2. PRELIMS
• The preliminary Round consists of
20 questions.
• Questions 5,10, 14 and 20 are
star-marked questions.
• Not more than 45 seconds will be
given per question.
3. 1. During the cold war, the Bering Strait
marked the border between the Soviet Union
and the United States. The Diomede Islands-
Big Diomede (USSR) and Little Diomede
(USA)- are only 3.8 km apart. The indigenous
people in the area were used to frequently
crossing the border back and forth for
routine visits, festivals, etc but were
prevented from doing so during the Cold
War.
What was the border called?
6. 4.Give the funda
Soviet Union- 1991
Ghana – 1982
Britain – 1971
Myanmar– 1987
Nigeria – 1984
North Korea - 2010
India - 2016
7. *5. In February 1988, what
happened for the first and only
time in Indian political history in
Meghalaya concerning Robert
Sangma of Congress and
Chamberlain Marak?
8. 6. This company was established in
1937 by Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar
and is currently state-owned. It is the
largest producer in Asia of a certain
product that it started making in 1962
and is exported to many developing
countries in Asia and Africa. The
product has a very short shelf life and
is therefore made-to-demand.
Name the company and the product.
9. 7. “ The idea for a novel based around the
dark political arts came to me shortly after the
1987 general election campaign, which had
been particularly bruising. It inspired me to
begin work on a plot- entirely fictional- to get
rid of a Prime Minister.” – Michael Dobbs
The book was dramatised by the BBC. It has
been one of the best-selling TV series ever
made by BBC.
What work is being talked about here?
10. 8. X was the name of a Thembu chief
who ruled in the Transkei in the 18th
century and also gives its name to the
Xhosa clan. Besides being a term of
endearment, respect and familiarity, it
is considered very polite to use
someone’s clan name.
Identify X or the person who is the
most famous one to have been referred
to as X.
12. *10. What was the name of
the smartphone that was
launched in May 2016 by a
company called NaMotel
priced at Rs 99 and available to
only those with an aadhaar
card?
13. 11. X is a Pakistani political party formerly
known as the Pakistani Mujahir League until
its name change on 1 January 2014. The
party is led by Arsian Ul Mulk, a human rights
activist from Gujranwala. It aims to campaign
on issues relating to political imprisonment
and police torture. Mulk said it would strive
to make Pakistan a country as dreamt of by
its founder, Md. Ali Jinnah.
Name the party.
14. 12. Which spicy person as Republican
Party of India’s state vice president and
president of women’s wing?
15. 13. He was an authority in geology, agriculture
and also an educationist who set up an
educational institution in Machilipatnam.
He, however, died in poverty in 1963 and
was largely forgotten by the society and by
his own party, the Congress. A postage
stamp was issued to commemorate him in
2009 and in 2011 it was proposed that he
be posthumously awarded the Bharat
Ratna.
Identify the famous person.
16. *14. “Why is that we have never heard voice in
connection with the freedom of people under the
suppression and tyranny of Pakistan authorities on
the other side of the cease-fire line. Why is it that
we have not heard here that in ten years these
people have not seen a ballot paper? With what
voice can either the Security Council or anyone
coming before it demand a plebiscite for a people
on our side who exercise franchise, who have
freedom of speech, who function under a hundred
local bodies?”
This is an excerpt from a very famous speech.
Name the speaker and the context in which this
speech was delivered.
17. 15. X has served as union
minister under 5 different PM. X
is also the only minister to resign
from the NDA govt in protest of
godhra riots. Identify X.
18. 16. Many analysts and participants of the
protests against President of X, Gjorge
Ivanov and the government of X refer to it as
a “Y Revolution", due to the demonstrators
throwing paint balls at government buildings
in the capital.
Identify X and name the revolution.
19. 17. This man is very famous for something concerning
elections. Identify him and name his constituency.
20. 18. X was the highest elected office of
the appointive officer under the
Roman Empire. The title was also used
in other city states and revived in
modern states notably in the First
French Republic.
In modern terminology, X is a type of
diplomat. Identify X.
22. *20. He operated a boutique, the
Psychedelhi, at the Oberoi Hotel
with Martand Singh in the 1960s.
The clientele included the Beatles
and it ended up supplying clothes to
such London outlets as Mr. Fish and
Annacat.
Which political figure is being
referred to here?
23. 1. During the cold war, the Bering Strait
marked the border between the Soviet Union
and the United States. The Diomede Islands-
Big Diomede (USSR) and Little Diomede
(USA)- are only 3.8 km apart. The indigenous
people in the area were used to frequently
crossing the border back and forth for
routine visits, festivals, etc but were
prevented from doing so during the Cold
War.
What was the border called?
31. *5. In February 1988, what
happened for the first and only
time in Indian political history in
Meghalaya concerning Robert
Sangma of Congress and
Chamberlain Marak?
33. 6. This company was established in
1937 by Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar
and is currently state-owned. It is the
largest producer in Asia of a certain
product that it started making in 1962
and is exported to many developing
countries in Asia and Africa. The
product has a very short shelf life and
is therefore made-to-demand.
Name the company and the product.
34. Ans- Mysore Paints and Varnishes
Product- Indelible ink used in elections
35. 7. “ The idea for a novel based around the
dark political arts came to me shortly after the
1987 general election campaign, which had
been particularly bruising. It inspired me to
begin work on a plot- entirely fictional- to get
rid of a Prime Minister.” – Michael Dobbs
The book was dramatised by the BBC. It has
been one of the best-selling TV series ever
made by BBC.
What work is being talked about here?
37. 8. X was the name of a Thembu chief
who ruled in the Transkei in the 18th
century and also gives its name to the
Xhosa clan. Besides being a term of
endearment, respect and familiarity, it
is considered very polite to use
someone’s clan name.
Identify X or the person who is the
most famous one to have been referred
to as X.
41. *10. What was the name of
the smartphone that was
launched in May 2016 by a
company called NaMotel
priced at Rs 99 and available to
only those with an aadhaar
card?
43. 11. X is a Pakistani political party formerly
known as the Pakistani Mujahir League until
its name change on 1 January 2014. The
party is led by Arsian Ul Mulk, a human rights
activist from Gujranwala. It aims to campaign
on issues relating to political imprisonment
and police torture. Mulk said it would strive
to make Pakistan a country as dreamt of by
its founder, Md. Ali Jinnah.
Name the party.
47. 13. He was an authority in geology, agriculture
and also an educationist who set up an
educational institution in Machilipatnam.
He, however, died in poverty in 1963 and
was largely forgotten by the society and by
his own party, the Congress. A postage
stamp was issued to commemorate him in
2009 and in 2011 it was proposed that he
be posthumously awarded the Bharat
Ratna.
Identify the famous person.
49. *14. “Why is that we have never heard voice in
connection with the freedom of people under the
suppression and tyranny of Pakistan authorities on
the other side of the cease-fire line. Why is it that
we have not heard here that in ten years these
people have not seen a ballot paper? With what
voice can either the Security Council or anyone
coming before it demand a plebiscite for a people
on our side who exercise franchise, who have
freedom of speech, who function under a hundred
local bodies?”
This is an excerpt from a very famous speech.
Name the speaker and the context in which this
speech was delivered.
50. Ans- VK Menon at the UN General Assembly in
1955
It is the longest speech ever recorded (almost 8
hours). Also considered a classic example of
filibustering
51. 15. X has served as union
minister under 5 different PM. X
is also the only minister to resign
from the NDA govt in protest of
godhra riots. Identify X.
53. 16. Many analysts and participants of the
protests against President of X, Gjorge
Ivanov and the government of X refer to it as
a “Y Revolution", due to the demonstrators
throwing paint balls at government buildings
in the capital.
Identify X and name the revolution.
57. 18. X was the highest elected office of
the appointive officer under the
Roman Empire. The title was also used
in other city states and revived in
modern states notably in the First
French Republic.
In modern terminology, X is a type of
diplomat. Identify X.
61. *20. He operated a boutique, the
Psychedelhi, at the Oberoi Hotel
with Martand Singh in the 1960s.
The clientele included the Beatles
and it ended up supplying clothes to
such London outlets as Mr. Fish and
Annacat.
Which political figure is being
referred to here?
67. Ans - Leaders overthrown by a military coup-
1. Salvador Allende; Chile ( overthrown by
General Augusto Pinochet)
2. Nawaz Sharif; Pakistan (overthrown by General
Pervez Musharraf)
3. William Tolbert; Liberia (ovethrown by Samuel
Doe)
68. 2. This famous personality is responsible for one of
the major events in 20th century world politics.
69. Ans- Archduke Franz Ferdinand of
Austria, his death is believed to have
started the First World War
70. - dough made from boiled and ground plantain or
cassava, used as a staple food in parts of West and
central Africa.
3. Connect.
71. Ans- Foo foo
Pet poodle of the Royal Thai family who
served as the Air Chief Marshall of
Thailand.
74. 5. Identify the person who is reading out the
Memorandum presented by students on September 5,
1977 to Indira Gandhi demanding her resignation as
Chancellor of JNU.
76. 6. Many observers have called this a ‘war crime’ and a
violation of Geneva convention.
Give the moniker which resembles the name of a famous
song by AC/DC.
77. Ans- Highway of Death, a road
between Kuwait and Basra
where the retreating Iraqi army
was attacked by an American
aircraft during First Gulf War.
81. 2. X is yet another Looney Tunes short dedicated to
World War II propaganda.
Ironically, the cartoon is introduced as a recently
released Japanese propaganda film designed to show
off advanced Japanese technology and skill. It follows
with Japanese characters with obnoxious accents
displaying their innovations—except all their
demonstrations end in disaster or are utterly
ridiculous.
Like the Popeye cartoon, the Japanese are
caricaturized with buck teeth, glasses, and an overall
sinister manner.
X is named after an extremely famous city of Japan
and the two terms in X are rhyming.
83. 3. Ancient Indian kings were supposed to
follow the concept of Rajdharma however X
inspite of his many conquests got motivated
to abandon it.
In 2002, Y, who was the head of the country,
advised Z to follow rajdharma in a press
conference leading to Z snapping back at him
in the middle of the conference. This incident
is popular till date.
Give X, Y and Z.
84. Ans- X : King Ashok
Y : Atal Biharee Vajpayee
Z : Narendra Modi
85. 4. He attended St Columba's School , Delhi
before entering The Doon School.
He also worked at the monitor group, a
management consulting firm in London, before
establishing the Mumbai based technology
outsourcing firm, Backops Services Private Ltd.
Who?
87. 5. In 1963 , the former CM of Tamil Nadu
proposed that all senior congressmen should
resign from office to make way for younger party
workers.
This proposal was famous with his name.
Give name of CM and proposal
89. 6. What did congress MLA Jaivardhan
Singh call Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj
Chauhan over an adulteration scandal?
Hint: Character played by a veteran
actor who passed away in 2005
Hint 2: Shivraj chauhan ye sunke khush
nahi hua
91. 7. The Vajpayee government was defeated
in a historic vote on the floor of the Lok
Sabha in 1998 by a margin of just one
vote! Who was the one MP who violated
his party whip and voted against the
government thus probably being the one
member who caused the fall of the
government?
93. 8.The four junzis of Tiananmen square were
named so for persuading students to leave and
thus saving hundreds of lives. The junzi is a
Chinese philosophical term often translated as
"gentleman" or "superior person“.
The recruits of the first Junzi who became the
other three junzis are Hou Dejian, Zhou Dou,
and Gao Xin.
The first Junzi is a Chinese literary critic
,professor and writer who is currently
incarcerated as a political prisoner in Jinzhou.
He was also awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace
Prize.
Name the first Junzi
96. Ans- Symbols of Parties that contested
in the First General Election
97. 10. Prior to its release , Shorgul created a
lot of buzz on social media, despite not
having a big name in its star cast.
It piqued the interest of many, thanks to
the lyricist of this particular song.
The lyricist’s face has also often been
feature in many memes alongside the
face of a famous antagonist from Harry
Potter.
Who is the lyricist?
99. 11. The name of this book by B.
Raman is a pun on a spymaster who
also served as a chief of RAW. The
pun was used to refer to the first
batch of officers to join under him.
Name the book.
101. 12. The 1960 presidential election between Senator John F. Kennedy
and Vice President Richard Nixon is notable for being the first
election where television played a decisive role in determining the
winner since they had agreed to a series of debates, the first ever
aired on live TV.
Prior to the first debate, the candidates had agreed on something.
However both of them broke the agreement.
Nixon’s team knew that their candidate broke a sweat easily, so they
set the thermostat keep the studio nice and cool. But Kennedy’s
team also knew about the Vice President’s hyperhidrosis and
secretly turned the temperature up a few degrees. When the
cameras began to roll, the difference between the candidates was
striking to audiences watching at home. Political scientists still argue
that a few degrees on the thermostat may have made all the
difference.
What had the candidates agreed on and how did they break the
agreement?
102. Ans- Both had agreed not to wear
make up. But Kennedy had a
layer of professionally applied
makeup put on before the debate
and Nixon used an over-the-
counter product called “Lazy
Shave” to conceal his five-o’clock
shadow.