student's encyclopedia of general knowledge
TRANSCRIPT
STUDENT’SENCYCLOPEDIA OF
GENERALKNOWLEDGE
STUDENT’SENCYCLOPEDIA OF
GENERALKNOWLEDGE
The Best Reference Book forStudents, Teachers and
Parents.
AZEEM AHMADKHAN
GENERAL PRESS
Published by
GENERAL PRESS4228/1, Ansari Road, Daryaganj
New Delhi – 110002Ph. : 011 – 23282971, 9911359970
e-mail : [email protected]
© General PressAll rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored ina retrieval system, or transmitted, in any
form or by any means—electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise—without the prior writtenpermission of the publishers.
First Edition : 2007Ninth Edition : 2015
ISBN : 9789380914190
Purchase our eBooks from:Amazon Kindle
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Published by Azeem Ahmad Khan forGeneral Press
ContentsPreface Common AbbreviationsFamous Books (India)Famous Books (World)Hello IndiaPresidents of IndiaPrime Ministers of IndiaIndian States and their CapitalsIndian States and their LanguagesDances of IndiaCountries and their CapitalsCountries and their Currencies
Countries and their NativesCountries and their LanguagesCountries and their ReligionsContinents and CountriesChanged Names of Some PlacesGeographical EpithetsRiverside CitiesCities Associated with IndustriesNumber of PlayersNames of PlaygroundsNational GamesOlympic GamesWorld Cup SoccerWorld Cup CricketFamous Sportspersons
Sports Cups and TrophiesSports TermsSports MeasurementsSports Stadiums in IndiaPlaces Associated with SportsFirst in IndiaFirst in the WorldPopular Titles of Famous PersonalitiesNationalities of Famous PersonalitiesFamous FoundersPopular SlogansAnimal RecordsAnimal FactsNational Parks and SanctuariesFamous Sites (India)
Famous Sites (World)India’s SuperlativesWorld’s SuperlativesSeven Wonders of the Ancient WorldMuseums in IndiaUnited NationsNobel PrizeIndian Nobel LaureatesBharat RatnaNational AwardsInventionsScientific DiscoveriesScientific InstrumentsBranches of ScienceThe Planets
Body FactsVitaminsDiseases and Human BodyFestivals of IndiaMajor ReligionsImportant DaysImportant events in Indian HistoryImportant events in World HistoryFictional Characters and their CreatorsDefining PlacesDifferent SubjectsProfessionalsImportant TermsWorld Records held by India(ns)Newspapers and Periodicals
The Top 5MiscellaneousQuizAnswersIndex
Preface
Student’s Encyclopedia of GeneralKnowledge provides the best of GK toits readers. This handy volume is auseful source of information andreference, particularly for students ofclasses III to VIII. It is the best reference
work in a single volume for GK teachersand parents who regularly need to checkfacts & figures.
Student’s Encyclopedia of GeneralKnowledge is a book like no other.Completely up-to-date, it brings awealth of information to the whole class.The alphabetical order of entries in eachchapter and clear design make the bookan outstanding reference work, while thelavish and spectacular illustrationsensure that it is always a pleasure to use.Every piece of information is authentic—culled together from several areas ofknowledge ranging from encyclopedias,fact books, year books, officialgovernment releases, internet and other
reliable sources—and verified foraccuracy.
This book is full of features that aim toprovide useful data in an easilyaccessible format. The contents cover awide range of subjects includinglanguage & literature, sports & culture,people & places, history & geography,science & technology, mythology ¤t affairs, etc. ‘Believe It or Not’boxes contain interesting and amazingfacts. Quiz, given at the end, is anexciting way to test your knowledge. Itcontains 200 important questions basedon the contents of the book. Acomprehensive index helps to find out atopic quickly.
Once you are convinced that Student’sEncyclopedia of General Knowledge istruly a book like no other, kindlyrecommend it to your students along withtheir school curriculum. It would helpthem to broaden their field ofknowledge.
This book will be updated and revisedannually, and published every year in anew edition. We would welcomeresponses from students, teachers andparents about how useful they found thebook, and any suggestions they mighthave towards its improvement. You cankeep in touch with the editors directly.E-mail them [email protected]. Looking
forward for your comments andsuggestions.
—Publishers
Albert Einstein
1.
CommonAbbreviations
An abbreviation is a short form of aword or a group of words. They are
commonly used because they save timeand space. Here are some commonabbreviations:AD — Anno Domini (in the year of OurLord)AIDS — Acquired Immune DeficiencySyndromeAIIMS — All India Institute of MedicalSciencesAIR — All India Radioa.m. — ante meridiem (before noon)AMU — Aligarh Muslim UniversityAP — Associated PressATM — Automated Teller MachineB&W — Black and WhiteBA — Bachelor of Arts
B B C — British BroadcastingCorporationBC — Before ChristBEd. — Bachelor of EducationBP — Blood PressureBSc. — Bachelor of ScienceBSF — Border Security ForceB S N L — Bharat Sanchar NigamLimitedCA — Chartered AccountantCBI — Central Bureau of InvestigationCBSE — Central Board of SecondaryEducationCBT — Children’s Book TrustCFL — Compact Fluorescent Lamp
C I A — Central Intelligence Agency(USA)C I D — Criminal InvestigationDepartmentCNN — Cable News NetworkC T B T — Comprehensive Test BanTreatyDIG — Deputy Inspector GeneralDNA — Deoxyribonucleic AcidDOS — Disk Operating SystemDTP — Desk-top PublishingDVD — Digital Versatile DiscE & O E — Errors and OmissionsExemptedECG — Electrocardiograme.g. — exempli gratia (for example)
EMI — Equated Monthly Installmentsetc. — et cetera (and other things)FBI — Federal Bureau of InvestigationFIFA — Federation International deFootball Association
(Federation of the InternationalFootball Association)FIR — First Information ReportFM — Frequency ModulationGMT — Greenwich Mean TimeGovt. — GovernmentGPO — General Post OfficeHIV — Human Immunodeficiency VirusHQ — HeadquartersIA — Indian Airlines
IAF — Indian Air ForceIAS — Indian Administrative ServiceIBM — International Business MachinesICU — Intensive Care Uniti.e. — id est (that is)IG NO U — Indira Gandhi NationalOpen UniversityIIT — Indian Institute of TechnologyINA — Indian National ArmyINTERPOL — International CriminalPolice CommissionIPS — Indian Police ServiceIQ — Intelligence QuotientISBN — International Standard BookNumber
ISD — International Subscriber DiallingISI — Indian Standards Institution/Inter-Services Intelligence (Pakistan)IST — Indian Standard TimeISRO — Indian Space ResearchOrganizationITI — Industrial Training InstituteITO — Income TaxOfficer/International Trade Organizationlbw — leg before wicketLCD — Liquid-crystal DisplayLIC — Life Insurance CorporationLLB — Bachelor of LawsLPG — Liquefied Petroleum GasLtd. — Limited
LTTE — Liberation Tigers of TamilEelamMA — Master of ArtsMBA — Master of BusinessAdministrationMBBS — Bachelor of Medicine andBachelor of SurgeryMLA — Member of LegislativeAssemblyMNC — Multinational CorporationMO — Money OrderMP — Member of ParliamentMr. — MisterMrs. — Missus/MissisMSc. — Master of ScienceMTNL — Mahanagar Telephone Nigam
LimitedNASA — National Aeronautics andSpace Administration (USA)NATO — North Atlantic TreatyOrganizationNB — nota bene (note well)NBT — National Book TrustNCC — National Cadet CorpsNCERT — National Council ofEducational Research and TrainingNDA — National Defence AcademyNFDC — National Film DevelopmentCorporationNIIT — National Institute of InformationTechnologyNRI — Non-resident Indian
OK — Okay (all correct)OPD — Outdoor Patients DepartmentPC — Personal ComputerPh.D — Doctor of PhilosophyPIB — Press Information BureauPIN — Postal Index Number/PersonalIdentification Numberp.m. — post meridiem (after noon)PM — Prime MinisterPNB — Punjab National BankPO — Post OfficePTI — Press Trust of IndiaPTO — Please Turn OverPvt. — PrivateR&D — Research and Development
RBI — Reserve Bank of IndiaRSVP — repondez sil vous plait(please reply)SAARC — South Asian Association forRegional Co-operationSAIL — Steel Authority of IndiaLimitedSBI — State Bank of IndiaSC — Supreme Court/Schedule CasteSign. — SignatureSIM — Subscriber IdentificationModule (Card)SLV — Satellite Launch VehicleSMS — Short Message ServiceSOS — Save Our SoulsSTD — Subscriber Trunk Dialling
TTE — Train Ticket ExaminerUFO — Unidentified Flying ObjectUNESCO — United NationsEducational, Scientific and CulturalOrganizationUNI — United News of IndiaUNICEF — United Nations Children’sFundUNO — United Nations OrganizationUPSC — Union Public ServiceCommissionvia — by way ofVIP — Very Important Personviz. — videlicet (namely)VPP — Value Payable Postvs. — versus (against)
WHO — World Health OrganizationWWF — Worldwide Fund for Naturewww — worldwide webXmas — ChristmasYMCA — Young Men’s ChristianAssociationYWCA — Young Women’s ChristianAssociation
2.
Famous Books (India)
Name of the book Author
A Suitable BoyAin-i-Akbari
Vikram SethAbul Fazal
Anand MathArthashastraBabarnamaBhagavadgitaBroken WingDevdasDewan-e-GhalibDiscovery of IndiaGitanjaliGlimpses of WorldHistoryGodanGolden Gate
Bankim ChandraChatterjiKautilyaBabarVed VyasSarojini NaiduSharat ChandraChatterjiMirza GhalibJawaharlal NehruRabindranathTagoreJawaharlal NehruPremchandVikram SethGora
GuideGuru Granth SahibIndia DividedIndia WinsFreedomMahabharataMan-eaters ofKumaonMeghdootMidnight’sChildrenMy Experimentswith TruthMy TruthPanchatantraRam Charit Manas
RabindranathTagoreR.K. NarayanGuru Arjun DevDr. RajendraPrasadMaulana AbulKalam AzadVed VyasJim CorbettKalidasSalman RushdieMahatma GandhiIndira GandhiVishnu Sharma
RamayanaRangbhoomiSatanic VersesShakuntalaSong of IndiaSunny DaysThe God of SmallThings
TulsidasValmikiPremchandSalman RushdieKalidasSarojini NaiduSunil GavaskarArundhati Roy
Mirza Ghalib
Premchand
3.
Famous Books(World)
Name of the book AuthorE.M. Forster
A Passage to IndiaA Tale of Two CitiesAdventures ofSherlock HolmesAlice in WonderlandAnimal FarmArabian NightsArms and the ManAround the World inEighty DaysAs You Like ItDas KapitalDavid CopperfieldDr. ZhivagoGreat Expectations
Charles DickensSir ArthurConan DoyleLewis CarrollGeorge OrwellSir RichardBurtonGeorge BernardShawJules VerneWilliamShakespeareKarl MarxCharles DickensBoris PasternakCharles Dickens
Gulliver’s Travels Jonathan Swift
HamletHarry Potter SeriesIliadJulius CaesarJungle BookJurassic ParkMan and SupermanOdysseyOliver TwistOrigin of SpeciesParadise Lost
WilliamShakespeareJ.K. RowlingHomerWilliamShakespeareRudyard KiplingMichaelCrichtonGeorge BernardShawHomerCharles DickensCharles DarwinJohn Milton
PrincipiaRepublicRobinson CrusoeRomeo and JulietThree MusketeersThrough the Looking-GlassTreasure IslandUncle Tom’s CabinWar and Peace
Sir IsaacNewtonPlatoDaniel DefoeWilliamShakespeareAlexanderDumasLewis CarrollR.L. StevensonH.B. StoweCount LeoTolstoy
William Shakespeare
4.
Hello India
NATIONAL SYMBOLSNational FlagOur National Flag is a tricolour withdeep saffron at the top, white in the
middle and dark green at the bottom inequal proportion. The ratio of the widthof the flag to its length is 2:3. In thecentre of the white band is a navy bluewheel known as Ashok Chakra. It has 24spokes.
Each colour of the flag has its ownsignificance :
Saffron — signifies courage andsacrifice
White — signifies truth and peaceGreen — signifies faith and prosperity
The wheel is a symbol of progress roundthe clock.
National Emblem
Our National Emblem is a Lion Capital,adopted from the Ashoka’s Pillar atSarnath. It has four lions, standing backto back, mounted on a base. Howeveronly three lions are visible, the fourthone remains hidden from the front view.There is a Dharam Chakra in the centreof the base, on the right of which is afigure of a bull and on the left that of ahorse. The words Satyamev Jayate(Truth Alone Triumphs) are inscribedbelow the base.
National AnthemJana-gana-mana is our NationalAnthem. It was composed originally inBengali by Rabindranath Tagore. The
playing time of our National Anthem isabout 52 seconds.
National SongVande Mataram is our National Song. Itwas composed originally in Sanskrit byBankim Chandra Chatterji. It has beentaken from his novel Anand Math. National CalendarSaka is our National Calendar. Chaitrais the first month and Phalguna is thelast month of the Saka year. A normalSaka year has 365 days.
National Flower
Lotus is our National Flower. It is asacred flower and occupies a uniqueposition in the art and mythology ofancient India.
National BirdPeacock is our National Bird. It wasdeclared the National Bird in 1964 andits hunting has since been banned.
National AnimalTiger is our National Animal. It is asymbol of grace, strength, agility andenormous power. To check thedwindling population of tigers in India,‘Project Tiger’ was launched in April1973.
National GameHockey is our National Game. India haswon 8 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronzemedals in Olympics.
OTHER FACTS
India is the seventh largest and thesecond most populous country in theworld. Here are some important factsabout India :
Official name — Republic of IndiaLocal names — Bharat, HindustanArea — 32,87,263 sq. kmPopulation — 1,24,14,91,960Capital — New DelhiCurrency — RupeeTimezone — GMT+5.5Location on world map — Southern
AsiaOfficial languages — Hindi and
EnglishNumber of states — 28Number of union territories — 7Largest state — RajasthanSmallest state — Goa
Most populous state — Uttar PradeshLeast populous state — SikkimMost densely populated state — West
BengalMost densely populated city — New
Delhi
5.
Presidents of India
Name Lifespan Tenure
1. Dr. Rajendra (1884– 26 Jan. 1950— 13 May
Prasad 1963) 19622. Dr.SarvepalliRadhakrishnan
(1888–1975)
13 May 1962—13 May1967
3. Dr. ZakirHusain
(1897–1969)
13 May 1967—3 May1969
4. VarahagiriVenkatagiri
(1894–1980)
24 Aug. 1969—24 Aug.1974
5. FakhruddinAli Ahmad
(1905–1977)
24 Aug. 1974—11 Feb.1977
6. NeelamSanjiva Reddy
(1913–1996)
25 July 1977—25 July1982
7. Giani ZailSingh
(1916–1994)
25 July 1982—25 July1987
8. R.Venkataraman
(1910–2009)
25 July 1987—25 July1992
9. Dr. ShankarDayal Sharma
(1918–1999)
25 July 1992—25 July1997
10. K.R.Narayanan
(1920–2005)
25 July 1997—25 July2002
11. Dr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam
(b1931)
25 July 2002—25 July200725 July 2007
12. PratibhaDevisingh Patil
(b1934)
—25 July2012
13. PranabMukherjee
(b1935)
25 July 2012—till date
Acting Presidents of India:
Name Lifespan Tenure
1. VarahagiriVenkatagiri
(1894–1980)
3 May 1969—20 July1969
2. JusticeMuhammadHidayatullah
(1905–1992)
20 July 1969—24Aug.1969
3. B.D. Jatti (1913–2002)
11 Feb. 1977—25 July1977
6.
Prime Ministers ofIndia
Name Lifespan Tenure
1. JawaharlalNehru
(1889–1964)
15 Aug. 1947 —27 May 1964
2. LalBahadurShastri
(1904–1966)
9 June 1964 —11 Jan. 1966
3. IndiraGandhi
(1917–1984)
24 Jan. 1966 —24 March 1977
4. MorarjiDesai
(1896–1995)
24 March 1977— 28 July 1979
5. ChoudharyCharan Singh
(1902–1987)
28 July 1979 —14 Jan 1980
6. IndiraGandhi
(1917–1984)
14 Jan. 1980 —31 Oct. 1984
7. RajivGandhi
(1944–1991)
31 Oct. 1984 —1 Dec. 1989
8. VishwanathPratap Singh
(b1931)
2 Dec. 1989 —10 Nov. 1990
9. ChandraShekhar
(1927–2007)
10 Nov. 1990 —21 June 1991
10. P. V.NarasimhaRao
(1921–2004)
21 June 1991 —16 May 1996
11. AtalBihariVajpayee
(b1926)
16 May 1996 —28 May 1996
12. H.D. DeveGowda
(b1933)
1 June 1996 —21 April 1997
13. InderKumar Gujral
(b1919)
21 April 1997 —28 Nov. 1997
14. AtalBihari (b 19 March 1998
Vajpayee 1926) — 17 April 1999
15. AtalBihariVajpayee
(b1926)
13 Oct. 1999 —22 May 2004
16. Dr.ManmohanSingh
(b1932)
22 May 2004 —22 May 2009
17. Dr.ManmohanSingh
(b1932)
22 May 2009 —26 May 2014
18. NarendraModi
(b1950)
26 May 2014 —till date
7.
Indian States and theirCapitals
State CapitalAndhra
PradeshArunachalPradeshAssamBiharChhattisgarhGoaGujaratHaryanaHimachalPradeshJammu andKashmirJharkhandKarnatakaKerala
HyderabadItanagarDispurPatnaRaipurPanajiGandhinagarChandigarhShimlaJammu (winter) andSrinagar (summer)RanchiBengaluruThiruvananthapuramBhopal
MadhyaPradeshMaharashtraManipurMeghalayaMizoramNagalandOrissaPunjabRajasthanSikkimTamil NaduTelanganaTripuraUttar Pradesh
MumbaiImphalShillongAizawlKohimaBhubaneswarChandigarhJaipurGangtokChennaiHyderabadAgartalaLucknow
UttarakhandWest Bengal
DehradunKolkata
Believe It or Not:
• India and China together account formore than one-third of the world’spopulation.
8.
Indian States and theirLanguages
State Principal language(s)Andhra
PradeshArunachalPradeshAssamBiharChhattisgarhGoaGujaratHaryanaHimachalPradeshJammu andKashmirJharkhandKarnatakaKerala
Telugu and UrduSeveral tribal dialectsAssameseHindi and BhojpuriHindiKonkani and MarathiGujaratiHindiHindi and PahariKashmiri, Urdu, Dogriand LadakhiHindi and BhojpuriKannadaMalayalamHindi
MadhyaPradesh
MaharashtraManipurMeghalayaMizoramNagalandOrissaPunjabRajasthanSikkimTamil NaduTelanganaTripura
Hindi and MarathiManipuriKhasi, Garo and EnglishMizo and EnglishSeveral tribal dialectsOriyaPunjabiHindi and RajasthaniLepcha, Bhutia andNepaliTamilTeluguBengali and Kokborak
Uttar PradeshUttarakhandWest Bengal
Hindi and UrduHindi, Garhwali andKumaoniBengali
Believe It or Not:
• In India, more languages are spokenthan in any other country. Tamil isthe oldest surviving language in theworld.
9.
Dances of India
Dance in India has an unbroken traditionof over 2,000 years. Its themes arederived from mythology, legends andclassical literature. The main classical,
folk and tribal dances of India are listedbelow alongwith the states they areassociated with:
Dance StateBhangraBharata NatyamBihuGarbaKathakKathakaliKuchipudiManipuriMohiniattamOdissi
PunjabTamil NaduAssamGujaratNorth IndiaKeralaAndhra PradeshManipurKeralaOrissa
Other Important DancesBamboo danceBidesiaChauGhumarGiddaLavni
AssamBiharWest BengalRajasthanPunjabMaharashtra
LotaNautankiRoufSwangTamashaYakshangana
Madhya PradeshUttar PradeshJammu and KashmirHaryanaMaharashtraKarnataka
Believe It or Not:• A medium-sized swarm of locusts
contains about a million insects andconsumes about twenty tonnes offood a day. The swarm keeps onmigrating and eats all plants, cropsand vegetation found in its way.
10.
Countries and theirCapitals
Country CapitalAfghanistan Kabul
ArgentinaAustraliaAustriaBangladeshBelgiumBhutanBrazilBulgariaCanadaChileChinaColombiaCuba
Buenos AiresCanberraViennaDhakaBrusselsThimphuBrasiliaSofiaOttawaSantiagoBeijingBogotaHavana
DenmarkEgypt
CopenhagenCairo
FinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIsraelItalyJapanJordanKenyaKuwait
HelsinkiParisBerlinAthensBudapestNew DelhiJakartaTehranBaghdadJerusalemRomeTokyoAmmanNairobiKuwait City
LibyaMalaysiaMauritiusMexicoMoroccoMyanmarNepalNetherlands
TripoliKuala LumpurPort LouisMexico CityRabatYangonKathmanduAmsterdamNew Zealand
NigeriaNorwayPakistanPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugal
WellingtonAbujaOsloIslamabadLimaManilaWarsawLisbon
RussiaSaudi ArabiaSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSpainSri LankaSudanSwedenSwitzerlandThailandTurkeyUAEUKUSAVietnam
MoscowRiyadhPretoria & Cape TownSeoulMadridColomboKhartoumStockholmBernBangkokAnkaraAbu DhabiLondonWashington, DCHanoi
Zimbabwe Harare
11.
Countries and theirCurrencies
Country CurrencyAfghanistan Afghani
AlgeriaArgentinaAustraliaAustriaBangladeshBelgiumBhutanBrazilCanadaChileChinaColombiaCuba
DinarPesoDollarEuroTakaEuroNgultrumCruzeiro RealDollarPesoYuanPesoPeso
DenmarkEgypt
KronePound
FinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIsraelItalyJapanJordanKenyaKorea, North
EuroEuroEuroEuroForintRupeeRupiahRialDinarShekelEuroYenDinarShillingWon
Korea, SouthKuwaitMalaysiaMauritiusMexicoMoroccoMyanmarNepal
WonDinarRinggitRupeePesoDirhamKyatRupeeNetherlands
New ZealandNigeriaNorwayPakistanPeruPhilippinesPortugal
EuroDollarNairaKroneRupeeSolPesoEuro
RussiaSaudi ArabiaSingaporeSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSudanSwedenSwitzerlandTaiwanThailandTurkeyUAEUKUSA
RoubleRiyalDollarRandEuroRupeeDinarKronaFrancDollarBahtLiraDirhamPound SterlingDollar
VietnamZimbabwe
DongDollar
12.
Countries and theirNatives
Country NativeAfghanistan Afghan/Afghani
AlgeriaArgentinaAustraliaBangladeshBelgiumBhutanBrazilBritainCanadaChileChinaCubaDenmark
AlgerianArgentinianAustralianBangladeshiBelgianBhutani/BhutaneseBrazilianBritishCanadianChileanChineseCubanDane/Danish
EgyptEngland
EgyptianEnglish
FinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyJapanKoreaKuwait
FinnFrenchGermanGreekHungarianIndianIndonesianIranianIraqiIrishIsraeliItalianJapaneseKoreanKuwaiti
MalaysiaMauritiusMexicoMongoliaMoroccoMyanmarNepalNetherlandsNorway
Malay/MalayanMauritianMexicanMongolian/MongolMoroccan/MoorBurman/BurmeseNepaleseDutchNorwegianOman
PakistanPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalRussia
OmaniPakistaniPeruvianPhilippine/FilipinoPolishPortugueseRussian
Saudi ArabiaScotlandSingaporeSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSudanSwedenSwitzerlandTaiwanThailandTibetTurkeyUSAVietnam
ArabScottishSingaporeanSouth AfricanSpanish/SpaniardSri LankanSudaneseSwedish/SwedeSwissTaiwaneseThaiTibetanTurkishAmericanVietnamese
West IndiesZimbabwe
West IndianZimbabwean
13.
Countries and theirLanguages
The world is full of languages. Notcertain, but it is estimated that the
languages spoken throughout the worldusually range between 5,000 and 7,000.Here are some countries of the worldand their official languages: Country Official language(s)ArgentinaAustraliaBangladeshBrazilCanadaChinaDenmarkEgyptFrance
SpanishEnglishBengaliPortugueseEnglish and FrenchMandarin ChineseDanishArabicFrench
GermanyGreeceIndiaIranIraqItalyJapanKoreaMexicoNepalNetherlandsPakistanPolandRussiaSaudi
GermanGreekHindi and EnglishPersian (Farsi)ArabicItalianJapaneseKoreanSpanishNepaliDutchUrduPolishRussianArabic
ArabiaSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSwedenUKUSA
Afrikaans and EnglishSpanishSinhala, Tamil andEnglishSwedishEnglishEnglish
14.
Countries and theirReligions
The Christianity is the major religion ofthe world followed by the Islam. Here
are some countries of the world andtheir major religions :Country Major religion(s)
AustraliaBangladeshBrazilCambodiaCanadaChinaEgyptFranceGermanyGreece
ChristianityIslamChristianityBuddhismChristianityConfucianism, Buddhismand TaoismIslamChristianityChristianityGreek Orthodox
India Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism,
IranIraqItalyJapanMalaysiaNepalNetherlandsPakistanRussiaSaudiArabiaSouthAfricaSpainSri Lanka
Christianity, Buddhismand JainismIslamIslamChristianityShintoism and BuddhismIslamHinduismChristianityIslamChristianity and IslamIslamChristianityChristianityBuddhism
SudanSwitzerlandThailandUAEUKUSA
IslamChristianityBuddhismIslamChristianityChristianity
15.
Continents andCountries
The Earth’s surface is divided intoseven continents, out of which six are
inhabited. Asia is the largest and themost populated continent. It occupies30% of the world’s total land area, with60% of the world’s population.Australia is the smallest continent.Antarctica is covered by thick ice andthe only people living there are somescientists. Here are the six inhabitedcontinents and their major countries :
Asia
AfghanistanBangladeshBhutanChinaIndia
IndonesiaIranIraqIsraelJapanKoreaKuwaitMalaysiaMongoliaMyanmarNepalPakistanPhilippinesSaudi ArabiaSingapore
Sri LankaTaiwanThailandTurkeyUAEVietnam
EuropeAustriaBelgiumBulgariaCzech RepublicDenmarkFinlandFrance
GermanyGreeceHungaryIrelandItalyLuxembourgNetherlandsNorwayPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSpainSwedenSwitzerland
UK
AfricaAlgeriaCameroonEgyptEthiopiaKenyaLibyaMauritiusMoroccoNamibiaNigeriaRwandaSomalia
South AfricaSudanTanzaniaUgandaZambiaZimbabwe
North AmericaBarbadosCanadaCubaJamaicaMexicoPanamaUSA
South America
ArgentinaBoliviaBrazilChileColombiaParaguayPeruVenezuela
AustraliaAustraliaFijiNew Zealand
16.
Changed Names ofSome Places
IndiaNew name Old name
AllahabadBengaluruChennaiGuwahatiKarnatakaKolkataKozhikodeMumbaiPanajiPatnaThiruvananthapuramVadodaraVaranasi
PrayagBangaloreMadrasGauhatiMysoreCalcuttaCalicutBombayPanjimPatliputraTrivendrumBarodaBanaras
The World
New name Old nameAnkaraBeijingCambodiaDhakaGhanaIndonesiaIranIraqJapanMalaysiaMyanmarNetherlands, TheSri LankaTaiwan
AngoraPekingKampucheaDaccaGold CostBataviaPersiaMesopotamiaNipponMalayaBurmaHollandCeylonFormosa
ThailandYangonZaireZimbabwe
SiamRangoonCongoRhodesia
17.
Geographical Epithets
IndiaEpithet Name
Blue MountainsNilgiri
City of LakesCity of PalacesGarden CityGateway of IndiaLand of Coconuts; SpiceGarden of IndiaLand of Five RiversPink CityQueen of the Arabian SeaSorrow of BengalSun City
HillsUdaipurKolkataBengaluruMumbaiKeralaPunjabJaipurCochinDamoderRiverJodhpur
The World
City of Arabian Nights
City of Seven Hills;Eternal CityCity of Skyscrapers;Empire CityDark ContinentForbidden CityGift of the NileHoly LandIsland of PearlsLand of Kangaroos; Landof the Golden FleeceLand of Lilies; Land ofMaple LeafLand of Morning Calm;Hermit KingdomLand of Rising Sun
BaghdadRomeNew YorkAfricaLhasa(Tibet)EgyptPalestineBahrainAustraliaCanadaKoreaJapanFinlandBhutan
Land of Thousand LakesLand of ThunderboltLand of White ElephantPlayground of EuropeRoof of the WorldSickman of EuropeSorrow of China; YellowRiverSugar Bowl of the World
ThailandSwitzerlandPamirs(Tibet)TurkeyRiverHuang HeCuba
18.
Riverside Cities
Indian CitiesCity RiverAgra (UP)
Yamuna
Ahmedabad (Gujarat)Ayodhya (UP)Cuttack (Orissa)DelhiGuwahati (Assam)Hardwar (Uttarakhand)Hyderabad (AP)Kanpur (UP)Kolkata (West Bengal)Lucknow (UP)Mathura (UP)Patna (Bihar)Srinagar (J&K)Surat (Gujarat)Tiruchirappalli (Tamil
SabarmatiSaryuMahanadiYamunaBrahmaputraGangaMusiGangaHooghlyGomtiYamunaGangaJhelumTaptiKaveri
Nadu)Ujjain (MP)Varanasi (UP)Vijayawada (AP)
ShipraGangaKrishna
Foreign Cities
Baghdad (Iraq)Berlin (Germany)Cairo (Egypt)Karachi (Pakistan)Lahore (Pakistan)London (England)Moscow (Russia)New York (USA)Paris (France)
TigrisSpreeNileIndusRaviThamesMoskvaHudsonSeine
Rome (Italy)Tokyo (Japan)Washington, DC (USA)
TiberSumidaPotomac
19.
Cities Associated withIndustries
Indian CitiesCity Industry
Agra (UP)Ahmedabad(Gujarat)Aligarh (UP)Anand (Gujarat)Bengaluru(Karnataka)Bhilai(Chhattisgarh)Bokaro(Jharkhand)Chittaranjan(West Bengal)DelhiFerozabad (UP)Jamshedpur
Shoes, leatherTextilesLocksAmul dairyAircraft, telephones,computersSteelSteelLocomotivesPublishingGlass banglesIron, steel
(Jharkhand)Jharia(Jharkhand)Kanpur (UP)Kolar(Karnataka)Ludhiana(Punjab)Meerut (UP)Mirzapur (UP)Moradabad (UP)Nepanagar (MP)Visakhapatnam(AP)
Coal minesTextiles, leathergoodsGold minesHosieryScissorsCarpetsBrasswareNewsprintShip-building
Foreign Cities
Abadan (Iran)Detroit (USA)Dhaka (Bangladesh)Geneva (Switzerland)Havana (Cuba)Hollywood (USA)Johannesburg (SouthAfrica)Kimberley (SouthAfrica)Tehran (Iran)Venice (Italy)Wellington (NewZealand)
Oil refineriesAutomobilesJuteWatchesCigars, sugarFilmsGold minesDiamondminesCarpetsGlassDairyproducts
20.
Number of Players
Game Number of playersBadmintonBaseball
1 or 29
BasketballCricketFootballHockeyIce hockeyKabaddiPoloRugby LeagueRugby UnionTable tennisTennisVolleyballWater polo
511111168413151 or 21 or 267
Believe It or Not:
• Ice hockey is the world’s fastestteam game.
• There is enough salt in the sea tocover all the continents with a layerof salt 150 m thick.
• The world’s longest boundary liesbetween Canada and the USA,which extends for 6,416 km.
21.
Names of Playgrounds
Game PlaygroundBadmintonBaseball
CourtDiamond
BasketballBilliardsBoxingChessCricketFootballGolfHockeyIce hockeyPoloRaceShooting
CourtTableRingBoardGroundGroundCourseFieldRinkGroundTrackRangeSkating
SwimmingTable tennisTennis
RinkPoolTableCourt
VolleyballWrestling
CourtArena
Believe It or Not:
• The kiwi lays an egg a quarter of herown weight. The egg weighs 420 g— the kiwi weighs 1.7 kg.
• A huge underwater river flowsunderneath the Nile, with six times
more water than the river above.• Termites build their nests in huge
mounds many times taller thanthemselves. If people lived in hugebuildings equivalent to a termite’snest, they would be over 4,000 mhigh.
22.
National Games
Country National gameArgentinaAustralia
FootballCricket
BrazilCanadaChinaEnglandIndiaJapanMalaysiaRussiaScotlandSpainUSA
FootballIce hockeyTable tennisCricketHockeyJu-jitsuBadmintonChessRugbyBull fightingBaseball
Believe It or Not:
• Brazil is the only country to haveplayed in every World Cup SoccerTournament.
• Ronaldo of Brazil is the highestgoal-scorer in the history of theWorld Cup Soccer.
• The game of rugby was first playedin 1823 at Rugby School (England)when William Webb Ellis picked up
the ball and ran with it during agame of football.
23.
Olympic Games
Olympic Games are the most importantinternational athletic competition in theworld. They are held every four years,each time in a different country. This
world’s oldest sports event bringstogether thousands of the world’s finestathletes to compete against one anotherin a variety of individual and teamsports. More than 10,000 athletesrepresenting over 190 nationsparticipate in the Olympics. Millions ofpeople attend the games and more than 1billion people throughout the worldwatch the Olympics on television.
Ancient OlympicsThe Olympics Games originated inancient Greece and were held from 776BC to AD 393. They were celebratedlike religious festivals, honouring Zeus,the king of the gods. The Roman
conquered Greece during the 140’s BC,and the games soon lost their religiousmeaning. In AD 393, EmperorTheodosius I banned the games.
Modern OlympicsBaron Pierre de Coubertine, a frencheducator, revived the games toencourage world peace and friendshipand to promote healthy sportingcompetition for the youth of the world.The first modern Olympic Games wereheld in Athens, Greece, in 1896. In theopening ceremony, the athletes ofGreece march into the stadium first, inhonour of the original games held inancient Greece. The athletes of the host
country enter last.
The International Olympic CommitteeThe International Olympic Committee(IOC) is the governing body of theOlympic Games. The IOC has itsheadquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.The Committee approves the sports andevents to be included in the games. TheIOC also selects the host cities for thegames, seven years in advance. Hostcities provide a special housingcompound called the Olympic Villagefor the athletes and coaches.
Olympic FlameThe flame symbolizes the light of spirit,
knowledge and life, and it is a messageof peace. The fire is ignited in Olympia,Greece, by using a mirror to concentratethe rays of the Sun. Runners transport theflame in a torch relay from Greece to thesite of the games. The final runnercarries the torch into the stadium, circlesthe tract and lights a huge cauldron(pot). The flame is kept burningthroughout the games and thenextinguished during the closingceremony.
Olympic Emblem and FlagThe Olympic Emblem, created in 1913,consists of five interlocking rings thatrepresent the continents of Africa, Asia,
Australia, Europe and the Americas. Theflag of every nation competing in thegames has at least one of these colours.The Olympic Flag is white in colour,originally made of cotton. The Emblemis placed in the middle of the flag. Colour of ring Continent representedBlue ringYellow ringBlack ringGreen ringRed ring
EuropeAsiaAfricaAustraliaAmerica
Olympic MottoCitius, Altius, Fortius
These are Latin words which aretranslated as:‘Swifter, Higher, Stronger’. Olympic Epigram“The essential thing in life is notconquering but fighting well.” Olympic MedalsThe winners are awarded medals, but noprize money. The top three finishers ineach event receive a medal and adiploma. The next five finishers get onlya diploma. Each first-place winnerreceives a gold medal, which is actuallymade of silver and coated with gold.
The second-place medal is made ofsilver and the third-place medal is madeof bronze. The design for the medalchanges for each Olympics. Allmembers of a winning relay team get amedal. In team sports, all the membersof a winning team who have played in atleast one of the games during thecompetition receive a medal.
The Summer GamesThe Olympic Games consist of theSummer Games and the Winter Games.The Summer Games are held during thesummer season of the host city, usuallybetween July and October. These gameslast 16 days. Athletes compete in more
than 270 separate events during theSummer Games. Women firstparticipated in Olympics in 1900 inParis.
The Winter GamesThe Winter Games with over 60 eventsare usually held in February and last 16days. The games attract approximately2,000 athletes from around 60 countries.The Winter Games, established in 1924,took place the same year as the SummerGames. Beginning in 1994, the Winterand Summer Games were divided andscheduled on four-year cycles two yearsapart.
India’s Major Achievements inOlympics :
• Indian hockey team has won 8 Gold,1 Silver and 2 Bronze medals inOlympics so far.
• K.D. Jadhav has won a Bronzemedal in wrestling in 1952Olympics.
• Leander Paes has won a Bronzemedal in tennis in 1996 Olympics.
• Karnam Malleswari has won aBronze medal in weightlifting in2000 Olympics.
• Major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathorehas won a Silver medal in doubletrap shooting in 2004 Olympics.
• Abhinav Bindra won the first everindividual Gold medal for India inthe Men’s 10 m air rifle event in2008 Olympics.
• Sushil Kumar won a Bronze medal inthe men’s 66 kg freestyle wrestlingand Vijender Kumar won a Bronzein the middleweight boxing in 2008Olympics.
24.
World Cup Soccer
The World Cup Soccer Tournament,organized by the Federation of theInternational Football Association(FIFA), is one of the most popular sports
tournaments in the world. It is held everyfour years to determine the world’ssoccer champion. The Cup given to thewinner is made of pure solid gold and is12 inches in height.
Winners and the venues of theprevious World Cup SoccerTournaments are as follows :
THE WORLD CUP SOCCER TOURNAMENT
RECORDYear Winner Runner-up Score1930 Uruguay Argentina 4 – 21934 Italy Czechoslovakia 2 – 11938 Italy Hungary 4 – 2
1950 Uruguay Brazil 2 – 11954 W
Germany Hungary 3 – 2
1958 Brazil Sweden 5 – 21962 Brazil Czechoslovakia 3 – 11966 England W Germany 4 – 21970 Brazil Italy 4 – 1
1974 WGermany Holland 2 – 1
1978 Argentina Holland 3 – 11982 Italy W Germany 3 – 11986 Argentina W Germany 3 – 2
1990 WGermany Argentina 1 – 0
1994 Brazil Italy 3 – 2
1998 France Brazil 3 – 0
2002 Brazil Germany 3 – 0
2006 Italy France 5 – 3
2010 Spain Netherlands 1 – 0
2014 Germany Argentina 1 – 0 The following statistics give the earlierwinners:Country Won In year
Brazil 5times
1958, 1962, 1970,1994, 2002
Italy 4times
1934, 1938, 1982,2006
Germany 4times
1954, 1974, 1990,2014
25.
World Cup Cricket
The World Cup Cricket Tournament isheld every four years. The firsttournament was held in 1975 in Englandin which England, Australia, West
Indies, New Zealand, India and Pakistantook Part. The West Indies won thistournament and also the next one in1979. The first three tournaments, forthree consecutive occasions — 1975,1979 and 1983, were held in England.
The ICC (International CricketCouncil) is in charge of the overalladministration of the World Cup CricketTournament, though the ruling bodies ofthe countries where the tournaments takeplace are responsible for localarrangements. The ICC was originallyfounded in 1909 as the Imperial CricketConference but was renamed theInternational Cricket Council in 1989.
Winners and the venues of the
previous World Cup CricketTournaments are as follows:
THE WORLD CUP CRICKET
TOURNAMENT RECORD
Year Winner Runner-up Venue
1975 WestIndies Australia England
1979 WestIndies England England
1983 India WestIndies England
1987 Australia England India andPakistan
1992 Pakistan EnglandAustraliaand NewZealand
1996 SriLanka Australia
India,Pakistan andSri Lanka
1999 Australia Pakistan England
2003 Australia India SouthAfrica
2007 Australia SriLanka West Indies
2011 India SriLanka India
Believe It or Not:• The English, the founder of the
cricket, have never won the WorldCup.
• Indian hockey team failed to qualifyfor the Beijing Olympics 2008.
• Some species of the bamboo planthave been found to grow at up to 91cm per day.
26.
Famous Sportspersons
ArcheryLimba RamShyam Lal
AthleticsMilkha SinghP. T. UshaShiny WilsonAshwini NachappaParamjit SinghCarl LewisJesse OwensMichael Johnson
BadmintonPrakash PadukoneSyed ModiGopi Chand
BasketballHanuman SinghSuman SharmaMichael Jordan
BilliardsGeet SethiMichael FerreiraWilson JonesMike Russel
BoxingVijender KumarKhaur SinghMuhammad Ali
Mike TysonEvander Holyfield
ChessVishwanathan AnandDibyendu BaruaVijaylakshmi SubbaramanGary KasparovAnatoly KarpovBobby Fischer
CricketBishan Singh BediMohinder AmarnathM.A.K. Pataudi
Ravi ShastriSunil GavaskarKapil DevSachin TendulkarJavagal SrinathMahendra Singh DhoniSir Donald BradmanSir Richard HadleeGrieg ChappelAllan BorderSir Garfield SobersSir Vivian RichardsImran KhanWasim AkramBrian Lara
Sanath JayasuriyaSteve Waugh
FootballSubroto BhattacharjeeBaichung BhutiaPeleDiego MaradonaRonaldoRonaldinhoZinedine ZidaneDavid Beckham
GolfChiranjeev Milkha Singh
Ali SherNick Faldo
HockeyDhyan ChandDhanraj PillayPargat SinghMohd. Shahid
MountaineeringTenzing NorgayBachendri PalSantosh YadavMajor H.P.S. AhluwaliaSir Edmund Hillary
Shooting
Abhinav BindraRajyavardhan Singh RathoreJaspal Rana
SwimmingKhazan SinghSebastian XavierEnglish Channel SwimmingMihir SenArati Saha
TennisLeander Paes
Mahesh BhupatiVijay AmritrajSania MirzaStefan EdbergBoris BeckerAndre AgassiPete SamprasMartina NavratilovaSteffi GrafMonica SelesMartina HingisVenus WilliamsMaria Sharapova
Weightlifting
Karnam MalleswariKanjurani Devi
WrestlingK.D. JadhavSushil KumarSatpal Singh
27.
Sports Cups andTrophies
NationalAssociated
Name Sport
Aga Khan CupBengaluru BluesChallenge CupBurdwan TrophyDCM TrophyDhyan Chand TrophyDuleep TrophyDurand CupEzra CupIrani TrophyJayalakshmi CupLady Ratan TataTrophyRanji Trophy
HockeyBasketballWeightliftingFootballHockeyCricketFootballPoloCricketTable tennis(Women)Hockey(Women)Cricket
Santosh TrophySubroto Mukherji CupWellington CupWinchester Cup
FootballFootballRowingPolo
International
Name Associated Sport
American CupAshesCorbillion CupDavis CupDerbyMerdeka CupPrince of Wales
Yacht racingCricket (Australia-England)World table tennis(Women)TennisHorse racing(England)
CupRyder CupSharjah CupThomas CupTunku AbdulRehman CupUber CupWalker CupWilliam CupWimbledonTrophy
Football (Asia)Golf (England)Golf (England)CricketWorld badminton(Men)Badminton (Asia)World badminton(Women)Golf (England)BasketballTennis
28.
Sports Terms
ArcheryTargetBull’s-eye
BadmintonLetDropFaultSmashDeuce
BaseballPitcherPut outHomeBunting
BasketballDribble
PivotMultiple throwsFree throwHolding
BilliardsCuePotCannonJigger
BoxingPunchHookJab
KnockoutUpper cut
BridgeDummyRevokeTrumpTricks
ChessBishopCheckCheckmateGambitStalemate
Cricket
lbwDuckGooglyStumpedHat trickHit wicketCreaseMaiden overDriveWide ballNo ballSilly pointFollow on
Leg byeChinaman
FootballDribbleHat trickHandballThrow-inFree kickCorner kickPenalty kick
GolfPutCaddie
TeeBogeyBirdie
HockeyDribbleHat trickBullyScoopRoll-inShort cornerCarry
Horse racingJockey
Punter
PoloBunkerMalletChukker
RugbyScrumDrop goalTouchdown
ShootingBull’s-eyePlug
Swimming
FreestyleBreast strokeBackstrokeButterfly strokeMedley
TennisLetFaultSmashDeuceBackhandVolley
Half VolleyAce
VolleyballVolleyDoublingBlockingBoosterService
WeightliftingSnatchClean and jerkMilitary pressBench press
Wrestling
ScissorHeaveHalf-NelsonHead lock
29.
Sports Measurements
Here are standard measurements of somesports playgrounds and goods: Badminton
Court — 44 ft × 17 ft (for singles)44 ft × 20 ft (for doubles)
BasketballCourt — 85 ft × 46 ftHeight of basket — 10 ft (3.05 m) BilliardsTable — 12 ft × 6 ft CricketLength of pitch — 22 yards (20.1 m)Maximum length of bat — 38 inches(96.5 cm)Maximum width of bat — 4.5 inches
(11.4 cm)Weight of ball — 5.5–5.75 ounces(156–163 g) FootballLength of field — 100–130 yards (90–120 m)Breadth of field — 50–100 yards (45–90 m)Height of goal — 8 ft (2.44 m)Width of goal — 24 ft (7.3 m) GolfDiameter of hole — 4.25 inches (10.8cm)
HockeyLength of field — 100 yards (90 m)Breadth of field — 55–60 yards (50–55m) MarathonDistance to be run — 26 miles, 385yards (42.195 km) PoloGround — 300 yd × 160 yd TennisCourt — 78 ft × 27 ft (for singles)
78 ft × 36 ft (for doubles)
VolleyballCourt — 30 ft × 30 ft
30.
Sports Stadiums inIndia
Name LocationAmbedkar Stadium
Barabati StadiumBrabourne StadiumChepauk StadiumDhyan Chand StadiumEden GardensFeroz Shah Kotla GroundGreen ParkIndira Gandhi IndoorStadiumJawaharlal Nehru StadiumKeenan StadiumLal Bahadur ShastriStadiumNational StadiumNetaji Indoor Stadium
New DelhiCuttackMumbaiChennaiLucknowKolkataNew DelhiKanpurNew DelhiNew DelhiJamshedpurHyderabadNew DelhiKolkata
Ranjit StadiumSawai Man Singh StadiumShivaji StadiumTalkatora Indoor StadiumVallabh Bhai PatelStadiumWankhede StadiumYadvindra StadiumYuba Bharati (Salt Lake)Stadium
KolkataJaipurNew DelhiNew DelhiMumbaiMumbaiPatialaKolkata
Believe It or Not:
• Snakes never close their eyes at anytime.
• If you fell down from the Mount
Everest, at 8,850 m high, it wouldtake you 43 seconds to hit theground.
• The Queen Alexandra’s birdwing isthe world’s largest butterfly, withwings measuring up to 28 cmacross.
31.
Places Associated withSports
NationalAssociated
Place Location withAmbedkarStadium New Delhi Football
ChepaukStadium Chennai Cricket
Dhyan ChandStadium Lucknow Hockey
Eden Gardens Kolkata CricketFerozshahKotla Ground New Delhi Cricket
Green Park Kanpur CricketLal BahadurShastriStadium
Hyderabad Hockey
Sawai Man Jaipur Hockey
Singh StadiumShivajiStadium New Delhi Hockey
WankhedeStadium Mumbai Cricket
Yuba BharatiStadium Kolkata Football
International
Place Location Associatedwith
Blackheath England Rugby
Epsom England Horseracing
Forest Hills USA Tennis
Hurlingham England PoloLeeds England CricketLord’s England CricketMaracanaMunicipalStadium
Brazil Football
Oval England CricketPutney England RowingWembley England FootballWimbledon England Tennis
Believe It or Not:• More than 90 per cent of all species
of flowers have no scent at all.
Rafflesia is the world’s biggestflower. It grows up to 1 m across.
• There are nearly three times as manyas plant species as there are animalspecies.
32.
First in India
First President of India Dr. RajendraPrasad (1950)
First Prime Minister of Jawaharlal
India Nehru (1947)First woman PrimeMinister of India
Indira Gandhi(1966)
First man to go into thespace
Rakesh Sharma(1984)
First woman to go intothe space
KalpanaChawla (1997)
First man to climbMount Everest
Tenzing Norgay(1953)
First woman to climbMount Everest
Bachendri Pal(1984)
First woman to climbMount Everest twice
Santosh Yadav(1992, 93)
First man to get NobelPrize
RabindranathTagore (1913)
First woman to getNobel Prize
Mother Teresa(1979)
First woman Minister VijayalakshmiPandit (1937)
First woman ChiefMinister of a state (UP)
SuchetaKripalani(1963)
First woman Governorof a state (UP) Sarojini Naidu
First woman Judge ofSupreme Court
M. FatimaBeevi (1989)
First woman IASofficer
Anna GeorgeMalhotra(1950)
First woman IPSofficer
Kiran Bedi(1972)
First woman airlinepilot Durba Banerji
First woman to winMiss World title
Reita Faria(1966)
First woman to winMiss Universe title
Sushmita Sen(1994)
First man to swimacross the EnglishChannel
Mihir Sen(1958)
First woman to swimacross the EnglishChannel
Arati Saha(1959)
First man to win anOscar
Bhanu Athaiya(1982)
First man to make a J.R.D. Tata
commercial flight (1932)
First Mughal Emperorin India Babar (1526)
First Muslim woman tosit on the throne ofDelhi
Razia Sultana(1236)
First Viceroy of India Lord CanningFirst Governor-General of India
WarrenHastings (1772)
First Governor-General of free India
LordMountbatten(1947)
First (and the last)Indian Governor-General of free India
C.Rajagopalachari(1948)
First President ofIndian NationalCongress
W.C. Bonerjee(1885)
First Indian to winGold Medal inOlympics
Abhinav Bindra(2008)
First filmRajaHarishchandra(1913)
First talkie film Alam Ara(1931)
First newspaper Bengal Gazette(1780)
First satellite Aryabhatta(1975)
33.
First in the World
First man to go intothe space
Yuri Gagarin(1961)
First woman to go into ValentinaTereshkova
the space (1963)First man to set footon the Moon
Neil Armstrong(1969)
First men to climbMount Everest
Sir EdmundHillary andTenzing Norgay(1953)
First woman to climbMount Everest
Junko Tabei(1975)
First woman to climbMount Everest twice
Santosh Yadav(1992,93)
First President ofUSA
GeorgeWashington(1789)
First Prime Ministerof Britain
Sir RobertWalpole (1721)
First lady PrimeMinister of a country(Sri Lanka)
SirimavoBandaranaike(1960)
First lady PrimeMinister of Britain
MargaretThatcher (1979)
First lady PrimeMinister of Pakistan
Benazir Bhutto(1988)
First man to sail roundthe world
FerdinandMagellan (1521)
First man to reachSouth Pole
Roald Amundsen(1911)
First woman to reachSouth Pole
Fran Phipps(1971)
First man to reachNorth Pole
Robert Peary(1909)
First woman to reachNorth Pole
KarolineMikkelsen(1935)First surgeon to
perform the successfulhuman heart transplant
ChristiaanBarnard (1967)
First European toinvade India
Alexander theGreat (326 BC)
First Chinese pilgrimto visit India Fahien (405 AD)
First European to visitChina
Marco Polo(1271)
First country to winthe Football WorldCup
Uruguay (1930)
First satellite Sputnik 1 (1957)
Believe It or Not:• The rate of sweating in men is
double that of women.• The highest speed ever recorded on
any national rail system is 574.8km/h by a French highspeed TGVtrain.
• The Australian 2,000 km long GreatBarrier Reef is the world’s largeststructure made by living things. It isso large that it can be seen from theMoon.
34.
Popular Titles ofFamous Personalities
IndiaTitle Original name
Bapu/Father of theNationChacha/PanditjiDeenbandhuFlying SikhGrand Old Man ofIndiaGurudevHaryana HurricaneHockey WizardLittle MasterLokmanyaLoknayak/JPMahamana
Mahatma GandhiJawaharlal NehruC.F. AndrewsMilkha SinghDadabhai NaorojiRabindranathTagoreKapil DevDhyan ChandSunil GavaskarBal GangadharTilakJayaprakashNarayanMadan MohanMalviya
Man of Iron Sardar VallabhBhai Patel
Man of PeaceMaster BlasterNetajiNightingale ofIndiaSher-e-KashmirSher-e-Punjab/PunjabKesariTiger of the Snows
Lal BahadurShastriSachin TendulkarSubhash ChandraBoseSarojini NaiduSheikh MuhammadAbdullahLala Lajpat RaiTenzing Norgay
The World
BangabandhuBard of AvonBlack PearlDonFather of EnglishPoetryFrontier
Sheikh Mujib-ur-RehmanWilliamShakespearePeleSir DonaldBradmanGeoffreyChaucer
Gandhi/Badshah KhanFuhrer (LeaderGBSLady of the LampMan of Blood andIron/Iron ChancellorMan of Destiny/LittleCorporal
Abdul GhaffarKhanAdolf HitlerGeorgeBernard ShahFlorenceNightingaleOtto VonBismarckNapoleonBonaparte
35.
Nationalities ofFamous Personalities
Personality CountryAbraham Lincoln
Adolf HitlerAlbert EinsteinAlexander theGreatAlfred BernhardNobelBenito MussoliniCharlie ChaplinChristiaanBarnardChristopherColumbusFlorenceNightingaleGalileo GalileiLeonardo da Vinci
USAGermany (bornAustria)USA (bornGermany)MacedoniaSwedenItalyEnglandSouth AfricaItalyItalyItalyItalyFrance
Louis BrailleMao Tse-tung
China
Martin LutherKingMuhammad AliNapoleonBonaparteNeil ArmstrongNelson MandelaOtto VonBismarckPeleSir DonaldBradmanSir EdmundHillary
USAPakistan (bornUSA)FranceUSASouth AfricaGermanyBrazilAustraliaNew Zealand
Sir Isaac NewtonSir WinstonChurchillVasco da GamaVladimir LeninWalt DisneyWilliamShakespeareYuri Gagarin
EnglandBritainPortugalRussiaUSAEnglandRussia
Believe It or Not:• Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)
drew his plans for a helicopterhundreds of years before flyingmachines were actually invented.
36.
Famous Founders
Foundation Founder
Aligarh Muslim
Sir SyedAhmad KhanSwami
UniversityArya SamajBanaras HinduUniversityBhabha AtomicResearch Centre(BARC)Brahmo SamajBuddhismChristianityDin-e-ElahiIndian National ArmyIndian NationalCongressIslamJainism
DayanandSaraswatiMadan MohanMalviyaHomi JehangirBhabhaRaja RamMohan RaiGautamBuddhaJesus ChristAkbarSubhashChandra BoseA.O. HumeProphet
Missionaries ofCharityModern NursingSystem
MuhammadVardhamanaMahaviraMother TeresaFlorenceNightingale
Muslim LeagueRamakrishna MissionRed CrossSaka EraShantiniketanSikhismZoroastrianism (Parsi
NawabSalimullahKhanSwamiVivekanandJean HenriDunantKanishkaRabindranathTagore
religion) Guru NanakZoroaster
Believe It or Not:• The atom bomb dropped on
Hiroshima killed 80,000 peopleinstantly.
• There are more species of fish thanthere are of mammals, birds,
reptiles and amphibians puttogether.
• There is about 200 times more goldburied in the sea than has beenmined from the land.
37.
Popular Slogans
Do or die.— Mahatma Gandhi
Aram haram hai.
— Jawaharlal Nehru Play the game in the spirit of the game.
— Jawaharlal Nehru Give me blood, I will give you freedom.
— Subhash Chandra Bose Dilli Chalo.
— Subhash Chandra Bose Swaraj is my birthright and I will haveit.
— Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan.— Lal Bahadur Shastri
Direct Action.
— Ali Jinnah Government of the people, by thepeople, for the people.
— Abraham Lincoln Just as I would not like to be a slave, soI would not like to be a master.
— Abraham Lincoln That’s one small step for man, one giant
leap for mankind.—Neil Armstrong
Eureka! Eureka! (I have found it.)
— Archimedes Man is by nature a political animal.
—Aristotle The roots of education are bitter, but thefruit is sweet.
—Aristotle I am the greatest!
—Muhammad Ali
Every man has his price.
—Sir Robert Walpole The child is the father of a man.
—William Wordsworth Old wood best to burn, old wine todrink, old friends to trust and old authorsto read.
—Francis Bacon Believe It or Not:
• An ant can pull a load 300 times
heavier than itself and lift an item 50times its own weight.
• It rains nearly everyday on MountWaialeale in Hawaii. In fact, thereare only about 15 days in a yearwhen it does not rain.
38.
Animal Records
Record Animal DescriptionLargestanimal Blue whale 30 m long,
135 tonnes
Largestland animal
Africanelephant
3.5 m tall,6.5 tonnes
Tallestland animal Giraffe 5.5 m tall
Fastestland animal Cheetah 110 km/h
Largestlandcarnivore
Polar bear 2.5 m long,500 kg
Largestbird Ostrich 2.75 m tall,
150 kgSmallestbird
Beehummingbird
5 cm long,3 g
Fastestflying bird
Swift 200 km/h
Fastestdiving bird
Peregrinefalcon
360 km/h
Largestbird ofprey
Andeancondor
3 m wing-span, 12 kg
Largest fish Whale shark 13 m long,20 tonnes
Smallestfish Dwarf goby 1 cm long
Fastest fish Sailfish 110 km/hLargestsnake Anaconda 9 m long,
250 kgLongestsnake
Reticulatedpython 10 m long
Shortest Thread snake 10 cm long
snakeLargestvenomoussnake
King cobra 5.0 m long
Largestreptile
Saltwatercrocodile
4.8 mlong,450 kg
Largestlizard
Komododragon
2.25 mlong, 60 kg
Largestrodent Capybara 1.4 m Long,
110 kgLargestinsect
Goliathbeetle
11 cm long,100 g
Longestinsect Stick insect 35 cm long
Fastestinsect Dragonfly 75 km/h
Largestspider
Goliath bird-eating spider
28 cm leg-span
39.
Animal Facts
Flying FishThe flying fish cannot fly like a bird, butit leaps into the air, up to 3 m and thenglides for about 200 m before splashing
back. It usually does this only whenfrightened.
Egg Laying MammalPlatypus is a mammal, although it layseggs. It grows up to 60 cm long, lives ina burrow and hunts in the water. It isfound in Australia. Only a few mammalslay eggs.
Bee-size BabyA new-born kangaroo measures onlyabout 2 cm. It crawls into its mother’spouch and stays there for six months,feeding on milk and growing.
Musical InsectsInsects have no voice. The noise theymake are all produced by their wings orlegs. The rapid movement of their wingsor legs make that noise. Grasshopperssing by rubbing their legs against a roughpatch on their wings. Crickets use theirwings to make sound.
Unique PatternNo two zebras have exactly the samepattern of stripes. Like humanfingerprints, each zebra’s stripe pattern
is unique.
Vampire’s DinnerVampire bats, found in South America,feed on blood. They lap blood by bittingasleep animals without disturbing them.The bat’s saliva contains a substancewhich stops the blood from clotting. Longest PregnancyThe Asian elephant has the longestpregnancy period in mammals. It has an
average pregnancy period of one yearnine months and a maximum of two yearsone month.
Great HuntersAlthough sharks have poor eyesight, butthey have an excellent sense of smell.They can smell blood diluted a milliontimes in water and thus can detect awounded animal in the sea. All livinganimals produce a small amount ofelectricity. Sharks can sense this
electricity and find where animals arehiding.
Smart CuckoosCuckoos do not make their nests. Afemale cuckoo lays an egg in the nest ofanother bird and takes away one of thehost’s eggs to make room for it. The hostbird has the task of hatching and feedingthe young cuckoo. As it grows up, theyoung cuckoo pushes all the host bird’seggs and young from the nest. By thetime it is ready to leave the nest, the
young cuckoo may be several times thesize of its long-suffering foster parents. Electric EelAn electric eel is a freshwater fishmeasuring up to 2 m long. It producespowerful electric shocks of up to 500volts. A shock of this power can kill ahuman.
Champion MigrantThe Arctic tern is the champion in
migration. It travels the longest distanceduring the migratory journey. It covers around trip of about 36,000 km from theArctic to the Antarctic and back.
Wandering WonderThe wandering albatross has the longestwings of any bird. When outstretched,they measure as much as 3.3 m from tipto tip.
Red AlertMost of the people think that a bull isirritated by the red colour. Well, it is notthe colour that irritates the animal. Abull is colour-blind! It gets angry to seethe cloth or bull fighter’s cape because itis being waved about.
Sense of SmellUnlike most birds, the kiwi has a goodsense of smell which helps it to find
food at night. A kiwi has nostrils at thetip of its long beak. It uses its sense ofsmell to find out earthworms and insectshiding in the soil.
Rarest PandasGiant pandas are some of the rarestanimals in the world. There are less than1,000 giant pandas left. They live only inhigh mountain ranges in three isolatedparts of China. They need to eat about 20kg of one special type of bamboo a dayand spend about twelve hours a dayfeeding. Many pandas starve if thebamboo crop fails or is cut down.
Whales are MammalsWhales are not fish. They are mammals,as they give birth to babies and feedthem on milk. They do not have gills likefish and therefore come to the surfaceevery 5-10 minutes to breathe. Theybreathe through blowholes on theirbacks.
They are not InsectsSpiders and scorpions are not insects.An insect has six legs whereas a spideror a scorpion has eight legs. They belongto a family of animals called Arachnida.
Do they really Dance
It is a myth that snakes dance on themusic played by a snake-charmer forthem. In fact, they are deaf! They justfollow the movements of the flute as theyget frightened.
40.
National Parks andSanctuaries
A national park or a sanctuary is aprotected area for the animals. Poaching
and killing of wildlife is illegal underthe Wildlife Protection Act. Cultivation,grazing domestic animals and collectionof forest products are permitted in asanctuary, but such activities are strictlyprohibited in a national park. At present,India has 89 national parks and 490sanctuaries covering about 4.7% of thetotal geographical area of the country.Here are some important national parksand sanctuaries:
NameArea
(sq.km.)
Location
AnnamalaiSanctuary 958 Annamalai,
Tamil Nadu
BandhavgarhNational Park
449 Shahdol, MP
BandipurNational Park 866 Near Mysore,
KarnatakaCorbettNational Park 1,134 Nainital,
UttarakhandDachigamNational Park 141 Dachigam,
KashmirDandeliSanctuary 5,730 Near Dharwar,
Karnataka
DhauladharSanctuary 944
Kangra,HimachalPradesh
DudhwaNational Park 811 Lakhimpurkheri,
UP
Gir NationalPark
259 Junagarh,Gujarat
HazaribaghSanctuary 186 Hazaribagh,
JharkhandHemisNational Park 4,100 Ladakh, Jammu
& KashmirKanhaNational Park 1,945 Mandla, MP
KazirangaNational Park 696 Jorhat, Assam
KeoladeoGhana BirdSanctuary
28 Bharatpur,Rajasthan
ManasSanctuary 390 Barpeta Road,
AssamPachmarhi Hoshangabad,
Sanctuary 461 MPPeriyarSanctuary 775 Idukki, Kerala
RajajiNational Park 820 Near Dehradun,
Uttarakhand
RanthambhorNational Park 1,174
SawaiMadhopur,Rajasthan
Sanjay GandhiNational Park 103 Mumbai,
Maharashtra
SariskaSanctuary 800 Alwar,
RajasthanSimilipalNational Park 2,750 Mayurbhanj,
OrissaSonai-Rupai 175 Tezpur, Assam
SanctuarySunderbanNational Park 2,585 24, Pargana,
West BengalWild AssSanctuary 4,953 Rann of Kutch,
Gujarat
41.
Famous Sites (India)
Site LocationAjanta & ElloraAkbar’s Tomb Aurangabad,
Maharashtra
Amarnath CaveAnand BhavanBrindavanGardensBulandDarwazaChar MinarChilka LakeDal LakeDalal StreetDilwaraTemplesDolls MuseumGateway ofIndiaGol Gumbaz
Sikandara, Near AgraPahalgam, J&KAllahabadMysore, KarnatakaFatehpur Sikri, NearAgraHyderabadBhubaneswarSrinagarMumbaiMount Abu, RajasthanNew DelhiMumbaiBijapur, Karnataka
Golden TempleHawa MahalHowrah BridgeHumayun’sTombIndia GateJagannathTempleJallianwalaBaghJama MasjidJantar MantarJog FallsJuhu BeachKanyakumari
Amritsar, PunjabJaipur, RajasthanHowrahNew DelhiNew DelhiPuri (Orissa)Amritsar, PunjabDelhiNew DelhiMysore, KarnatakaMumbaiTamil NaduMadhya Pradesh
KhajurahoKranti MaidanLotus TempleMarina BeachMeenakshiTempleMoti MasjidNatraj TempleNishat BaghParliamentHousePushkarQutub MinarRaj GhatRameshwaram
MumbaiNew DelhiChennaiMadurai, Tamil NaduAgraChennaiSrinagarNew DelhiNear Ajmer,RajasthanNew DelhiDelhiTamil Nadu
RashtrapatiBhavanRed FortRock GardenSanchi StupaSarnath StupaScience CityShalimarGardensSomnathTempleSun TempleSupreme CourtTaj MahalTirupati Temple
New DelhiDelhiChandigarhSanchi, Near BhopalSarnath, NearVaranasiKolkataSrinagarGujaratKonark, OrissaNew DelhiAgraAndhra PradeshKolkata
VictoriaMemorial
42.
Famous Sites (World)
Site LocationAngel FallsAngkor Vat Venezuela
Aswan DamBig BenBritish MuseumBuckinghamPalaceCN TowerColosseumDowning StreetEiffel TowerElysee PalaceEmpire StateBuildingGrand CanyonGreat BarrierReef
CambodiaEgyptLondon, UKLondon, UKLondon, UKToronto, CanadaRome, ItalyLondon, UKParis, FranceParis, FranceNew York, USAArizona, USAAustralia
Great SphinxGreat Wall ofChinaHarappaKaabaKailash ParvatLeaning Tower ofPisaLondon BridgeMerdeka PalaceMohenjo-daroMount RushmorePearl HarbourPentagonPetronas Twin
Giza, EgyptChinaPakistanMecca, SaudiArabiaTibetPisa, ItalyLondonJakarta, IndonesiaSindh, PakistanSouth Dakota, USAHawaii Islands,USAWashington, DC,USA
TowersProcelain TowerPyramids of GizaRed SquareScotland YardStatue of LibertyStonehengeSuez Canal
Kuala Lumpur,MalaysiaNanking, ChinaCairo, EgyptMoscow, RussiaLondon, UKNew York, USAWiltshire, EnglandEgyptSydney Opera
HouseVatican CityVictoria FallsWailing WallWall StreetWhite House
Sydney, AustraliaRome, ItalyZambiaJerusalem, IsraelNew York, USAWashington, DC,USA
Whitehall London, UK
43.
India’s Superlatives
Geographical SuperlativesLargest stateSmallest state
Rajasthan
Most populousstateLeast populousstateMost populouscityLargest desertLargest deltaLargestfreshwater lakeLargestsaltwater lakeHighestmountain peakHighestwaterfall
GoaUttar PradeshSikkimMumbaiTharSunderbans (Ganga-Brahmaputra)Kolleru, AndhraPradeshChilka Lake, OrissaNanga Parbat,KashmirJog Falls, MysoreGangaMawsynram(Meghalaya)
Longest riverWettest place
Other SuperlativesLargest fortLargestresidenceLargest templeLargest mosqueLargestgurdwaraLargest churchLargestcoveredstadium
Red Fort, DelhiRashtrapati BhavanSrirangam Temple,TiruchirappalliJama Masjid, DelhiGolden Temple,AmritsarSe Cathedral, OldGoaYuba Bharati (SaltLake)
Largest indoorstadiumLargest domeLargest prisonLargest zooLargestcantileverbridgeTallest buildingTallest minaretHighestgatewayHighest damLongestrailwayplatform
Indira Gandhi IndoorStadiumGol Gumbaz, BijapurTihar Central Jail,New DelhiZoological Garden,KolkataHowrah BridgeShreepati Arcade,MumbaiQutub MinarBuland DarwazaBhakra Nangal Dam,PunjabKharagpur, WestBengal
Longest roadLongest riverbridgeFastest train
Grand Trunk RoadMahatma Gandhi Setu,PatnaShatabdi Express
44.
World’s Superlatives
Geographical SuperlativesLargest continentSmallestcontinent
Largest countrySmallest countryMost populouscountryMost populouscityLargestdemocraticcountryLargest anddeepest oceanSmallest oceanLargest seaLargest desertLargest deltaLargest
AsiaAustraliaRussiaVatican CityChinaTokyoIndiaPacificArcticCoral SeaSaharaSunderbans (Ganga-Brahmaputra)Lake Superior,Canada-USA
freshwater lakeLargestsaltwater lake
Caspian Sea
Largest islandLargestpeninsulaLargest riverLongest riverHighestmountain peakHighestwaterfallHighest plateauLongestmountain rangeLowest point on
GreenlandArabiaAmazon, BrazilNile, EgyptMount Everest,Nepal-TibetAngel Falls,VenezuelaTibetAndes, SouthAmericaDead Sea, Israel-
the EarthDeepest point inthe oceans
JordanMariana Trench,Pacific Ocean
Other Superlatives
LargestofficebuildingLargestchurchLargeststadiumLargestairportTallestbuilding
Pentagon, Washington,DCBasilica of St. Peter,Vatican CityStrahov Stadium, PragueKing Khalid InternationalAirport, Saudi ArabiaPetronas Twin Towers,Kuala Lumpur
TalleststatueLongestwallFastesttrain
Statue of Liberty, NewYorkThe Great Wall of ChinaTGV Express, France
45.
Seven Wonders of theAncient World
The Seven Wonders of the ancient worldwere seven outstanding objects that
were built in ancient times. Today, onlythe pyramids are still standing. All therest have been destroyed by earthquakes,fire or invaders. These Seven Wondersare arranged here in the order in whichthey were built. The Pyramids of Egypt(Giza, Egypt; built from 2700 to 2500BC)They were built as royal tombs for theEgyptian pharoahs. There are manyancient pyramids in Egypt, but thegreatest are the three at Giza. The largestof these is the Great Pyramid of Cheopswhich stands about 146 m high.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon(Iraq; built around 580 BC)These were spectacular gardens, risingin a series of terraces (rather thanhanging). They were built by kingNebuchadnezzar II for his wife. Nothingremains of them.
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia(Greece; made around 457 BC)It was a wooden statue of the king of thegods, Zeus, covered with gold and ivory.This 12 m high majestic seated figurewas created by the sculptor Phidias.
The Temple of Artemis (or Diana) atEphesus(Turkey; built around 400 BC)It was one of the largest temples in theancient world built mostly of marble inhonour of a Greek goddess, Artemis.Some of its marble columns are in theBritish Museum in London.
The Tomb of Mausolus(Turkey; built around 353 BC)This was a magnificent tomb ofMausolus, a ruler of Caria, built atHelicarnassus by his widow. It was avery massive tomb of white marble.
The Colossus of Rhodes(Greece; built around 280 BC)It was a huge, bronze statue of Sun godHelios, stood at the entrance of theharbour of Rhodes. It was about 30 mhigh.
The Pharos of Alexanderia(Egypt; built around 270 BC)This was the largest lighthouse of theancient world, built on the island ofPharos in the harbour of Alexandria byPtolemy II. It was about 135 m tall. Ithad a wood fire burning on top and itslight could be seen 65 km away.
46.
Museums in India
For the preservation of Indian heritage inthe fields of art, sculpture, technologyetc., a number of museums have beenmaintained. Here are some famous
museums and the cities in which they aresituated: Museum LocationAllahabad MuseumArt in Industry MuseumBharat Kala BhavanBirla Technological &Industrial MuseumCalico Textiles MuseumGandhi MemorialMuseumGanga MuseumIndian MuseumNational Gallery of
AllahabadKolkataVaranasiKolkataAhmedabadMaduraiBikanerKolkataNew Delhi
Modern ArtNational Museum
New Delhi
National Museum ofNatural HistoryNational Sports MuseumPrince of Wales MuseumSalar Jung MuseumShankar’s InternationalDolls MuseumVictoria MemorialWar Memorial MuseumWatson Museum
New DelhiPatialaMumbaiHyderabadNew DelhiKolkataDelhiRajkot
Believe It or Not:
• Prehistoric paintings show theSahara desert as fertile landinhabited by a wide variety ofanimals.
• The Eiffel Tower in Paris was builtin 1889 using more than 7,000tonnes of iron.
• The last ‘super volcanic’ eruptionoccurred in April 1815, whenTambora in Indonesia explodedwith the eruption column reaching aheight of about 28 miles killingmore than 90,000 people.
47.
United Nations
The United Nations is the largestinternational organization with 193member countries. It works for worldpeace and security and the betterment of
humanity. The United Nations wasestablished on October 24, 1945, shortlyafter World War II. As the war drew toan end, the nations that opposedGermany, Italy and Japan decided thatsuch a war must never happen again.Therefore, representatives of thesenations worked out a plan for anorganization to help keep peace in theworld. The name United Nations wasproposed by US President Franklin D.Roosevelt.
UN HeadquartersThe UN headquarters consists of severalbuildings along the East river in NewYork city. The three main buildings are
the General Assembly Building, theSecretariat Building and the ConferenceBuilding. The flags of all the membernations fly in front of the UNheadquarters.
UN FlagThe white UN emblem is superimposedon a light blue background. The emblemconsists of the global map, surroundedby the two olive branches open at thetop.
Official LanguagesThe official languages of the UN are —Arabic, Chinese, English, French,Russian and Spanish. However, theworking languages are English andFrench only. Delegates of differentnations may address the GeneralAssembly in any language if theyprovide a translation into one of theofficial languages.
UN CharterThe Charter of the United Nations is theConstitution of the UN. It includes theplan used for organizing the UN and therules by which the UN is governed. UNmembers agree to carry out therequirements of the Charter. A membernation that violates the Charter may besuspended or even expelled from theUN. The Charter has 19 chaptersdivided into 11 articles that explains thepurposes and principles of the UN.
Purposes and Principles of UNThe Charter lists four purposes andseven principles of the United Nations:
The four purposes of the United
Nations are as follows:1. To preserve world peace and
security.2. To encourage nations to be just in
their actions towards each other.3. To help nations cooperate in trying
to solve their problems.4. To serve as an agency through
which nations can work towards thesegoals.
The seven principles of the United
Nations are as follows:1. All members have equal rights.2. All members are expected to carry
out their duties under the Charter.
3. All members agree to the principleof settling their disputes peacefully.
4. All members agree not to use forceor the threat of force against othernations, except in self-defense.
5. All members agree to help the UNin every action it takes to carry out thepurposes of the Charter.
6. The UN agrees to act on theprinciple that non-member nations havethe same duties as member nations topreserve world peace and security.
7. The UN accepts the principle of notinterfering in the actions of a membernation within its own borders. But theseactions must not hurt other nations .
The Six Major UN OrgansThe Charter sets up the six main organsof the UN and explains the duties,powers and operating methods of each.These organs are:
1. General Assembly2. Security Council3. Secretariat4. Economic and Social Council5. International Court of Justice6. Trusteeship Council Here are the functions in brief of these
six major UN organs:1. The General Assembly is the only
major organ of the UN in which all
members are represented. It controlsmuch of the UN’s work and debatesmajor issues of international affairs.
2. The Security Council has the majorresponsibility in the UN to maintaininternational peace and security. TheCharter gives the council special powersto carry out this responsibility.
3. The Secretariat manages the day-to-day business of the United Nations. Itsmain job is to provide services for allthe other UN organs.
4. The Economic and Social Councilworks to encourage higher standards ofliving, better health, cultural andeducational cooperation among nationsand observance of human rights.
5. The International Council of Justicehandles international legal disputes. Theheadquarters of the court are at TheHague in the Netherlands.
6. The Trusteeship Council wasdesigned to help a number of territoriesthat were not self-governing at the timethe UN was founded. The councilsuspended its operations in 1994, afterthe last of the territories gainedindependence but it still exists under theUN Charter.
48.
Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize, named after AlfredBernhard Nobel, is the most prestigiousaward in the world. The six NobelPrizes are awarded each year to those
who, in the opinion of judges, havecontributed the most in the fields ofphysics, chemistry, physiology ormedicine, literature, peace andeconomics. The first prizes wereawarded in 1901. The Nobel Prize foreconomics was established by theSwedish National Bank and awarded forthe first time in 1969.
The Nobel Prizes are awardedannually on December 10, the deathanniversary of the founder. He left 9million US dollars to set up the prizes.The interest that this money earns eachyear is used for the prizes. The value ofeach of the six prizes is about 1 millionUS dollars. Besides the cash prize, each
award consists of a gold medal and adiploma bearing a citation. The peaceprize is awarded in Oslo, Norway. Theother prizes are presented in Stockholm,Sweden.
A candidate may not apply directly fora prize. A qualified person must submiteach name in writing. Two or threepeople may share a prize. Sometimes,prizes are not awarded or awarded in alatter year. The peace prize has beenomitted most frequently. For the literaryprize, the Swedish Academy considersonly works that have appeared in print.The academy usually selects an authorfor his or her complete work rather thanfor one book.
Year ofinstitution 1901
Founder Alfred Bernhard NobelAwardedon December 10
DisciplinesPhysics, Chemistry,Physiology/Medicine, Literature,Peace and Economics
Alfred Bernhard Nobel (1833–1896)Alfred Bernhard Nobel was a Swedishinventor and industrialist. He was bornin Stockholm in 1833. He invented howto make a safe and manageableexplosive, called dynamite, in 1866.Construction and mining companies
and the military ordered largequantities of dynamite because of itsrelative safety and explosive power.Nobel set up factories around theworld, and sales of dynamite and otherexplosives brought him great wealth.Within a few years, Nobel became oneof the world’s richest men.
Nobel was found dead on December10, 1896 at his desk. Swedes found out
about the Nobel Prizes after his death,when they read his will in which he haddonated the annual income from hisfortune to support the award. In hiswill, he ordered that, “The most worthyshall receive the prize, whether he isSwedish or not.”
49.
Indian NobelLaureates
Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941)Literature, 1913
He was awarded the Nobel Prize inrecognition of his work Gitanjali (SongOfferings), a collection of 103 poems.He was a distinguished poet, dramatist,novelist, painter and philosopher, whofounded Shantiniketan.
Sir C.V. Raman (1888–1970)Physics, 1930He received the Nobel Prize for histheory relating to the scattering of light,
known as ‘Raman’s Effect’. The theorydiscovered in 1928 explains the changein the frequency of light passing througha transparent medium.
Dr. Har Gobind Khorana (1922–1996)Medicine, 1968He received the Nobel Prize forinterpreting the genetic code andanalysing its function in proteinsynthesis. He shared the Nobel Prize
with two other fellow scientists,Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W.Holley.
Mother Teresa (1910–1997)Peace, 1979She was awarded the Nobel Prize forher missionary services. She was bornin Yugoslavia and came to Kolkata in1929 as a missionary. She foundedMissionaries of Charity and served
dying destitutes, lepers and drug addicts.
Dr. Subramaniam Chandrashekhar(1910–1995)Physics, 1983He received the Nobel Prize for histheory on white dwarf stars known as‘Chandrashekhar Limit’, whichdetermines the minimum mass of a dyingstar which enables it to survive. Heauthored several books on astrophysics.
Dr. Amartya Sen (b 1933)Economics, 1998He was awarded the Nobel Prize for histheory which relates economics withcommon man. He has distinguishedhimself with his outstanding writings onfamine, poverty, democracy and socialissues.
50.
Bharat Ratna
Bharat Ratna is the highest civilianaward given in India. It is generallyconferred on 23 January each year forexceptional service towards the
advancement of art, literature andscience, and in recognition of publicservice of the higher order.
The Bharat Ratna medallion is madeof bronze and shaped like a pipal leaf.The ribbon is white in colour. Theaward can also be grantedposthumously.
Recipients of Bharat Ratna
1954Dr. S. RadhakrishnanC. RajagopalachariDr. C.V. Raman
1955Dr. Bhagwan DasDr. M. VisvesvarayaJawaharlal Nehru
1957 Govind Ballabh Pant1958 Dr. D.K. Karve
1961Dr. B.C. RoyPurushottam Das Tondon
1962 Dr. Rajendra Prasad
1963Dr. Zakir HusainDr. P. V. Kane
1966 Lal Bahadur Shastri*1971 Indira Gandhi1975 V. V. Giri1976 K. Kamraj*1980 Mother Teresa1983 Acharya Vinobha Bhave*1987 Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan
1988 M.G. Ramachandran*
1990Dr. B.R. Ambedkar*Dr. Nelson Mandela
1991Rajiv Gandhi*Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel*Morarji Desai
1992Maulana Abul Kalam Azad*J.R.D. TataSatyajit Ray
1997Aruna Asaf Ali*Gulzari Lal Nanda*Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
1998M.S. SubbalakshmiChidambaram Subramaniam
1999Jayaprakash Narayan*Dr. Amartya SenGopinath Bordoloi*Pandit Ravi Shankar
2001Lata MangeshkarBismillah Khan
2008 Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Note: *stands for posthumous.
51.
National Awards
Arjuna AwardThis award is given to a sportspersonwho has displayed outstandingperformance for three years, both at
national and international levels. Aryabhatta AwardThis award was instituted by theAstronautics Society of India and isgiven to a scientist who contributes tothe promotion of astronautics in thecountry. Bharat RatnaIt is the highest civilian award in India.It is given for exceptional servicetowards the advancement of art,literature and science, and in recognitionof public service of the highest order.
Bharatiya Jnanpith AwardIt is regarded as the highest literaryaward in India. It is awarded tooutstanding authors of creative literaturein any of the Indian languages recognizedby the Constitution of India.
Bhatnagar AwardThis award is given by the Council ofScientific and Industrial Research(CSIR) in memory of the late Dr. ShantiSwarup Bhatnagar for importantcontribution in any field of science. Borlaug AwardThis award is given to outstanding
agricultural scientists. It was institutedin honour of the world’s renownedwheat scientist Norman E. Borlaug. Dada Saheb Phalke AwardThis award is conferred by theGovernment of India for outstandingcontribution to the Indian film industry.The award is named after DhundirajGovind Phalke, the father of Indiancinema, who made India’s first featurefilm, Raja Harishchandra, in 1913. Dronacharya AwardThis award is given to sports coacheswho have trained sportspersons or teamsmaking outstanding achievements in the
year for which the award is given. Param Vir ChakraIt is the highest gallantry award in India.It is awarded for the most conspicuousbravery, or some act of valour or self-sacrifice, in the presence of the enemy,whether on land, at sea or in the air. Sahitya Akademi AwardThis award is given by the SahityaAkademi for outstanding literary work inIndian languages. The Akademi gives 22awards to literary works in the Indianlanguages recognized by it.
52.
Inventions
Invention Inventor Country
Aeroplane WrightBrothers USA
Bicycle K.Macmillan
Scotland
CinematographThomasAlvaEdison
USA
Computer CharlesBabbage England
DynamiteAlfredBernhardNobel
Sweden
Dynamo MichaelFaraday England
Electric bulbThomasAlvaEdison
USA
Gramophone E.Berliner USA
Helicopter Sikorsky USA
Hovercraft C.Cockerell England
Lift E.G. Otis USA
Microphone E.Berliner USA
Microscope Z. Jansen NetherlandsMotor car/automobile Karl Benz Germany
Parachute F.Blanchard France
Pneumatic bicycle tyre J.B.Dunlop Scotland
Printing press JohannesGutenburg Germany
E.
Radio Marconi Italy
Revolver SamuelColt USA
Safety razor K.C.Gillette USA
Sewing machine EliasHowe USA
Shorthand/Stenography Sir IsaacPitman England
Steam engine JamesWatt Scotland
Stethoscope Laennac France
Submarine DavidBushnell USA
Telegraph Samuel USA
Morse
TelephoneAlexanderGrahamBell
USA
Telescope GalileoGalilei Italy
TelevisionJohnLogieBaird
Scotland
Thermometer G.D.Fahrenheit Poland
Typewriter C. Sholes USA
X-ray machine WilhelmRoentgen Germany
53.
Scientific Discoveries
Discovery Discoverer Country YearBloodcirculation
WilliamHarvey England 1628
Electrons J.J.Thomson
England 1897
Hydrogen HenryCavendish France 1766
Insulin
FrederickBanting &J.J.R.Macleod
Canada 1921
Law ofgravitation
IsaacNewton England 1666
Laws ofmotion
IsaacNewton England 1687
Lightningconductor
BenjaminFranklin USA 1746
Oxygen JosephPriestly England 1774
Penicillin AlexanderFleming
England 1928
Rabiesvaccine
LouisPasteur France 1860
Radium
MarieCurie &PierreCurie
France 1898
Theory ofevolution
CharlesDarwin England 1859
Theory ofrelativity
AlbertEinstein Germany 1905
Vaccination EdwardJenner England 1796
Vitamins C. Funk Poland 1912
Difference between an invention and adiscovery:Invention — the act of creating ordesigning something which did not existbefore e.g. Graham Bell inventedtelephone.Discovery — the act of finding out orbringing to light or gaining knowledge ofsomething, especially for the first timewhich already existed e.g. Columbusdiscovered America. Believe It or Not:
• Thomas Alva Edison obtained 1,093United States patents, the most the
US patent office has ever issued toone person.
• Astronauts become a little taller inspace! Because there is less gravity,so their bones are less squashedtogether.
• Atomic clocks are accurate to 0.001seconds in 1,000 years. Since 1967,the world’s time has been set byatomic clocks.
54.
Scientific Instruments
Altimeter — used especially in anaircraft for measuring altitude (the heightabove sea level).Amplifier — used for amplifying sound
or radio signals.Anemometer — used for measuring thevelocity and force of wind.Audiometer — used for measuring theintensity of sound.Barometer — used for measuringatmospheric pressure.Binoculars — used for seeing distantobjects.Cardiograph — used for recordingmovements of the heart.Compass — used for finding direction.Dynamo — used for convertingmechanical energy into electrical energy.Endoscope — used for viewing theinternal organs of a body.
Hygrometer — used for measuringhumidity in atmosphere.Lactometer — used for determining thepurity of milk.Microphone — used for changing soundwaves into electrical signals.Microscope — used for looking verysmall objects which cannot be seen withthe naked eye.Odometer — used for measuring thedistance travelled by a vehicle.Periscope — used especially in asubmarine for seeing objects above thesea level.Photometer — used for measuring theluminous intensity of a source of light.
Projector — used for presenting anenlarged image of a photograph or a filmonto a screen.Radar — used for detecting thedirection and range of an approachingaircraft.Rain gauge — used for measuring theamount of rainfall.Seismograph — used for recording andmeasuring earthquakes.Sextant — used for measuring the angleof elevation of an object, usually a highbuilding, mountain or heavenly body, inorder to find its distance and height.Speedometer — used for measuring thespeed of a vehicle.
Sphygmomanometer — used formeasuring blood pressure.Stethoscope — used by a doctor forexamining the movements of heart andlungs.Telescope — used for observingheavenly bodies.Transformer — used for increasing orreducing the voltage.Transponder — used for receivingsignals and transmitting themimmediately by its own.
55.
Branches of Science
Acoustics — deals with the study ofsound.Aeronautics — deals with the study orpractice of constructing and flying
aircraft.Anatomy — deals with the study of theinternal parts of living organisms.Astronomy — deals with the study ofthe heavenly bodies such as the Sun,Moon, stars, planets, etc.Biology — deals with the study of theliving things.Botany — deals with the study ofplants.Chemistry — deals with the study of thecomposition of substances and laws oftheir combination, etc.Cosmology — deals with the study ofthe universe — its origin, nature,structure, evolution and development.
Ecology — deals with the study of therelationship between living organismsand their environment.Entomology — deals with the study ofinsects.Genetics — deals with the study of theways in which different characteristicsare passed from one generation of livingorganisms to the next.Geology — deals with the study of theEarth — its origin, structure,composition, etc.Hydrology — deals with the study of theoccurrence and distribution of water —underground, in oceans and in theatmosphere.Meteorology — deals with the study of
the earth’s atmosphere and its changes,used especially for forecasting weather.Morphology — deals with the study ofthe form and external structure of livingorganisms.Optics — deals with the study of light.Ornithology — deals with the study ofbirds.Pharmacology — deals with the studyof medicines and their uses.Physics — deals with the study ofmatter, force and energy, e.g. heat, light,sound, gravity, etc.Psychiatry — deals with the study,diagnosis, prevention and treatment ofmental disorders.
Psychology — deals with the study ofthe mind and behaviour of humans andanimals.Seismology — deals with the study ofearthquakes.Zoology — deals with the study ofanimals.
56.
The Planets
The word ‘planet’ comes from the Greekword planetes meaning ‘wanderer’. OurSolar System has eight planets. Here isthe important data about these planets:
Planet
Meandistance
fromthe Sun(million
km)
Equatorialdiameter
(km)
Period ofrevolutionround the
Sun
Mercury 57.9 4,879 88 days
Venus 108.2 12,100 224.7 days
Earth 149.6 12,756 365.26days
Mars 227.9 6,796 687 days
Jupiter 778.4 142,800 11.86years
Saturn 1,429.4 120,000 29.46years
Uranus 2,875.0 51,000 84 years
Neptune 4,504.3 49,500 164.79years
Note : The data given here is as perNASA’s website. Some planets alsohave many smaller satellites or moons. Important Facts:
• Largest planet — Jupiter• Smallest planet — Mercury• Planet nearest to the Sun — Mercury
• Planet farthest from the Sun —Neptune
• Hottest and brightest planet — Venus• Coldest planet — Uranus• Longest days — Mercury• Shortest days — Jupiter• Saturn is the only planet which has
rings around it.• Jupiter is twice the size of all the
other planets put together.• Mars is also called the ‘red planet’
because its soil and rocks are red.
57.
Body Facts
• Liver is the largest organ in ourbody, weighing about 1.6 kg.
• Each day our heart beats normallyover 1,00,000 times.
• The normal temperature of our bodyis 37oC or 98oF.
• There are 206 bones in our skeleton.A new-born baby has 300 bones, outof which 94 bones join together ashe or she grows.
• Most people have 12 pairs of ribs.But one out of every 20 people hasat least one extra pair.
• An average man has about 5.5 litersof blood.
• Each side of the brain controls theopposite side of the body.
• The hair on our head usually livesfor 2-6 years before dropping out.
• The fastest muscles in our body are
those that blink the eyelids. We canblink as fast as 200 times perminute.
• Our eyelids have the thinnest skin onour body (only 1 mm thick) whileour soles have the thickest skin(about 3 mm thick).
• It takes about 17 muscles to smile,but about 43 to frown.
• The size and shape of a person’snose can affect his or her voice.
• The coronary heart disease is themost common cause of suddendeath.
• One brain cell may be connected toas many as 25,000 other brain cells.
• A meal takes as long as 15 hours topass through our whole digestivesystem.
• Through blinking we spend abouthalf an hour of our waking day withour eyes closed.
• The thigh bone, called femur, is thelongest and the largest bone in ourbody. The smallest bone is thestirrup bone in the middle ear.
58.
Vitamins
Here is a brief description about thefunctions of all important vitamins,diseases caused due to their deficienciesand their sources:
Functions Deficiencysymptoms
VitaminA
Essential forthedevelopmentof babiesbefore birthand thegrowth ofchildren;especiallyneeded forthe growth ofbones andteeth; keepsthe skin
Nightblindness; poorgrowth, roughand dry skin;xerophthalmia,in which thesurface of theeyes becomesdry.
healthy.
VitaminB1
Like vitaminA, thisvitamin isalso neededfor growth;our body alsoneeds it tochangecarbohydratesinto energy.
Beriberi, adisease of thenervoussystem.
VitaminB2
Needed forgrowth andfor healthyskin and eyes;promotes thebody’s use of
Cracks in theskin at thecorners of themouth; scalyskin around thenose and ears;
oxygen inconvertingfood intoenergy.
eyes becomeextremelysensitive tolight.
VitaminB12
Essential forthe normalfunctioning ofan anothervitamincalled folicacid; theyboth areneeded toproduceDNA.
A deficiency ofeither of thesevitaminscausesanaemia; lackof vitamin B12also damagesthe nervoussystem.
Essential forhealthy blood
VitaminC
vessels,bones andteeth; alsohelps to formcollagen, aprotein thatholds tissuestogether.
S c u r v y , adisease inwhich bleedingoccurs underthe skin,around teethand bones.
VitaminD
Helps inabsorptionandmetabolismof calciumandphosphorusand thusassists in
R i c k e t s , adisease inwhich bonesfail to hardensufficiently andbecome bent.
body growth.
VitaminE
Plays animportantrole inmaintainingcellmembranes.
Deficiency ofvitamin Eoccurs rarelyand producesfew symptoms.
VitaminK
Essential forbloodclotting.
Delay in bloodclotting.
59.
Diseases and HumanBody
Here are the names of some diseases andparts of the human body affected by
them:
Diseases Parts of the humanbody affected
AIDSArthritisAsthmaCataractDermatitisDiabetesDiphtheriaEczemaGoitreJaundice
Immune system of thebodyJointsBronchial musclesEyesSkinPancreas, BloodThroatSkinThyroid glandLiver
Leukaemia Blood
MalariaParalysisPneumoniaPolioPyrrhoeaRicketsTetanusTonsillitisTrachomaTuberculosisTyphoid
Spinal cordNervous systemLungsLegsGumsBonesMusclesTonsils (Glands inthroat)EyesLungsIntestines
Believe It or Not:• Through blinking we spend about
half an hour of our waking day withour eyes closed.
• The fastest muscles in our body arethose that blink our eyelids.Although we normally blink withoutthinking but we can blink up to 200times a minute.
60.
Festivals of India
Here are some important festivals ofIndia with their brief descriptions:
Baisakhi
A harvest festival of Punjab. Basant PanchmiA festival marking the beginning ofspring; celebrated in February. Buddh PoornimaA festival celebrating the birthanniversary of Lord Buddha. ChristmasA festival celebrating the birthanniversary of Jesus Christ, occurs on25th December. Dashera
A festival celebrated to commemoratethe victory of Rama (the Good) overRavana (the Evil).
Diwali (also Deepawali)A festival of lights, held in October orNovember, celebrated to commemoratethe return of Lord Rama to Ayodhyaafter 14 years of exile. EasterA festival celebrating the resurrection (arising from the dead) of Jesus Christ thatoccurs on a Sunday in March or April. Eid Milad-un-Nabi
A Muslim festival to observe the birthand death anniversary of ProphetMuhammad. Eid-ul-FitrA Muslim festival, the ‘Feast ofBreaking Fast’, held on the first day afterthe month of Ramzan. Eid-ul-Zuha (also Baqraeid)A Muslim festival, the ‘Feast ofSacrifice’, celebrated to show theintention of ‘Kurbani’ (sacrifice) in thename of God. Good Friday
A Friday before Easter, remembered byChristians as the day of crucifixion(killing by fastening to a cross withnails) of Jesus Christ. GuruparvA festival celebrating the birthanniversary of Guru Nanak. HoliA festival of colours, held in March,marking the end of winter. JanmashtmiA festival celebrating the birthanniversary of Lord Krishna.
Mahavir JayantiA festival celebrating the birthanniversary of Lord Mahavira. MuharramA Muslim festival, observed in thememory of the martyrdom of Hasan andHusain, the grandsons of ProphetMuhammad. Navroz (also Nowroj)A Parsi festival celebrated on the firstday of the Parsi new year. Onam
A harvest festival of Kerala (duringwhich boat races are held). PongalA harvest festival celebrated in manyparts of South India (Tamil Nadu,Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, etc.) Raksha BandhanA festival in which sisters tie rakhis ontheir brothers’ wrists and pray for them.Brothers promise them to providesecurity and support. Ram NavmiA festival celebrating the birth
anniversary of Lord Rama.
61.
Major Religions
BUDDHISM
FounderGautam Siddhartha Buddha(563–483 BC), born inLumbini, Nepal
Datefounded 500 BC, India
Sacredtext
The Tripitaka (a collectionof Buddha’s teachings)
Places ofworship
Vihar (Temple) andMonastery (where monksreside)
Sects Mahayana and Hinayana
Sacredplaces
Lumbini (Nepal) whereBuddha was born, BodhGaya (Bihar) where hereceived Enlightenment andKusinagar (UP) where heattained ‘Nirvana’.China, Tibet, Korea, Nepal,Bhutan, Thailand, Myanmar,
Followedin
Sri Lanka, Mongolia,Cambodia, Taiwan,Indonesia and Vietnam
CHRISTIANITY
FounderJesus Christ (4 BC–AD 30),born in Bethlehem, alsocalled Jesus of Nazareth
Datefounded 1st AD
Sacredtext
Holy Bible consisting of theOld Testament (beforeChrist) and the NewTestament (during and afterChrist)
Place of
worship ChurchSects Catholics and ProtestantsSacredplace
Jerusalem where Christlived and preached
Followedin Spread all over the world
HINDUISM
Founder Of divine originDatefounded 1500 BC, India
Sacredtexts
The Vedas, the Upanishads,the Bhagavadgita and theepics of the Mahabharataand the Ramayana
Place ofworship
Mandir (Temple)
Sacredplaces
Ayodhya, Mathura,Amarnath, Hardwar,Varanasi, Tirupati, Puri,Rameshwaram, Kedarnath,etc.
Followedin
Concentrated in India andNepal and also in Mauritius,Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Fiji,Indonesia, Guyana andTrinidad
ISLAM
Founder
Prophet Muhammad (AD570–632), born in Mecca,
Saudi ArabiaDatefounded 7th AD, Arabian Peninsula
Sacredtexts
The Qur’an (words ofGod), the Hadis (collectionof Prophet’s sayings)
Place ofworship Masjid (Mosque)
Sects Sunnis and ShiasSacredplaces Mecca and Medina
Followedin Spread all over the world
JAINISM
FounderVardhamana Mahavira(599–527 BC), born inKunda near Vaishali, India
Datefounded 600 BC, India
Sacredtext No specific text
Place ofworship Temple
Sacredplace Kunda near Vaishali, India
Followedin Mainly concentrated in India
JUDAISM
FounderAbraham (2000 BC) andMoses (1200 BC), born inEgypt
Datefounded 2000 BC
Sacredtexts
The Hals, found particularlyin the five books of theBible; commentary on Torahknown as Talmud andMidrash
Place ofworship Synagogue
Sacredplace Jerusalem
Followedin
Worldwide withconcentration in Israel and
United States
SIKHISM
FounderGuru Nanak (1469–1539),born in Talwandi village,now in Pakistan
Datefounded 1500 AD
Sacredtext The Guru Granth Sahib
Place ofworship Gurdwara
Sacredplace Golden Temple, Amritsar
Followedin India
ZOROASTRIANISM (PARSI
RELIGION)
Founder Zoroaster (600 BC),born in Iran
Datefounded 600 BC, Iran
Sacred text The Zend AvestaPlace ofworship Fire Temple
Followed in Iran and north-west India
62.
Important Days
National
Armed Forces Flag DayChildren’s Day
December 7November14
Gandhi JayantiIndependence DayJallianwala Bagh DayKisan Divas (Farmer’sDay)Martyrs’ DayNational Integration DayNational Science DayRepublic DayTeachers’ Day
October 2August 15April 13December23January 30October 31February 28January 26September 5
International
Earth DayHuman Rights DayInternational Labour Day
April 22December10
International LiteracyDayInternational Women’sDayRed Cross DayUN DayWorld AIDS DayWorld Environment DayWorld Health DayWorld No Tobacco DayWorld Population Day
May 1September 8March 8May 8October 24December 1June 5April 7May 31July 11
Believe It or Not:
• With no wind or rain, the footprints
made by the astronauts will remainon the Moon forever.
• The heaviest hailstones on recordweighed up to 1 kg and are reportedto have killed 92 people in theGopalganj area of Bangladesh onApril 14, 1986.
63.
Important events inIndian History
1526 — First Battle of Panipat1556 — Second Battle of Panipat
1576 — Battle of Haldighati — RanaPratap defeated by Akbar1600 — East India Company establishedin India1761 — Third Battle of Panipat1853 — First railway line opened inIndia between Bombay and Thane1857 — First War of Independence1885 — Indian National Congressfounded by A.O. Hume1905 — Partition of Bengal1911 — Capital of India transferredfrom Calcutta to Delhi1919 — Jallianwala Bagh massacre atAmritsar (April 13)1943 — Indian National Army organized
by Subhash Chandra Bose at Singapore;Bengal famine1947 — India became Independent;
Partition of India1948 — Mahatma Gandhi assassinatedby Nathuram Vinayak Godse (Jan. 30)1950 — India became a Republic (Jan.26)1952 — First General Elections held1962 — Indo-China War1965 — First Indo-Pak War1971 — Second Indo-Pak War;
Birth of Bangladesh1972 — Shimla Agreement signedbetween India and Pakistan1974 — First underground nuclear test
conducted at Pokhran, Rajasthan1975 — First Indian satellite,Aryabhatta, launched (April 19);
Emergency declared in the country(June 26)1983 — India won the Cricket WorldCup1984 — First Indian, Rakesh Sharma,went into the space;
Indira Gandhi assassinated1991 — Rajiv Gandhi assassinated1998 — Five underground nuclear testsconducted at Pokhran2003 — Kalpana Chawla died withother six crew members in the ColumbiaSpace Shuttle explosion (Feb. 1)
2007 — India won the inaugural ICCWorld Twenty20 tournament atJohannesburg
64.
Important events inWorld History
563 BC — Birth of Lord Buddha4 BC — Birth of Jesus Christ
570 AD — Birth of Prophet Muhammad1492 — Columbus discovered America1564 — Birth of William Shakespeare1783 — USA became independent1789 — French Revolution1837 — Accession of Queen Victoria tothe throne of England1865 — Abraham Lincoln assassinated1896 — Olympic Games revived inAthens1901 — Nobel Prize first awarded1903 — Wright Brothers make their firstflight1904 — FIFA founded in Paris1914–18 — World War I
1917 — Russian Revolution1920 — League of Nations founded1939–45 — World War II1941 — Japan attacked Pearl Harbour1945 — First atom bomb dropped onHiroshima (Aug. 6);
Second atom bomb dropped onNagasaki (Aug. 9);
UNO founded (Oct. 24)1957 — First man-made satellite,
Sputnik I, launched by the formerUSSR
1961 — First man, Yuri Gagarin, wentinto the space1967 — First human heart transplant
operation conducted by Christiaan
Barnard1969 — US astronauts, Neil Armstrong
and Edwin Aldrin, landed on theMoon
1981 — First reports of AIDS1983 — IBM launched personalcomputer (PC)1990 — Nelson Mandela freed fromprison after 27 years;
West and East Germany united1991 — USSR disintegrated into 15Republics1997 — Hong Kong returned to Chinaafter 99 years of British rule2001 — Terrorist attacks on America(Sep. 11)
2002 — ‘Euro’ becomes the officialcurrency of twelve Europeancountries
2008 — Barack Obama elected the 44thPresident of United States
65.
Fictional Charactersand their Creators
Here are some famous fictionalcharacters and their creators :
Character CreatorAdamAliceChachaChaudharyDavidCopperfieldDr. ZhivagoGoraGulliverHamidHamletHarry PoterHuckleberryFinn
John MiltonLewis CarrollPranCharles DickensBoris PasternakRabindranath TagoreJonathan SwiftPremchandWilliam ShakespeareJ.K. RowlingMark TwainIan FlemingWalt Disney
James BondMickey MouseMowgliRomeoShakuntalaSherlockHolmes
Rudyard KiplingWilliam ShakespeareKalidasSir Arthur ConanDoyle
Believe It or Not:
• The dragon in China is a symbol ofgood luck. They think that dragonsbring prosperity and good fortune.
• A bird known as mocking bird, canimitate the songs of about fortydifferent birds.
• The world’s largest leaves are thoseof the Raffia palm, which grow upto 20 m long.
• The United States Library ofCongress contains more than 86million items. It is the largest libraryin the world.
66.
Defining Places
Apiary — a place where bees are kept.Arsenal — a place where weapons andexplosives are made or stored.Asylum — a hospital for the care of
mentally ill people.Aviary — a large cage or buildingwhere birds are kept.Barracks — a large building or a groupof buildings where soldiers live.Brewery — a building in which beer ismade.Cafe — a small restaurant servingmeals and drinks at a cheap rate.Castle — a large building with thickwalls, towers, etc. for defence.Cloakroom — a room for keepingluggage at a railway station or in anypublic building.Convent — a building in which nunslive.
Creche — a place where babies arelooked after while their parents work,shop, etc.Crematory — a place where deadpeople are burnt.Dockyard — a place where ships arebuilt and repaired.Dormitory — a room or hall for severalpeople to sleep in, especially in aschool, hotel or other institution.Galley — a kitchen in a ship or anaircraft.Hangar — a large shed in whichaircraft are kept.Harbour — an area of water in whichships can take shelter.
Kiln — a place where bricks are made.Laboratory — a room or building usedfor scientific experiments, testing,research, etc.Mess — a building or room in whichmembers of a hostel or the armed forceshave their meals.Mint — a place where money is coined.Mortuary — a room or building in thehospital used for the temporary storageof dead bodies.Motel — a hotel for motorists, withspace for parking cars near the rooms.Orchard — a piece of land, usuallyenclosed, in which fruit trees are grown.Pantry — a small room or large
cupboard close to a kitchen, for keepingfood, etc. in.Pavilion — a building next to a sportsground where players sit during a match.Ward — a separate part or room in ahospital for a particular group ofpatients.
67.
Different Subjects
Anthropology — the study of the humanbeings, especially their origins,developments, customs and beliefs.Archaeology — the study of ancient
cultures, people and periods of historyby scientific analysis of their materialremains.Astrology — the study of the positionsand movements of the stars and planetsin the belief that they influence humanaffairs.Cartography — the art of drawing mapsand charts.Chronology — the art of arranging datesof historical events in the order in whichthey occurred.Demography — the study of thepopulation, especially with reference toits size, distribution, rate of birth, death,diseases, etc.Economics — the study of the principles
of production and distribution of goods,the creation of wealth, and nationalincome.Geography — the study of the earth’ssurface, its physical features, divisions,climate, products, population, etc.Lexicography — the art of writing andediting dictionaries.Numismatics — the study and collectionof cions and medals.Philately — the study and collection ofpostage stamps.Philology — the study of the historicaldevelopment of languages or a particularlanguage.Phonetics — the study of speechsounds, their pronunciation and their
production.Telepathy — the art of communicationof thoughts or feelings from one mind toanother without the normal use of thesenses.Theology — the study of the nature ofGod and of the foundations of religiousbelief. Believe It or Not:
• It is impossible to sneeze and keepyour eyes open at the same time.
• The tsunami waves move at over 700km/h and can be up to 30 m high.
• The Moon is moving slowly awayfrom the Earth at the rate of an inchper year.
68.
Professionals
Astrologer — a person who predictsfuture from the study of the positions ofthe stars and the movements of theplanets.
Blacksmith — a person who makes andrepairs things made of iron.Broker — a person who acts as amiddleman in bargains.Butcher — a person who sells meat orkills animals for this.Cartographer — a person who drawsmaps and charts.Choreographer — a person whoarranges the steps and movements indances.Confectioner — a person who makesand sells sweets, cakes, pastries, etc.Draper — a person who sells clothes.Florist — a person who sells flowers.Goldsmith — a person who makes
articles of gold.Grocer — a person who sells food inpackets and general small householdgoods.Jockey — a person who rides in horseraces.Lexicographer — a person who writesand edits dictionaries.Lyricist — a person who writes thewords of songs.Mason — a person who builds stonehouses.Optician — a person who makes andsells spectacles, contact lenses and otheroptical goods.Plumber — a person who fits or repairs
pipes and taps.Porter — a person who carriespeople’s luggage and other loads.Publisher — a person who publishesbooks, newspapers, magazines, etc.Retailer — a shopkeeper who sellsgoods in small quantities to the generalpublic.Sculptor — a person who makes figuresor objects by carving wood or stones,shaping clay, etc.Surgeon — a doctor who performsmedical operations.Tanner — a person who makes animalskin into leather by treating it withchemicals.
Teller — a cashier who pays out moneyespecially in a bank.Undertaker — a person who arrangesfunerals.Veterinarian — a doctor who treatsanimal diseases and injuries.Vintner — a person who sells wines.
69.
Important Terms
Affidavit — a written statement madeon oath before an authority, that can beused as evidence in court.Ambassador — a person who lives in a
foreign country and represents there hisor her own country.Atheist — a person who does notbelieve in the existence of God.Auction — a public event at whichthings are sold to the person who offersthe most money for them.Ballot — a system of secret voting.Bankrupt — a person who is unable topay his or her debts, whose property isthen taken by the court and used to repaythose debts.Bibliophile — a person who loves andcollects books.Brain Drain — the loss of a countrywhen skilled and intelligent peopleleave it to go and live in other countries
for better opportunities.Calligraphy — an art of beautifulhandwriting.Capital punishment — a punishment ofdeath.Catalogue — a complete list of items,e.g. books, etc.Census — the official counting of acountry’s population.Coalition — a temporary union ofseparate political parties, usually inorder to form a government.Copyright — an exclusive legal right,held for certain years, to print, publish,sell, broadcast, film or record anoriginal work or any part of it.
Curfew — an official order for thecivilians to stay indoors for a specificperiod.Epicure — a person fond of food anddrink of high quality.Extravagant — a person who spendsmoney unnecessarily.Fourth State — a term that is applied tothe press, e.g. newspapers, journalists,etc.Honorary — a post or a person whichis not paid or a degree given as anhonour, without the usual qualificationbeing required.Ledger — a book in which a bank,business firm, etc. records its accounts.
Licence — a written permission fromthe government to carry out a trade oruse something.Lullaby — a soft gentle song sung tomake a child go to sleep.Manifesto — declaration of principlesand policies by a political party on theeve of a general election.Manuscript — a paper or a document,especially an author’s work when it iswritten by hand or typed.Massacre — the killing of a largenumber of human beings.Migration — moving from one place toanother to live or to work.Monarchy — a system of government
where the king or the queen is the head.Obituary — notification of a person’sdeath, especially in a newspaper, oftenwith a short account of his or her lifeand achievements.Optimist — a person who is alwayshopeful and looks only on the bright sideof a thing.Orphan — a child whose parents aredead.Paparazzi — journalists orphotographers who follow famouspeople around in order to get interestingstories and photographs.Passbook — a book provided by thebank which contains the record of acustomer’s account.
Patent — an official document givingthe holder the sole right to make, use orsell an invention and preventing othersfrom copying it.Pessimist — a person who is alwaysdisappointed and looks only on the darkside of a thing.Piracy — illegal copying of books,cassettes, CDs, etc.Post-mortem — a medical examinationof a person’s body made after his or herdeath in order to find the cause of death.Prospectus — a printed document or athin book that gives details about acourse, school, college, business, etc.Quack — a person who dishonestlyclaims to have special knowledge and
skill, especially in medicine.Refugee — a person who has beenforced to leave his or her country forpolitical or religious reasons and takesshelter in a foreign country.Republic — a system of government inwhich there is an elected president, butno king or queen.Royalty — the percentage to which awriter, illustrator or musician is entitledon the sale of a book, painting, or amusical composition.Sovereign — a fully independent nationor state with complete freedom togovern itself.Summons — an order to a person toappear in a law court at a specific time.
Theist — a person who believes in theexistence of God.Universal — a law, theory, etc. which isapplicable to all or same anywhere.Veteran — a person who has a longexperience in any profession.Volunteer — a person who doessomething or offers service, of his or herown will.Warrant — a written order from acourt, giving the police authority toarrest someone or to search a place.White Elephant — a possession or athing that is useless and often expensiveto maintain.Will — a legal document in which a
person states how he or she wants his orher property and money to be disposedof after his or her death.
Calligraphy
70.
World Records heldby India(ns)
• Lata Mangeshkar has the worldrecord for maximum number of song
recordings to her credit.• Santosh Yadav is the only woman in
the world to have climbed MountEverest twice.
• Captain Durba Banerjee is the onlywoman pilot in the world with mostflying hours (18,500 flying hoursbetween 1959–88).
• Dr. M.C. Modi has the world recordfor performing the most eyeoperations to his credit. He hasperformed about 5,95,000 eyeoperations between 1943 and 1997.
• Gul Muhammad (1957–97), aresident of Ballimaran, Delhi, wasthe shortest man in the world. Hewas 22.5 inches (57.2 cm) tall and
weighed 17 kg.• Zero was first used in India.
Brahmagupta (598–660 AD) wasthe first mathematician to treat zeroas a number.
• There are about 325 languages anddialects being used in India, muchmore than any other country.
• Tamil is the oldest of all Indianlanguages and also the oldest livinglanguage in the world.
• The Constitution of India is thelongest in the world. It has 395Articles and 12 Schedules.
• India tops the world in filmproduction. More than 800 films ayear are made in India.
• India leads the world in cattlepopulation. There are over 80million draught animals in India.
• India has the largest postal networkin the world. It has 1,53,454 postoffices of which 89% are in therural areas.
• The State Bank of India has themaximum number of branches. It hasover 9,000 branches with 51 foreignoffices in 31 countries.
• The Hero Cycles Ltd. is the largestmanufacturer of bicycles in theworld. The company was startedwith a capacity of 25 bicycles perday and today it has a productioncapacity of 19,500 bicycles per day
at two units.• Mawsynram in Meghalaya, with an
average annual rainfall of 467inches, is the wettest place in theworld, closely followed byCherrapunjee with 450 inches ofrainfall per year.
• Shankar’s International DollsMuseum in New Delhi has thelargest collection of costume dollsin the world. It has over 6,000 dollsfrom 80 countries and all of themare dressed in the traditionalcostumes of their countries.
• India is the largest producer of milkin the world. Its annual productionof milk is over 70 million tonnes.
• India is the largest producer of tea inthe world. 30% of the world’soutput is produced in India.
• India leads the world in mangoproduction. Its annual production of10 million metric tonnes accountsfor 65% of the world production.
• India’s annual spice production of2.5 million tonnes accounts forabout 33% of the world production.
• The 833 m long Kharagpur RailwayPlatform in West Bengal is thelongest railway platform in theworld.
• The Sunderbans (Ganga-Brahmputra)Delta in West Bengal andBangladesh is the largest delta in the
world. It covers an area of 75,000sq. km.
• The Siachen Glacier on the Indo-Pakborder is the world’s longestglacier. It is 75.6 km long and 2.8km broad. It is also the highest battleground in the world.
• The 1,220 m long corridor of theRamanathaswamy Temple atRameshwaram, Tamil Nadu is thelongest corridor in the world. It has983 richly carved pillars.
• The Khardungla Road in Leh-Manalisector at a height of 5,682 m is thehighest motorable road in the world.
• The Leh Airport in Ladakh at aheight of 3,256 m is the highest non-
military airport in the world.• The ‘Samrat Yantra’, built by Sawai
Jai Singh II at Jaipur in 1728, is thebiggest sundial in the world. It is27.4 m tall.
Lata Mangeshkar
71.
Newspapers andPeriodicals
Here are some important facts aboutIndian newspapers and periodicals:
First Newspaper of IndiaBengal Gazette, published from Kolkatain 1780. It was a weekly brought out onSaturdays by James Augustus Hickey. Oldest Existing NewspaperMumbai Samachar, started in 1822. ThisGujarati daily, published from Mumbaiis the oldest daily of Asia. Oldest existing English DailyThe Times of India, started in 1838 fromMumbai. Oldest Magazine
Calcutta Review in English since 1844. Number of Daily NewspapersMore than 5,000 daily newspapers arepublished in India in about 100languages and dialects. Most Newspapers in a LanguageThe highest number of newspapers arepublished in Hindi (about 2,200 dailies). Most Newspapers from a StateUttar Pradesh, with 8,400 newspapersincluding 810 dailies. Largest Selling Daily
The Times of India, having twelveeditions in English. It has a circulationof 21,52,000. Largest Selling PeriodicalSaras Salil, a Hindi fortnightly,published from New Delhi. It has acirculation of 11,01,600 copies. Most Editions of a DailyThe Indian Express, published from 18centres. First Financial DailyThe Economic Times, launched by theTimes Group in 1961.
Longest Running CartoonR.K. Laxman’s cartoon ‘You Said It’featuring the common man has beenappearing regularly in The Times ofIndia since 1951. Oldest Existing Children’s MagazineChandamama, started in July 1947 fromChennai by B. Vishwanath Reddy. It isnow published in 12 languages. Only Children’s Magazine in BrailleChandamama started a special version inBraille in 1981. It is currently aquarterly, combining three issues of
ordinary Chandamama which is amonthly. News NgenciesPress Trust of India (PTI), started in1947;United News of India (UNI), started in1961.
72.
The Top 5
Largest Continents
Continent Approx. area (sq.km)
1. Asia2. Africa3. NorthAmerica4. SouthAmerica5. Antarctica
4,44,93,0003,02,93,0002,44,54,0001,78,38,0001,42,00,000
Largest Oceans
Ocean Approx. area (sq.km)
1. Pacific Ocean2. AtlanticOcean3. Indian Ocean
16,62,40,0008,22,17,0007,34,26,000
4. SouthernOcean5. Arctic Ocean
2,03,27,0001,39,86,000
Largest Countries
Country Area (sq. km)1. Russia2. Canada3. China4. USA5. Brazil
1,70,75,40099,70,53795,96,96193,72,61485,11,965
Largest Seas
Sea Approx. area (sq.km)
1. Coral Sea2. Arabian Sea3. South China Sea4. Caribbean Sea5. MediterraneanSea
47,91,00038,64,00036,86,00027,53,00025,15,000
Smallest Countries
Country Area (sq. km)1. Vatican City2. Monaco3. Nauru4. Tuvalu5. San Marino
0.441.95
21.2326.0061.00
Largest PlanetsPlanet Max. diameter (km)1. Jupiter2. Saturn3. Uranus4. Neptune5. Earth
1,42,8001,20,000
51,00049,50012,756
Countries with the Highest Population
Country Estimated population(2009)
1. China2. India3. USA4.Indonesia5. Brazil
1,33,00,44,0001,14,79,95,000
30,38,24,00023,75,12,00019,19,08,000
Organized ReligionsReligion Followers1. Christianity2. Islam3. Hinduism
2,13,00,00,0001,51,00,00,000
90,70,00,000
4. Buddhism5. Judaism
38,75,00,0002,13,50,000
Highest Mountains
Mountain Location Height(m)
1. Everest2. K 2 (Godwin-Austen)3. Kanchenjunga4. Lhotse5. Makalu
Nepal-TibetKashmir-ChinaNepal-SikkimNepal-TibetNepal-Tibet
8,8508,6118,5988,5018,470
Largest Human OrgansOrgan Average weight (g)1. Liver 1,5602. Brain male 1,410
female 1,2653. Lungs right 580
left 510
total 1,0904. Heart male 315
female 2655. Kidney left 150
right 140
total 290
Largest Deserts
Desert Location Approx. area(sq. km)
1. Sahara2. Arabian3. Gobi4.
NorthAfricaSouthwestAsiaMongolia-
90,00,00023,30,00012,95,000
Patagonian5. GreatBasin
ChinaArgentinaSouthwestUSA
6,73,0004,92,000
Longest Rivers
River Length(km)
1. Nile (Tanzania, Uganda,Sudan, Egypt)2. Amazon (Brazil)3. Yangtze Kiang (China)4. Mississippi-Missouri-RedRock (USA)5. Yenisey-Angara-Selenga
6,6706,4506,3005,9705,540
(Russia)
Largest Lakes
Lake LocationApprox.
area (sq.km)
1.CaspianSea2.Superior3.Victoria4. AralSea5. Huron
Iran-Rep. offormer USSRUSA-CanadaKenya-Tanzania-UgandaKazakhstanUSA-Canada
3,71,00082,35069,50065,50059,600
Highest Waterfalls
Waterfall River Location Drop(m)
1. Angel2. Tugela3. Utigard4.Mongefossen5. Yosemite
CaroniTugelaJostedalGlacierMongeYosemiteCreek
VenezuelaSouthAfricaNorwayNorwayUSA
980948800774739
Most Widely Spoken Languages
Language No. of speakers1. Mandarin Chinese 1,00,00,00,000
2. English3. Hindi4. Spanish5. Russian
52,00,00,00045,00,00,00035,00,00,00030,00,00,000
Highest Mountains
Mountain Location Height(m)
1. Everest2. K 2 (Godwin-Austen)3. Kanchenjunga4. Lhotse5. Makalu
Nepal-TibetKashmir-ChinaNepal-SikkimNepal-Tibet
8,8508,6118,5988,5018,470
Nepal-Tibet
Largest Islands
Island Location Approx. area(sq. km)
1.Greenland2. NewGuinea3. Borneo4.Madagascar5. Baffin
ArcticOceanWestPacificOceanIndianOceanIndianOceanArctic
21,75,6007,89,9007,51,0005,87,0405,07,450
Ocean
Deadliest SnakesSpecies Native Region1. Taipan2. BlackMamba3. Tiger Snake4. CommonKrait5. DeathAdder
Australia & NewGuineaSouthern & CentralAfricaAustraliaSouth AsiaAustralia
Tallest Habitable BuildingsBuilding Location Storeys Height(m)1. BurjDubai2. Taipei1013.ShanghaiWorldFinancial
Dubai(UAE)Taipei(Taiwan)
162101
818509
Centre4.PetronasTwinTowers5. WillsTower(Sears)
ShanghaiKualaLumpurChicago
10188
110
492452442
Commonest Phobias
Object of Phobia Medical Term1. Spiders2. People & socialsituations3. Flying4. Heights
ArachnophobiaAnthrophobia orSociophobiaAerophobiaAcrophobia or
5. Confinedspaces
AltophobiaClaustrophobia
Longest Bridges
Bridge Country Length(m)
1. Akashi Kaikyo(1998)2. Store Baelt(1998)3. Humber (1981)4. Jiangyin (1998)5. Tsing Ma (1997)
JapanDenmarkUKChinaChina
1,9911,6241,4101,3851,377
73.
Miscellaneous
UNION TERRITORIES OF INDIA
Name CapitalArea(sq.km)
Population
1.Andaman& NicobarIslands
Port Blair 8,249 3,56,152
2.Chandigarh Chandigarh 114 9,00,635
3. Dadra &NagarHaveli
Silvassa 491 2,20,490
4. Daman& Diu Daman 112 1,58,204
5. Delhi New Delhi 1,483 1,38,50,5076.Lakshadeep Kavaratti 32 60,650
7.Puducherry Puducherry 492 9,74,345
COMMISSIONED RANKS IN
INDIAN FORCEThe following are the commissionedranks in the three services, beginningwith the highest rank and going downthe order; each rank is shown oppositeits equivalent in the other service:Army Navy Air Force
General Admiral Air ChiefMarshal
LieutenantGeneral Vice Admiral Air Marshal
MajorGeneral Rear Admiral Air Vice
Marshal
Brigadier Commodore AirCommodore
Colonel Captain GroupCaptain
LieutenantColonel Commander Wing
Commander
Major LieutenantCommander
SquadronLeader
Captain Lieutenant FlightLieutenant
Lieutenant SubLieutenant
FlyingOfficer
WORLD LEADERS
ASSASSINATEDAbraham President of the 1865
Lincoln United Sates
Indira Gandhi Prime Minister ofIndia 1984
John F.Kennedy
President of theUnited States 1963
Liyaqat AliKhan
First PrimeMinister ofPakistan
1951
MahatmaGandhi
Father of theNation, India 1948
Martin LutherKing
American NegroLeader 1968
Rajiv Gandhi Former PrimeMinister of India 1991
Ranasingha President of Sri 1993
Premdasa LankaSheikhMujib-ur-Rehman
President ofBangladesh 1975
Zia-ur-Rehman
President ofBangladesh 1981
BenazirBhutto
Former PrimeMinister ofPakistan
2007
UNITS OF MEASUREMENTS
Name of unit Used to measureAmpere Electric currentCalorie Quantity of heatCarat Purity of goldCelsius (Centigrade) Temperature
Decibel SoundDiopter Power of a lenseFahrenheit TemperatureJoule EnergyKelvin TemperatureKnot Speed of a shipLight Year Distance in spaceNewton ForceReam Sheets of paperWatt Electric power
CONVERSION FACTORS
Length1 inch = 2.54 cm
12 inch = 1 foot3 feet = 1 yard1 mile = 1.6 km1 nautical mile = 1.85 km
Weight1 ounce = 28.35 g16 ounce = 1 pound1 pound = 454 g1 tonne = 1,000 kg
Capacity1 gallon (UK) = 4.55 litres
74.
Quiz
1. What is the full form of ATM?2. What does FIR stand for?3. What is the full form of MBBS?4. What does WWF stand for?
5. Who wrote ‘Ramayana’?6. Who is the author of ‘A SuitableBoy’?7. Who wrote ‘Arabian Nights’?8. Who is the author of ‘Jungle Book’?9. What colour in our National Flagsignifies faith and prosperity?10. How many lions are there in ourNational Emblem?11. Which book is the source of ourNational Song?12. Which is the third most widelyspoken language in the world?13. How many states and unionterritories are there in India?14. Which is the largest Indian state?
15. Which is the most populous state inIndia?16. Who was the first President of India?17. Which Indian President occupied theoffice for the shortest term?18. Who was the first President of Indiato be elected unopposed?19. Who was the President of Indiawhen Prime Minister Indira Gandhideclared a state of emergency in 1975?20. Who is known as ‘The Father ofIndia’s Missile Programme’?21. Who was the youngest PrimeMinister of India?22. Which Indian Prime Minister died inRussia?
23. What is the capital of Uttarakhand?24. Which city is the capital of twoIndian states?25. Which language is spoken in Kerala?26. Telugu is the principal language ofwhich Indian state?27. What is the famous classical danceform of Kerala?28. Which Indian state would youassociate with Garba?29. Bihu is the famous dance form ofwhich Indian state?30. What is the capital of Australia?31. What is the capital of Malaysia?32. What is the currency of China?33. What is the currency of Saudi
Arabia?34. What is the single currency of theEuropean Union?35. What are the natives of Netherlandscalled?36. What are the natives of Scotlandcalled?37. What is the official language ofBrazil?38. What is the official language of Iran?39. What is the major religion inThailand?40. In which country is the religionShintoism followed?41. Which is the largest and the mostpopulated continent?
42. On which continent is Brazil?43. Which country has the longestinternational boundary with India?44. On which continent is the SouthPole?45. How is Banaras better known today?46. What was the old name of Japan?47. How is Mesopotamia better knowntoday?48. Which city is called ‘The Gatewayof India’?49. Which country is known as ‘The Giftof the Nile’?50. On the banks of which riverGuwahati is situated?51. Which capital city is situated on the
banks of river Thames?52. Which river flows through Baghdad?53. What is Moradabad famous for?54. What is Johannesburg famous for?55. How many players are there in ateam of basketball?56. Which is considered the fastest teamgame in the world?57. Which two countries share theworld’s longest boundary?58. What is the playground of wrestlingcalled?59. Which game is also known as ping-pong?60. Which ball game is played in thelargest ground?
61. What is the national game of Russia?62. What is the national game of USA?63. Which country invented ice hockey?64. Where were the Olympic Gamesoriginated?65. Who is said to be ‘The Father ofModern Olympics’?66. How many rings are there in theOlympic flag?67. What colour ring in the Olympic flagrepresents Asia?68. How many days do the SummerOlympic Games last?69. Which country has won the mostGold medals in the Olympic hockey?70. Who won the Silver Medal for India
in double trap shooting in AthensOlympics, 2004?71. Which is the only country to haveplayed in every World Cup SoccerTournament?72. Which country has won the mostWorld Cup Soccer Tournaments?73. Who is the highest goal-scorer in thehistory of the World Cup Soccer?74. In which year did India win theWorld Cup in cricket?75. Who was the captain of the Indiancricket team that won the World Cup in1983?76. Which game is Baichung Bhutiaassociated with?
77. What was the original name ofMuhammad Ali?78. For what country did ZinedineZidane play?79. Who is the only woman tennis playerto win the Wimbledon singles title ninetimes?80. Which game the Irani Trophy isassociated with?81. Which game the Davis Cup isassociated with?82. Which is the oldest footballtournament in India?83. Which game the term knockout isassociated with?84. What is the colour of the highest belt
in karate?85. What colour is the card that meansthe player is sent off the field in soccer?86. What is the length of a cricket pitch?87. What is the width of a football goal?88. At what height are the baskets hungin basketball?89. What is the duration of a normalhockey match?90. Where is the Wankhede Stadium?91. Which is the largest indoor stadiumin India?92. Which cricket stadium in India hasthe largest seating capacity?93. Which game the Ambedkar Stadiumis associated with?
94. Which game the MaracanaMunicipal Stadium is associated with?95. Which is the world’s biggestflower?96. Who was the first Indian to win anOscar?97. Which was the first Indian talkiefilm?98. Who were the first people to reachthe top of Mount Everest?99. Which country has TGVs?100. The Great Barrier Reef lies off thecoast of which country?101. Who is popularly known as ‘TheNightingale of India’?102. Who is popularly known as ‘The
Black Pearl’?103. What nationality was FlorenceNightingale?104. In which country was AlbertEinstein born?105. Which great 16th-century Italianartist and thinker designed a helicopterthat was never built?106. Who founded the Missionaries ofCharity?107. Who founded the Aligarh MuslimUniversity?108. Who gave the popular slogan ‘JaiJawan, Jai Kisan’?109. Who said ‘That’s one small step forman, one giant leap for mankind’?
110. Which is the fastest land animal?111. Which is the smallest bird?112. Which is the largest lizard?113. Name one egg laying mammal.114. Which mammal has the longestpregnancy period?115. Which bird travels the longestdistance during its migratory journey?116. Which bird has the longest wings?117. Where is the Kaziranga NationalPark?118. Which National Park is famous forAsiatic lions?119. Where is the Rock Garden in India?120. Where is Science City in India?121. Where is Grand Canyon?
122. Name the building which houses theUS Defence Ministry in Washington,DC.123. Which is the largest prison inIndia?124. Which is the highest mountain peakin Indian territory?125. Which is the tallest building inIndia?126. Which place in India receives themaximum rainfall annually?127. Which is the largest river in theworld?128. Which is the largest and deepestOcean?129. Which is the lowest point on the
earth?130. Which is the highest waterfall in theworld?131. How many triangular sides does apyramid have?132. Where were the Hanging Gardensof Babylon built?133. Where is the Salar Jung Museum?134. Who first proposed the name‘United Nations’?135. How many countries are in the UN?136. In what city is the UNheadquarters?137. On which date the Nobel Prizes areawarded annually?138. Who invented the dynamite?
139. Which Indian scientist won theNobel Prize for Medicine in 1968?140. For what discipline was AmartyaSen awarded the Nobel Prize in 1998?141. Who was the first foreigner toreceive Bharat Ratna?142. Which is the highest sports awardgiven to sportspersons in India?143. Which is the highest gallantryaward in India?144. Who invented the helicopter?145. Which invention is usually creditedto Johannes Gutenburg?146. Who propounded ‘The Theory ofEvolution’?147. Which scientist obtained the most
patents from the US patent office?148. Which instrument is used formeasuring the distance travelled by avehicle?149. What device is used by submarinecrews to see above the water?150. Which branch of science deals withthe study of plants?151. What is a scientist who studies theweather called?152. Which is usually associated withfine weather : high pressure or lowpressure?153. Which is the largest planet in ourSolar System?154. Which planet is famous for the
rings around it?155. Which is the largest organ in ourbody?156. What is the largest bone in ourbody?157. How many bones are there in anadult’s skull?158. Deficiency of which vitamin causesnight blindness?159. Which vitamin helps in bloodclotting?160. Which part of our body is affectedby jaundice?161. Which goddess is worshiped on theDiwali festival?162. Name the festival of Kerala during
which boat races are held.163. Where was Lord Buddha born?164. Where was Jesus Christ born?165. What is the meaning ofBhagavadgita?166. What is the holy journey to Meccamade by the Muslims called?167. To which religion do the sectsSunnis and Shias belong?168. Who worship in a Fire Temple?169. On which date do we celebrateChildren’s Day?170. Whose birthday is celebrated asTeachers’ Day in India?171. In which year did India become aRepublic?
172. Which Indian astronaut died in theColumbia Space Shuttle explosion in2003?173. In which year did people first walkon the moon?174. In which year did the atom bombsdrop on Japan?175. What large machine was used forthe first time in World War I?176. Who created the famous cartooncharacter Micky Mouse?177. Who is the creator of the fictionalcharacter Mowgli?178. What is a place where money iscoined called?179. What we call a room at a railway
station that is used for keeping luggage?180. What subject deals with the studyand collection of postage stamps?181. How fast do tsunami waves move?182. What is a person who draws mapsand charts called?183. What is a doctor who treats animalscalled?184. What is a person who loves andcollects books called?185. What is the illegal copying ofbooks, CDs and cassettes called?186. Which is the oldest living languagein the world?187. Which country has the largestpostal network?
188. Which is the longest railwayplatform in the world?189. Which is the world’s highest battleground?190. Which is the oldest existing Englishdaily in India?191. Which is the largest country?192. Which is the second most populatedcountry?193. Which religion has the largestfollowers in the world?194. Which is the fastest growingreligion in the world?195. How high is Mount Everest?196. In which continent are the world’shighest mountains?
197. Which is the most widely spokenlanguage in the world?198. Which is the highest commissionedrank in Indian navy?199. What is the unit of sound?200. How many centimeters are there inone inch?
75.
Answers
1. Automated Teller Machine2. First Information Report3. Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelorof Surgery
4. Worldwide Fund for Nature5. Valmiki6. Vikram Seth7. Sir Richard Burton8. Rudyard Kipling9. Green10. Four11. Anand Math12. Hindi13. 28 states & 7 union territories14. Rajasthan15. Uttar Pradesh16. Dr. Rajendra Prasad17. Dr. Zakir Husain (2 years)18. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
19. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad20. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam21. Rajiv Gandhi22. Lal Bahadur Shastri23. Dehradun24. Chandigarh25. Malayalam26. Andhra Pradesh27. Kathakali28. Gujarat29. Assam30. Canberra31. Kuala Lumpur32. Yuan33. Riyal
34. Euro35. Dutch36. Scottish37. Portuguese38. Persian39. Buddhism40. Japan41. Asia42. South America43. China44. Antarctica45. Varanasi46. Nippon47. Iraq48. Mumbai
49. Egypt50. Brahmaputra51. London52. Tigris53. Brassware54. Gold mines55. Five56. Ice hockey57. Canada and the USA58. Arena59. Table tennis60. Polo61. Chess62. Baseball63. Canada
64. Greece65. Baron Pierre de Coubertine66. Five67. Yellow68. 16 days69. India (8 medals)70. Major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore71. Brazil72. Brazil (5 times)73. Ronaldo (Brazil)74. 198375. Kapil Dev76. Football77. Cassius Clay78. France
79. Martina Navratilova80. Cricket81. Tennis82. Durand Cup83. Boxing84. Black85. Red86. 22 yards (66 feet)87. 24 feet88. 10 feet89. 70 minutes90. Mumbai91. Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium92. Eden Gardens (Kolkata)93. Football
94. Football95. Rafflesia96. Bhanu Athaiya97. Alam Ara098. Sir Edmund Hillary and TenzingNorgay099. France100. Australia101. Sarojini Naidu102. Pele103. Italian104. Germany105. Leonardo da Vinci106. Mother Teresa107. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
108. Lal Bahadur Shastri109. Neil Armstrong110. Cheetah111. Bee hummingbird112. Komodo dragon113. Platypus114. Asian elephant115. Arctic tern116. Wandering albatross117. Jorhat (Assam)118. Gir National Park119. Chandigarh120. Kolkata121. Arizona (USA)122. Pentagon
123. Tihar Central Jail124. Nanga Parbat (Kashmir)125. Shreepati Arcade (Mumbai)126. Mawsynram (Meghalaya)127. Amazon128. Pacific129. Dead Sea130. Angel Falls131. Four132. Iraq133. Hyderabad134. Franklin D. Roosevelt (USPresident)135. 191136. New York City
137. December 10138. Alfred Bernhard Nobel139. Dr. Har Gobind Khorana140. Economics141. Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan142. Arjuna Award143. Param Vir Chakra144. Sikorsky145. Printing Press146. Charles Darwin147. Thomas Alva Edison148. Odometer149. Periscope150. Botany151. Meteorologist
152. High pressure153. Jupiter154. Saturn155. Liver156. Thigh bone (femur)157. 22158. Vitamin A159. Vitamin K160. Liver161. Lakshmi162. Onam163. Lumbini (Nepal)164. Bethlehem165. Song of the Lord166. Hajj
167. Islam168. Parsees169. November 14170. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan’s171. 1950172. Kalpana Chawla173. 1969174. 1945175. Tank176. Walt Disney177. Rudyard Kipling178. Mint179. Cloakroom180. Philately181. At over 700 km/h
182. Cartographer183. Veterinarian184. Bibliophile185. Piracy186. Tamil187. India188. Kharagpur189. Siachen Glacier190. The Times of India191. Russia192. India193. Christianity194. Islam195. 8,850 m196. Asia
197. Mandarin Chinese198. Admiral199. Decibel200. 2.54 cm
76.
Index
abbreviationsanimals
deadliest snakesfacts
national parks and sanctuariesrecords
assassinations, world leadersawards
Bharat RatnanationalNobel Prize
Bharat Ratnabody factsbooks
Indiaworld
bridges, longestbuildings, tallestcapitals
countriesIndian states
Chandrashekhar, Dr. S.changed names of some placescities and industriescommissioned ranks in indian forcecontinents
largestconversion factorscountries
capitalscurrencieslanguageslargestnatives
populationReligionssmallest
cricket, World Cupcurrenciesdances of indiadates, historic
indiaworld
days, importantdefence, ranksdefining placesdeserts, largestdiscoveries, scientificdiseases
epithets, geographicalfacts
animalshuman bodyIndiaplanets
festivalsfictional characters and their creatorsfirst in
Indiaworld
founders, famousgames
nationalOlympic
history, important eventsIndiaworld
human bodydiseasesfactsorgans, largest
Indiaindustrial citiesinstruments, scientificinventionsislands, largestKhorana, Dr. Har Gobindlakes, largestlanguages
countriesIndian statesmost widely spoken
largest, tallest.....animalsIndiatop 5world
measurements, sportsmedia, printmonuments
Indiaseven wondersworld
mountains, largest
museumsnational parks and sanctuariesnationalities of famous personalitiesnatives of different countriesnewspapers and periodicalsnobel laureates, indianNobel PrizeNobel, Alfred Bernhardoceans, largestold and new namesOlympic games
India’s achievementspersons, famous
assassinatedfounders
nationalitiessloganstitles
phobias, commonestplaces, definitionsplanets
largestplayers, number ofplaygrounds, names ofpopulationpresidents of indiaprime ministers of indiaprofessionalsRaman, Sir C.V.records
animalsIndia(ns)
record makersIndiaworld
religionscountriesTop 5
riverscitieslongest
sciencebranchesdiscoveriesinstruments
inventionsplanets
seas, largestSen, Dr. AmartyaSeven Wonderssites, famous
Indiaworld
sloganssnakes, deadliestSoccer, World Cupsports cups and trophiessports measurementssports stadiums
India (places associated with sports)
international (places associated withsports)sports
cups and trophiesmeasurementsnames of playgroundsnational gamesnumber of playersolympic gamessportspersonsstadiums, indiastadium, international (places
associated with sports)termsWorld Cup Cricket
World Cup Soccersubjects, differentsuperlatives
Indiaworld
symbols, nationalTagore, RabindranathTeresa, Motherterms, importanttitles
geographicalpersons
top 5cups and trophies, sportsunion territories of india
United Nationsunits of measurementsvitaminswaterfalls, highestWorld Cup
cricketsoccer
World Records held by India(ns)
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