The document provides background information on various topics in a question-answer format. It includes 10 questions in each of two rounds on topics like notable people (Philip Noel-Baker, Abu Abraham, Srimanta Sankardev), historical events (Battle of Magenta, Quit India Movement), inventions (mauveine/aniline purple dye, coir factory in Kerala), and others. The questions are intended to test general knowledge.

2. Not So
Harmless
Researched and Conducted by :
AbdulVahid. P. A

3. Acknowledgments
പടച്ചോൻ
വിക്കി മോതോവ്
ഗൂഗിൾ അമ്മോവൻ
ഇന്റർനെറ്റ തറവോട്

4. Round 1
10 Questions : Clockwise
Bounce : +10/0
Pounce : +10/-10

5.  Lord Mountbatten persuaded Nehru to take up the
Kashmir issue to the UN Security Council to which
Nehru acceded in 1948. Apart from Indian and
Pakistani representatives, the peace talks also had a
British representative – X. He supported Pakistan
which was accused to be an anti-Soviet war strategy
during the cold war.
 Identify this personality, who became the only one to
achieve a certain feat in 1959 and still holds the
record.
1.

7. Philip Noel-Baker
Only person to win both an Olympic medal and a Nobel prize.

8.  He started selling cartoons to Punch magazine and the Daily
Sketch in 1953. After publishing two cartoons in Tribune in
1956, David Astor, the editor of The Observer, offered him a
permanent job as its first ever political cartoonist. He
produced a lot of incisive cartoons and once The Guardian
described him as the “conscience of the Left and the pea
under the princess's mattress.” He later moved to The
Guardian in 1966 and also started to contribute a weekly
cartoon to the Tribune. In 1968, he edited Verdicts on Vietnam,
a collection of cartoons on theVietnamWar.
 Identify this cartoonist.
2.

10. Abu Abraham

11.  Known as Galinjan in North and Aadidevan in South,
they go out for grama sancharam in the monsoon
period to usher in prosperity and ward of evil spirits in
the villages, most importantly to shield the region from
epidemics.
 Generally from the backward Koppalan, Malaya or
Vannan communities, they are boys in the age group of
five to twelve.
 How do we better know them?
3.

13. KarkkidakaTheyyams

14.  In 1856, then 18 years old X was given a challenge by his
professor August Wilhelm von Hofmann to synthesise
quinine. X oxidised aniline using potassium dichromate,
whose toluidine impurities reacted with aniline yielding
a black solid, suggesting failure of the experiment. X
then cleaned the flask with alcohol and noticed purple
portions in the solution.
 What was thus serendipitously invented?
4.

16. Mauveine or Aniline Purple
First synthetic dye
 X –William Henry Perkin

17.  The Battle of X was fought on 4 June, 1859, in the Italian
town of X during the Second Italian War of
Independence, resulting in a French-Sardinian victory
against the Austrians.
 In the same year, a synthetic aniline dye was invented.
Shortly after the invention, it was named X, as it
reminded the colour of the uniforms worn by the French
Zouave troops during the Battle of X.
 Which colour got its name thus?
5.

19. Magenta

20.  Notable scholars like EMS and Thakazhi admitted that they could
not fully comprehend X’s writings on history ; nor was it
acceptable to many of the modern historians.
 He tried to draw a parallel between ancient Indian mythology and
the Greek and Sumerian mythologies. For him, Olympiad era of
the Greek mythology was the Kali or Agastya era of the puranas
and Hercules was the Narasimha incarnation of Vishnu. He also
argued that Dvaraka was same as Athens, Mithila was Corinth
etc.
 Though EMS condemned him as a ‘petit-bourgeois intellectual’,
he later altered his view and acknowledged the failure of the
communist party in Kerala in understanding his greatness.
 Who are we talking about?
6.

22. Kesari Balakrishna Pillai

23.  This 15th-16th century Assamese polymath is widely credited with
devising a new form of music (Borgeet), theatrical performances
(Ankia Naat, Bhaona), literary language (Brajavali) and the
classical dance form X. He is also famous for his Ekasarana
Dharma which advocates devotion to a single God who can be
worshipped by uttering his various names. In contrast to bhakti
forms, it follows dasya attitude (slave to God).
 His name hit news in the recent past when Delhi University
organised a platform to commemorate him on 12th August 2015. It
is also alleged that the BJP-RSS alliance is trying to utilise the
iconic status of this socio-religious reformer for electoral gains.
 Identify this polymath as well as the classical dance form X.
7.

25. Srimanta Sankardev
Sattriya

26.  One of the greatest passions of X was Beethoven’s music
and X even became a concert manager. After reading Y’s
books about Beethoven, X sought and met Y at his
residence. It was during this meeting that X got to know
about Z. Reading the biography of Z authored by Y
convinced X to become a follower of Z. Thus X moved to Z’s
country and spent almost 34 years there. After reading a
subsequent biography of Beethoven (that too authored by
Y), X was convinced to move to Austria and spend the
remaining days of her life in the land of Beethoven’s music.
 Identify X,Y and Z.
8.

28. X – Mirabehn (Madelein Slade)
Y – Romain Rolland, Z – Mahatma Gandhi

29.  In 1941, Soviet anthropologist Mikhail M Gerasimov exhumed X’s
body from his tomb. He was able to reconstruct X’s likeness from
his skull and determined his height as 5 feet 8 inches. He could also
confirm X’s lameness thought to have developed by the shot of an
arrow.
 It is reported that X’s tomb had this inscription - "Who ever opens
my tomb, shall unleash an invader more terrible than I.”
Interestingly, Gerasimov’s exhumation began the same day Adolf
Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa. And X was re-buried with
full religious rituals in November, 1942, just before the Soviet
victory at the Battle of Leningrad.
 Identify X.
9.

31. Timur

32.  On whose death on 21st February, 1960,
did the parliament of India offer
condolences for the first time in its
history?
10.

34. Edwina Mountbatten

36. Round 2
10 Questions : Anti-clockwise
Bounce : +10/0
Pounce : +10/-10

37.  After the declaration of emergency, the Indira Gandhi
government launched this programme in much haste.
 Different tactics were used in different states. In Madhya
Pradesh, irrigation water was withheld from village fields. In
UP, teacher’s lost a month’s salary if they refused. People in
Rajasthan were denied government jobs. Food rations were
denied in Bihar and Health Department officials in UP had
their pay withheld if they didn’t give in.
 What programme is being mentioned?
1.

39. Forced Sterilization

40.  X Syndrome refers to an injury that results from
the entanglement of an article of clothing or hair
in a piece of machinery or moving object. It is
very common in India where flowing garments
become entangled in the wheels of rickshaws and
machines.
 Identify X.
2.

42. Isadora Duncan Syndrome
 She died while travelling in
an open-air vehicle in 1927,
when her scarf got
entangled with the open
spokes of the wheels and
rear axle.
 She was one of the pioneers
of modern dance.

43.  X literally means ‘owner of the cattle’. X Y gets its
name from the fact that cattle owners used to
bring their cows to be bathed in the waters of the
Y.
 What is the significance of X Y in Indian history?
Also give its new name.
3.

45. GowaliaTank Maidan OR August Kranti Maidan
QUIT INDIA Movement

46. FITB and tell me the significance of the
company.
4.

48. First coir factory in Kerala

49.  Once X was gifted with a Y by a Hungarian diplomat. This gave
him the idea of collecting Ys from the countries he visited. He
often held exhibitions of these items for the poor children. Once
Nehru visited such an exhibition accompanied by her daughter
Indira. This inspired Indira and together with X, established Z in
1965.
 Contibutions to Z came from Nehru, subsequent prime ministers,
diplomats from various countries etc. Z is divided into two halves,
one dedicated to Europe, the US, Australia, New Zealand,
Common Wealth of Independent States and the other
to Asian countries, the Middle East, Africa and India.
 Identify X,Y and Z.
5.

51. Shankar’s International Dolls Museum, Delhi

52.  Jimmy Zhingjack-agent of D.I.S.C.O is a one-shot comic strip
written by Saurav Mohapatra with art by Anupam Sinha. It was
originally published byVirgin Comics in 2008 with UTV Spotboy.
 A parody of the 80s Hindi cinema fascination with disco and Hindi
movies of the period, it deals with the rise of Jimmy, a young
dancer who helps defend India from Sir John and his dreaded
organization F.I.R.A.N.G. He is helped by Col. Jaani of the
Department of Internal Security and Covert Operation
(D.I.S.C.O.).
 Who is this character modelled on? Image follows
6.

55. Mithun Chakraborty

56.  Sir Robert Peel established the Metropolitan Police Force at
Scotland Yard, London in 1829. They were affectionately called
‘bobbies’ or ‘peelers’. This earned him the title ‘the father of
modern policing.’
 He went on to become the prime minister of UK twice. In 1834, he
issued the Tamworth Manifesto as a policy statement for the
election held in January 1835. This document laid down the
principles on which the modern X is based. Peel is often considered
as the founder of X.
 Identify X.
7.

58. British Conservative Party
 The British Conservative Party was founded in 1834
replacing the oldTory Party.
 Hence Conservatives are also calledTories.

59.  Ricin is a naturally occurring highly toxic protein produced in the
seeds of castor oil plant Ricinus communis. It is highly poisonous
so much so that even a few grains of it can kill an adult human. It
is a banned chemical weapon.
 Muhammad Ali, a UK based software programmer was arrested
in late July, 2015, for possessing ricin. He struck a deal with a
dealer in US to buy 500mg of the poison for $500. Unfortunately
he didn’t know that the dealer he was communicating with was
an FBI agent.
 What inspired Ali to buy this toxic substance?
8.

61. Breaking Bad

62.  These paintings were put to auction by
Christie’s ‘Green Auction : A Bid to Save the
Earth’ in 2010.
 Identify the painter who is known to us in a
different field.
 Images follow
9.

66. Sridevi

67.  Arthur Conan Doyle had given up his lucrative writing
career by the 1910s in order to lecture about spiritualism
around the world. He befriended X in 1920, who
dismissed spiritualism as a blunder. X was delighted to
learn that there was at least one intellectual who
believed in spiritualism. He tried to convince Doyle that
all his abilities were trickery and illusions. However,
Doyle believed that X possessed supernatural powers.
 Identify X.
10.

69. Harry Houdini