Famous Personalities Questions and Answers

Answer: C

Subramania Siva wanted to build a temple for Bharat Mata.

The freedom fighter from Tamil Nadu, associated with V.O. Chidambaram Pillai in the Tirunelveli agitation of 1908, conceived the idea while imprisoned. He spent his later years, disabled by leprosy, at Papparapatti, where a temple was eventually built.

Answer: B

Charu Majumdar was the founder of the Naxalite movement.

With Kanu Sanyal he led the peasant uprising at Naxalbari in north Bengal in 1967, and founded the CPI (Marxist-Leninist) in 1969. He died in police custody in 1972.

Answer: A

Amrita Sher-Gil was born in Hungary.

She was born at Budapest in 1913 to a Sikh aristocrat father and a Hungarian-Jewish mother, trained in Paris, and returned to India in 1934. Her work fused post-impressionist technique with Indian subjects and colour, and she died at twenty-eight.

Answer: C

Shovana Narayan is reputed in classical dance.

A leading Kathak dancer and disciple of Birju Maharaj, she combined performance with a career in the Indian Audit and Accounts Service, and received the Padma Shri in 1992.

Answer: A

Jim Yong Kim was President of the World Bank from 2012 to 2019.

A physician and anthropologist who had co-founded Partners in Health and led Dartmouth College, he was the first Bank president trained in medicine rather than in finance or politics. Christine Lagarde headed the IMF in the same period.

Answer: B

Kamalesh Sharma was the first Indian chosen as Commonwealth Secretary-General.

A career diplomat who had been India's High Commissioner in London, he held the office from 2008 to 2016.

Answer: A

Jawaharlal Nehru is called Chacha.

The name reflects his fondness for children, and his birthday, 14 November, is observed in India as Children's Day.

Answer: B

Shoaib Akhtar is called the Rawalpindi Express.

The Pakistani fast bowler holds the record for the fastest delivery in international cricket, 161.3 km/h, bowled to Nick Knight at the 2003 World Cup. The name combines his home city with the pace of his run-up.

Answer: D

Gandhi gave the title Deenabandhu to C.F. Andrews.

The English priest was Gandhi's close friend from their South African years, and the name means friend of the poor. He worked for the rights of Indian indentured labourers in Fiji and South Africa. Gandhi read his initials as Christ's Faithful Apostle.

Answer: B

Manik Sarkar became Chief Minister of Tripura after the February 2013 election.

The CPI(M) leader won a fourth consecutive term, having been in office since 1998, and served until 2018.