Which of the following days was NOT declared after 2014?

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.