Indian History, Geography and Polity

The Supreme Court of India has three types of jurisdiction: Original jurisdiction (in disputes between states or center-state), Appellate jurisdiction (hearing appeals from lower courts), and Advisory jurisdiction (giving legal advice to the President on constitutional matters).

Lala Lajpat Rai was deported to Mandalay in 1907 for his role in organizing the agrarian movement in Punjab. This was part of the British colonial government's suppression of nationalist leaders during the Swadeshi movement period.

Lord William Bentinck (Governor-General 1828-1835) hosted Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Ropar in 1831. This meeting was part of diplomatic relations between the British and the Sikh kingdom, showing mutual respect during a period of relative peace.

The Indian High Courts Act of 1861 created High Courts in Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras, which started functioning in 1862. These were the first three High Courts established in colonial India, replacing the old Supreme Court system.

After Al-Hilal was banned by the British government in 1914 for its nationalist content, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad founded Al-Balagh in 1915 to continue his journalistic campaign for independence. Both papers were crucial in mobilizing public opinion against colonial rule.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj in 1875 as a Hindu reform movement that emphasized the Vedas, opposed caste discrimination, child marriage, and idol worship, and promoted education and social equality. His book 'Satyarth Prakash' outlines the movement's principles.

Annie Besant became the first woman President of the Indian National Congress in 1917. She was a British theosophist who actively supported India's freedom struggle and Home Rule movement. Sarojini Naidu later became President in 1925, but Besant was first.

Jawaharlal Nehru attended the Congress of Oppressed Nationalists at Brussels in 1927 as a representative of the Indian National Congress. This international conference brought together anti-colonial activists from across the world. Nehru's participation marked an important step in his evolution as a nationalist leader and exposed him to global socialist movements.

Lord Dalhousie introduced the system of open competitive examination for the Indian Civil Service through the Charter Act of 1853. Before this, ICS positions were nominated by the Court of Directors of the East India Company. The 1853 Act made the system merit-based, though Indians could theoretically compete but faced practical barriers like the examination being held in London.

The Pratiharas (also called Gurjaras) defeated the Arab invaders in 738 A.D. at the Battle of Rajasthan. Nagabhata I, the Pratihara ruler, led the coalition that halted Arab expansion into India from Sindh. This was a crucial moment in preventing further Islamic conquests into mainland India at that time.

The Brahmo Samaj, founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1828, was the earliest reform movement among the options. It preceded the Prarthana Samaj (1867), Arya Samaj (1875), and Ramakrishna Mission (1897). The Brahmo Samaj led the charge in social reform, opposing idolatry, sati, and child marriage while promoting rationalism and monotheism.

The Vijayanagar Empire promoted Tamil, Telugu, and Sanskrit as the primary languages of culture and administration. The empire covered much of South India including present-day Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Telugu and Tamil literature flourished under Vijayanagar patronage, along with Sanskrit scholarship. Hindi and Marathi were not prominent in this southern empire.

Canals have historically been the largest source of irrigation in India by area covered, especially since the British colonial period when major canal systems were constructed. While tubewells have gained significant importance in recent decades, canals still irrigate the largest total area nationwide. This is particularly true in states like Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh with extensive canal networks.

India is among the world's largest manganese ore producers alongside China and Russia. Other major producers include South Africa, Australia, and Brazil. India has significant manganese deposits in states like Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh, making it a key player in global manganese production.

The four largest planets in our Solar System are the gas giants: Jupiter (largest), Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Jupiter's diameter is about 11 times that of Earth, while Saturn is roughly 9 times. Uranus and Neptune are smaller but still vastly larger than the terrestrial planets. Options A and B incorrectly include Mercury, while D has Mercury instead of Uranus.

The Chipko Movement was a forest conservation movement that began in the 1970s in the Himalayan region (particularly Uttarakhand). Villagers hugged trees to prevent them from being cut down by commercial loggers. The term 'chipko' means 'to embrace' or 'to stick' in Hindi. It was not primarily about wildlife preservation, scientific agriculture, or promoting deforestation.

The Baltoro glacier (commonly misspelt as Baltora) is located in the Karakoram ranges of the Himalayas. It is one of the largest glaciers outside the polar regions and is in Pakistan-administered territory. The Karakoram range contains several of the world's highest peaks including K2, which is near the Baltoro glacier. It is not in the Pamir plateau, Shivalik range, or the Alps.

The Ganga forms a famous estuary in its lower course, particularly the Hooghly River distributary that flows through Kolkata. Unlike the Cauvery, Krishna, and Narmada which form deltas, the Ganga-Brahmaputra system creates tidal estuaries where seawater mixes with freshwater. The Sundarbans delta region has complex estuarine channels. While the overall system creates a delta, individual channels like the Hooghly function as estuaries.

India is the world's largest producer of mica, accounting for approximately 80% of global mica production. The mineral is primarily found in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan, with India's mineral-rich geological structure providing ideal conditions for mica formation.

The International Date Line generally follows the 180° longitude line, which is the meridian directly opposite the Prime Meridian (0°). This imaginary line in the Pacific Ocean serves as the boundary between one calendar day and the next, with some deviations to accommodate political boundaries of island nations.

India has the highest percentage of land under cultivation among the listed countries, with approximately 52-55% of its total land area being arable. This is due to India's fertile alluvial soils, favorable climate conditions, and historical dependence on agriculture as a primary economic sector, supporting a large population through farming.

Aryabhata, India's first satellite, was launched on April 19, 1975, from the Volgograd launch station (then USSR) using a Soviet rocket. However, the launch was coordinated from Sriharikota in India, which is the primary spaceport of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the intended answer for this question.