Which is the largest district of Himachal Pradesh by area?

The correct answer is C, 25 January 1971. The State of Himachal Pradesh Act, 1970 came into force on that day and Indira Gandhi inaugurated the new state at Shimla, with Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar as its first Chief Minister. Option A is wrong because 15 April 1948 is the day about thirty princely hill states were merged into a chief commissioner province, which the state marks as Himachal Day, not as statehood. Option B is wrong because 1 November 1956 is the day the unit became a Union Territory under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. Option D is wrong because 1 November 1966 is the day the Punjab Reorganisation Act transferred the Punjab hill districts to Himachal Pradesh, nearly doubling it while it was still a Union Territory.

The correct answer is B, Dharamshala. Dharamshala, the headquarters of Kangra district and the seat of the Tibetan government in exile, was declared the second or winter capital of Himachal Pradesh in 2017, while Shimla remains the capital and the seat of the High Court. Option A is wrong because Mandi, called the Varanasi of the hills for its temples and its Shivratri fair, is only a district headquarters. Option C is wrong because Solan, known for mushrooms and its brewery, is a district town on the Kalka Shimla line. Option D is wrong because Bilaspur, the princely state merged in 1954, is known for the Bhakra Dam and the Gobind Sagar, not for any capital status. The pattern of a second capital also appears in Maharashtra and Uttarakhand.

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 A, Kullu. The Great Himalayan National Park lies in the upper Beas basin of Kullu district and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014 for its alpine biodiversity; it protects the western tragopan, the monal and the Himalayan brown bear. Option B is wrong because Chamba holds the Kalatop Khajjiar sanctuary and the Chamera dam, not this park. Option C is wrong because Kinnaur holds Reo Purgyil and the Nathpa Jhakri project, while Pin Valley National Park lies in the Spiti part of Lahaul and Spiti. Option D is wrong because Sirmaur holds Renuka lake and the Simbalbara National Park. Nanda Devi with the Valley of Flowers is the other Himalayan natural site on the list. The Kalka Shimla railway is the cultural World Heritage Site of the state, listed among the Mountain Railways of India.

The correct answer is B, Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar. Parmar led the hill states movement from the 1940s, headed the government through the Union Territory years and took office as the first Chief Minister of the full state on 25 January 1971; the horticulture university at Nauni near Solan is named after him. Option A is wrong because Acharya Diwakar Datt Sharma is credited with giving the state its name, Himachal, the lap of snow, but held no such office. Option C is wrong because Raja Sansar Chand was the Katoch ruler of Kangra who patronised the Kangra school of painting. Option D is wrong because Samuel Evans Stokes introduced improved apple varieties at Kotgarh and shaped the horticulture of the state, not its politics.