Q20. Who wrote Tahqiq-i-Hind, an influential study of India?
[MPPSC State Services Prelims 2022 • held 21 May 2023]
A) Ziauddin Barani
B) Amir Khusrau
C) Al-Biruni
D) Abdur Razzaq
Answer: C) Al-Biruni
Explanation: The Persian scholar Al-Biruni produced Kitab fi Tahqiq ma lil-Hind after studying Indian learning, religion and society. He used comparative inquiry and engagement with Sanskrit sources, making the book central to medieval Indian historiography.
Q19. Who authored Revolutionaries: The Other Story of How India Won Its Freedom?
[SSC CGL Tier II • 3 Mar 2023, memory-based]
A) Vikram Sampath
B) Aradhana Johri
C) Sanjeev Sanyal
D) J. J. Singh
Answer: C) Sanjeev Sanyal
Explanation: Sanjeev Sanyal wrote Revolutionaries to examine lesser-known networks and individuals associated with militant resistance to British rule. The book complements narratives that concentrate mainly on constitutional and nonviolent politics.
Q18. Who wrote the novel Victory City?
[SSC CHSL Tier I • 4 Aug 2023, memory-based]
A) Salman Rushdie
B) Zafar Rushdie
C) Padma Lakshmi
D) Ruhollah Khomeini
Answer: A) Salman Rushdie
Explanation: Salman Rushdie published Victory City in 2023. The novel uses a fictional reimagining of the Vijayanagara empire and themes of memory, storytelling and the ways political power shapes historical narratives.
Q17. Which of these texts was written by Aryabhata?
[SSC CGL Tier I • 7 Dec 2022, Shift 2]
A) Dhatupatha
B) Aryabhatiyam
C) Natya Shastra
D) Romaka Siddhanta
Answer: B) Aryabhatiyam
Explanation: Aryabhata composed Aryabhatiya, a concise Sanskrit treatise on mathematical astronomy, in 499 CE. It covers numerical methods, time reckoning and planetary motions, and is a landmark of Indian scientific literature.
Q16. Who narrates Salman Rushdie’s novel Midnight’s Children?
[RPSC Assistant Professor (English) • 6 Oct 2021, Paper 2]
A) Saleem Sinai
B) Natraj
C) Riya Babu
D) Akhtar Sahib
Answer: A) Saleem Sinai
Explanation: Saleem Sinai narrates Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, a novel that parallels his life with the history of independent India. Saleem is born at the moment of independence and possesses unusual powers.
Q15. Who wrote the music and literature treatise Kitab-i-Nauras?
[UPPSC Civil Services (GS) • 2020]
A) Ibrahim Adil Shah II
B) Ali Adil Shah
C) Quli Qutb Shah
D) Akbar II
Answer: A) Ibrahim Adil Shah II
Explanation: Ibrahim Adil Shah II of Bijapur composed Kitab-i-Nauras, a collection of songs expressing his deep interest in music and devotion. His court fostered a synthesis of Persianate and Indian artistic traditions.
Q14. Who wrote Chhattisgarhi Lok Sahitya Ka Adhyayan?
[CGPSC State Civil Service • 2020]
A) Narendra Dev Verma
B) Chittaranjan
C) Daya Shankar Shukla
D) Vinay Kumar Pathak
Answer: C) Daya Shankar Shukla
Explanation: Daya Shankar Shukla researched the folk-literature traditions of Chhattisgarh. His study treats regional oral expression as an important part of cultural heritage and helps document forms frequently overshadowed by classical written literature.
Q13. Who is the author of the novel Flood of Fire?
[WBCS Preliminary • 2019]
A) Amit Mitra
B) Amit Chaudhuri
C) Amitav Ghosh
D) Atul K. Thakur
Answer: C) Amitav Ghosh
Explanation: Amitav Ghosh’s Flood of Fire is the final volume of his Ibis trilogy, set around the First Opium War. It explores trade, empire, migration and conflict through a large cast of characters.
Q12. Who wrote Annihilation of Caste?
[RPSC Senior Teacher Grade II (Social Science) • 17 Feb 2019]
A) B. R. Ambedkar
B) G. S. Ghurye
C) J. H. Hutton
D) M. N. Srinivas
Answer: A) B. R. Ambedkar
Explanation: B. R. Ambedkar wrote Annihilation of Caste for a speech he was invited to deliver in 1936. The event was cancelled, and he published the text, a powerful critique of caste hierarchy.
Q11. Who wrote Planned Economy for India?
[MPPSC State Service Preliminary • 2018]
A) M. Visvesvaraya
B) J. R. D. Tata
C) G. D. Birla
D) Pattabhi Sitaramayya
Answer: A) M. Visvesvaraya
Explanation: Engineer and statesman M. Visvesvaraya published Planned Economy for India in 1934. He advocated systematic industrial development and economic planning, anticipating wider public debates about national economic strategy before independence.
