Indian History: Reform Movements, Independence & Politics

The Republic Day parade traditionally starts from Rashtrapati Bhavan (the President's residence) and proceeds through Rajpath to India Gate. This route has been followed since the tradition began in 1950. The parade showcases India's cultural diversity and military might.

The 'Beating Retreat' ceremony is held at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi. This ceremony marks the end of Republic Day celebrations and is conducted by the Indian military bands. It takes place on January 29th every year, three days after Republic Day, at the Vijay Chowk near Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Zend Avesta is the primary collection of religious texts of Zoroastrianism, the religion practiced by Parsis. Option A 'The Zend' is incomplete - Zend refers to the commentary/language, but the full book name is Zend Avesta. Therefore 'Both A and B' is incorrect.

The All India Muslim League was founded in December 1906 at Dhaka. It was established to protect Muslim political interests in British India, eventually leading to the creation of Pakistan in 1947.

The Chauri-Chaura incident occurred on February 5, 1922, when protesters set fire to a police station, killing 22 officers. This led Gandhi to suspend the Non-Cooperation Movement.

Vande Mataram was written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (Chattarjee) in 1870s, published in his novel Anandamath in 1882. It became India's national song. Tagore wrote Jana Gana Mana, the national anthem.

Fa-hien was indeed a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim who visited India during the reign of Chandragupta Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II) in the 5th century CE. He came to study Buddhism and collect Buddhist texts and scriptures. Option A correctly identifies this historical fact.

The Portuguese were the first European traders to arrive in India during the Mughal period, with Vasco da Gama reaching Calicut in 1498. This marked the beginning of European colonial trade interests in India. The Dutch, Danish, and English arrived later in the 17th century.

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was President of India (1962-1967) and never served as Prime Minister. The other three options (Shastri, Nanda, Desai) all served as Prime Ministers, though Nanda was only acting Prime Minister twice.

P.V. Narasimha Rao's full name was Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao. He was the ninth Prime Minister of India (1991-1996) and led the Congress Party during a critical period of economic liberalization.

Dr. Manmohan Singh was never President of India; he served as Prime Minister (2004-2014). All other options listed were Presidents: Sharma (1992-1997), Prasad (1950-1962), and V.V. Giri (1969-1974).

H.D. Deve Gowda's full name is Haradanahalli Dodde Deve Gowda. He was the eleventh Prime Minister of India (1996-1997) and hails from Karnataka. The three-part given name (Haradanahalli Dodde) identifies his ancestral village and family name.

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's full name was Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam. He was the eleventh President of India (2002-2007) and is known as the 'Missile Man of India' for his work on ISRO's missile development programs.

Swami Dayanand Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj in 1875 to reform Hinduism and promote Vedic principles. Swami Vivekanand was associated with Ramakrishna Mission, Swami Virjanand was Dayanand's guru, and Mahatma Hansraj was a prominent Arya Samajist but not its founder.

The first D.A.V. (Dayanand Anglo Vedic) School was established in 1886 at Lahore (now in Pakistan) by Mahatma Hansraj, following the principles of Swami Dayanand Saraswati.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy founded the Brahmo Samaj in 1828 in Calcutta, a reform movement that sought to modernize Hindu society and abolish practices like Sati.

Mahatma Hansraj served as the principal of the first D.A.V. School at Lahore for 25 years without accepting any salary, demonstrating his dedication to the cause of education.