General Knowledge Quiz

The United Nations Charter came into force on October 24, 1945, after being ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and a majority of other signatories. This date is now celebrated annually as United Nations Day.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, along with many other UN specialized agencies. Paris is home to UNESCO, Madrid to the World Tourism Organization, and New York hosts the UN headquarters.

The World Health Organization had originally set the year 2000 as the target for global polio eradication, but this deadline was extended to 2005 due to various challenges. The goal has since been revised multiple times and polio remains endemic in a few countries as of 2025.

The Great People's Khural (or State Great Khural) is the national parliament of Mongolia. The name comes from the Mongolian word for 'assembly' or 'council.' Malaysia has Parliament, Thailand has National Assembly, and Indonesia has People's Consultative Assembly.

Bosnia and Herzegovina was one of the six constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1945 until Yugoslavia's dissolution in the early 1990s. It declared independence in 1992, which led to the Bosnian War.

The Most Favored Nation clause is a core principle of the World Trade Organization, requiring members to extend any trade advantages given to one member to all other members. This prevents trade discrimination and promotes fair competition. The IMF, IBRD, and IDA are financial institutions focused on monetary policy and development, not trade.

The United Nations University established its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan in 1975. UNU is the UN's academic and research arm, focusing on pressing global problems through collaborative research and education.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted in 1989 and entered into force in 1990. It comprehensively addresses the human rights of children under 18. The Migrant Workers Convention was adopted in 1990 but is a separate treaty.

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has its headquarters in Paris, France. While many UN agencies are in New York, UNESCO was established in Paris in 1946 and has remained there. The Hague hosts international courts like the ICJ.

The UN has six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. Arabic was added later than the original five. Hindi and Urdu are not official UN languages, and Japanese is not among them either.

OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) is an independent intergovernmental organization, not part of the UN system. The UNDP, WTO, and UNHCR are all UN agencies or organizations. OPEC coordinates oil policies among its member countries but operates outside the UN framework.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) officially commenced its operations on January 1, 1995, following the Marrakesh Agreement, which replaced the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

'An Equal Music' (1999) is a novel by Vikram Seth, the acclaimed Indian author also known for 'A Suitable Boy.' The novel follows a violinist in a string quartet and explores themes of music, love, and obsession. Salman Rushdie is famous for 'Midnight's Children'.

'My Frozen Turbulence in Kashmir' is authored by Jagmohan (Jagmohan Malhotra), a former bureaucrat and Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. The book discusses the political situation in Kashmir. However, it's more of a political memoir than a children's book - the question's classification may be misleading.

Dario Fo, the Italian playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature (1997), wrote 'Accidental Death of an Anarchist' (Morte accidentale di un anarchico), his most famous play satirizing police corruption. It premiered in 1970 and remains one of the most performed plays globally. Fo's work blends political satire with popular theatrical traditions.

Lewis Carroll (real name Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 1865. Chester Bowles was a modern diplomat, Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist and David Copperfield, and Jonathan Swift wrote Gulliver's Travels.

Boris Pasternak, a Soviet Russian writer, authored Doctor Zhivago in 1957. The novel was controversial and banned in the USSR. John Gray is a contemporary philosopher, Dean Ornish is a medical doctor, and Ardeshir Vakil is a modern Indian writer.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak was considered an extremist leader in India's freedom struggle, advocating for Swaraj and complete independence. His slogan 'Swaraj is my birthright' reflected his radical stance. In contrast, Gandhi, Gokhale, and Naoroji were moderates who preferred constitutional methods.

Madame Curie (Marie Curie) is the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences - Physics in 1903 (shared with her husband Pierre) for radioactivity research, and Chemistry in 1911 for discovering radium and polonium. Winston Churchill won the Nobel Prize in Literature, while Octavio Paz and George Choupak each won only one Nobel Prize.

Major Dhyan Chand (1905-1979) was an Indian hockey legend known as 'The Wizard' for his goal-scoring prowess. He led India to three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932, 1936) and is considered one of the greatest hockey players ever.

Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906) was a celebrated Indian painter known for blending Indian artistic traditions with European academic art. His famous paintings include depictions of Hindu epics and Indian royalty. Parveen Sultana is a classical vocalist, Prof. T.N. Krishnan is a violinist, and Ram Kinkar was a sculptor.

Subhash Chandra Bose gave this famous slogan 'You give me blood, I will give you freedom' (Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe azadi dunga) while rallying Indians to join the Indian National Army (INA). This reflects his militant approach to independence.

B. Krishnamurthi Shastrigal (also known as Brahmasri B. Krishnamurthi Sastrigal) was a distinguished Carnatic vocalist and scholar. T.N. Krishna is a violinist, Dr. N. Rajam is also a violinist, and T.R. Mahalingam was a flautist.

Amir Khusrau (1253-1325) is widely regarded as one of the first poets to write in what evolved into Urdu, blending Persian with local Indian languages. He lived in the 13th-14th century during the Delhi Sultanate. Mirza Ghalib and Bahadur Shah Zafar were much later (19th century) poets, and Faiz was a 20th century poet.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad served as India's first President from 1950-1962, completing two full terms (10 years). V.V. Giri served briefly as acting president and later one full term, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan served one term, making option B the correct answer.