Wednesday Trivia #36: Aug 15, 2012

Happy Independence Day to all trivia buffs! Many of this week's questions are related to this day. The usual rule applies: no internet searches of any kind please.

1. August 15 is celebrated as a national holiday in three countries other than India. Name one of the three countries that share their Independence Day with India.

2. The rest of the world knows this pastry by the name of a European country. But in that country (which is not Austria), the name for this pastry means “Viennese bread.” In 1850, bakery workers in this country went on a strike, and the country’s bakery owners had to hire foreign bakers to help out. Many of those bakers came from Vienna, and were unfamiliar with the recipes of their employers, so they made pastries from their native land. After the strike, bakery owners modified a popular Austrian recipe by adding more fat, and the result is the modern pastry. Name the pastry.

3. She was born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum, into a family of non-practicing Jews. She was among the first Russian women to attend university. After emigrating to America, she became famous by another name. Among her controversial positions were: support for abortion rights, opposition to the Vietnam war and the military draft, calling for a repeal of all laws against homosexuality (while calling it “immoral” and “disgusting”). At one point, she declared herself “the most creative thinker alive.” Her funeral was attended by Alan Greenspan, the longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve. What is her more famous name?

4. The Prime Minister of India addresses the nation on August 15 from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Inside the fort, in its dIvAn-e-khAs – the Hall of Special Audience – this verse is engraved in the wall in gold letters: gar firdaus ba-rUh-e zamIn ast, hamin ast o hamin ast o hamin ast. What language is the verse in, and what does the verse mean?

5. On Independence Day in 1947, Nehru did not address India from the Red Fort. He was instead in the Central Hall of Parliament House. Mohandas Gandhi was not with him on that momentous night. Where was Gandhi on August 15, 1947, and why?

6. Clara Ma, a 15-year old from Lenexa, Kansas, won a national essay contest three years ago. While she “collected” her prize three years ago, her victory came to national prominence just recently. What did Clara win?

7. Nehru’s “Tryst with Destiny” speech on August 15, 1947 is considered one of the finest speeches ever. Nehru took inspiration from the title of another political speech: “A Rendezvous with Destiny.” Who was the politician who delivered that earlier speech?

8. The Constitution of India requires Parliament to meet at least once every six months. It is now established practice for Parliament to meet for three sessions a year, with each session involving around 30 working days. What are the three sessions of Parliament called?

9. India’s Partition at independence was relatively straight-forward in the case of provinces other than Bengal and Punjab. While all other provinces chose which country to be part of through their elected legislatures (which were elected in 1946), Punjab and Bengal went through a more detailed – and traumatic – partition. However, one district of another province was also partitioned out and added to Pakistan, although the rest of the province is part of India now as a state. To complicate things further, one of the subdivisions of the district was left with that Indian state, with the rest of the district going to Pakistan. The people of that district have made a name for themselves as restaurateurs overseas. What is this district, and what state was it part of before Partition?

10. The Zero Hour is a time every day during a Parliament session when any member can raise any topic for discussion, provided (s)he has informed the Speaker of the topic at the beginning of the day’s session. The Zero Hour follows immediately after the Question Hour, when MPs ask questions of the government. At what time does Zero Hour usually begin?

1. August 15 is celebrated as a national holiday in three countries other than India. Name one of the three countries that share their Independence Day with India. ==> Koreas.


3. She was born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum, into a family of non-practicing Jews. She was among the first Russian women to attend university. After emigrating to America, she became famous by another name. Among her controversial positions were: support for abortion rights, opposition to the Vietnam war and the military draft, calling for a repeal of all laws against homosexuality (while calling it “immoral” and “disgusting”). At one point, she declared herself “the most creative thinker alive.” Her funeral was attended by Alan Greenspan, the longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve. What is her more famous name?

==>Ayn Rand

4. The Prime Minister of India addresses the nation on August 15 from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Inside the fort, in its dIvAn-e-khAs – the Hall of Special Audience – this verse is engraved in the wall in gold letters: gar firdaus ba-rUh-e zamIn ast, hamin ast o hamin ast o hamin ast. What language is the verse in, and what does the verse mean?

==> Persian


5. On Independence Day in 1947, Nehru did not address India from the Red Fort. He was instead in the Central Hall of Parliament House. Mohandas Gandhi was not with him on that momentous night. Where was Gandhi on August 15, 1947, and why?



==>Calcutta (or was it Dhaka/chittagong. it was somewhere in bengal), urging peace.

6. Clara Ma, a 15-year old from Lenexa, Kansas, won a national essay contest three years ago. While she “collected” her prize three years ago, her victory came to national prominence just recently. What did Clara win?

curiosity?

8. The Constitution of India requires Parliament to meet at least once every six months. It is now established practice for Parliament to meet for three sessions a year, with each session involving around 30 working days. What are the three sessions of Parliament called?



==> Monsoon, winter, spring(budget)

9. India’s Partition at independence was relatively straight-forward in the case of provinces other than Bengal and Punjab. While all other provinces chose which country to be part of through their elected legislatures (which were elected in 1946), Punjab and Bengal went through a more detailed – and traumatic – partition. However, one district of another province was also partitioned out and added to Pakistan, although the rest of the province is part of India now as a state. To complicate things further, one of the subdivisions of the district was left with that Indian state, with the rest of the district going to Pakistan. The people of that district have made a name for themselves as restaurateurs overseas. What is this district, and what state was it part of before Partition?

10. The Zero Hour is a time every day during a Parliament session when any member can raise any topic for discussion, provided (s)he has informed the Speaker of the topic at the beginning of the day’s session. The Zero Hour follows immediately after the Question Hour, when MPs ask questions of the government. At what time does Zero Hour usually begin?

12 noon. Hamid ansari was trying to change it.

panini press wrote:1. August 15 is celebrated as a national holiday in three countries other than India. Name one of the three countries that share their Independence Day with India.

pakistan?

2. The rest of the world knows this pastry by the name of a European country. But in that country (which is not Austria), the name for this pastry means “Viennese bread.” In 1850, bakery workers in this country went on a strike, and the country’s bakery owners had to hire foreign bakers to help out. Many of those bakers came from Vienna, and were unfamiliar with the recipes of their employers, so they made pastries from their native land. After the strike, bakery owners modified a popular Austrian recipe by adding more fat, and the result is the modern pastry. Name the pastry.

croissant?

4. The Prime Minister of India addresses the nation on August 15 from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Inside the fort, in its dIvAn-e-khAs – the Hall of Special Audience – this verse is engraved in the wall in gold letters: gar firdaus ba-rUh-e zamIn ast, hamin ast o hamin ast o hamin ast. What language is the verse in, and what does the verse mean?

persian. it means -- if there is heaven on earth, it here, it is here, it is here. i think babur said this when he sighted kashmir or srinagar.

5. On Independence Day in 1947, Nehru did not address India from the Red Fort. He was instead in the Central Hall of Parliament House. Mohandas Gandhi was not with him on that momentous night. Where was Gandhi on August 15, 1947, and why?

noakhali, bangladesh. appealing to hindus to stay after their genocide by muslims.

8. The Constitution of India requires Parliament to meet at least once every six months. It is now established practice for Parliament to meet for three sessions a year, with each session involving around 30 working days. What are the three sessions of Parliament called?

budget, monsoon and winter sessions.

panini press wrote:2. The rest of the world knows this pastry by the name of a European country. But in that country (which is not Austria), the name for this pastry means “Viennese bread.” In 1850, bakery workers in this country went on a strike, and the country’s bakery owners had to hire foreign bakers to help out. Many of those bakers came from Vienna, and were unfamiliar with the recipes of their employers, so they made pastries from their native land. After the strike, bakery owners modified a popular Austrian recipe by adding more fat, and the result is the modern pastry. Name the pastry.?

danish?

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:

5. On Independence Day in 1947, Nehru did not address India from the Red Fort. He was instead in the Central Hall of Parliament House. Mohandas Gandhi was not with him on that momentous night. Where was Gandhi on August 15, 1947, and why?

noakhali, bangladesh. appealing to hindus to stay after their genocide by muslims.

no, this is wrong. noakhali and gandhi's campaigning happened around a year or a few months before independence. i vaguely remember reading that gandhi was again (or still) in bengal or calcutta on independence day. (but he left for bihar after noakhali.) i'm not sure why. probably still appeasing for communal harmony?

panini press wrote:Happy Independence Day to all trivia buffs! Many of this week's questions are related to this day. The usual rule applies: no internet searches of any kind please.

1. August 15 is celebrated as a national holiday in three countries other than India. Name one of the three countries that share their Independence Day with India.

South Korea

2. The rest of the world knows this pastry by the name of a European country. But in that country (which is not Austria), the name for this pastry means “Viennese bread.” In 1850, bakery workers in this country went on a strike, and the country’s bakery owners had to hire foreign bakers to help out. Many of those bakers came from Vienna, and were unfamiliar with the recipes of their employers, so they made pastries from their native land. After the strike, bakery owners modified a popular Austrian recipe by adding more fat, and the result is the modern pastry. Name the pastry.

Danish?

3. She was born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum, into a family of non-practicing Jews. She was among the first Russian women to attend university. After emigrating to America, she became famous by another name. Among her controversial positions were: support for abortion rights, opposition to the Vietnam war and the military draft, calling for a repeal of all laws against homosexuality (while calling it “immoral” and “disgusting”). At one point, she declared herself “the most creative thinker alive.” Her funeral was attended by Alan Greenspan, the longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve. What is her more famous name?

Ayn Rand

5. On Independence Day in 1947, Nehru did not address India from the Red Fort. He was instead in the Central Hall of Parliament House. Mohandas Gandhi was not with him on that momentous night. Where was Gandhi on August 15, 1947, and why?

In Kolkata, fasting

7. Nehru’s “Tryst with Destiny” speech on August 15, 1947 is considered one of the finest speeches ever. Nehru took inspiration from the title of another political speech: “A Rendezvous with Destiny.” Who was the politician who delivered that earlier speech?

Roosevelt? (I do know that a famous politician named carvaka delivered a similar speech much later)

10. The Zero Hour is a time every day during a Parliament session when any member can raise any topic for discussion, provided (s)he has informed the Speaker of the topic at the beginning of the day’s session. The Zero Hour follows immediately after the Question Hour, when MPs ask questions of the government. At what time does Zero Hour usually begin?

Noon?

blabberwock wrote:Roosevelt? (I do know that a famous politician named carvaka delivered a similar speech much later)

I meant FDR.

The answer to # 9 - Sylhet Dt. Interesting tidbit. While most of the Bengalis love fish, Sylhetians are meat (beef, mutton) cooking/eating specialists. That may have led to their restaurant businesses.

artood2 wrote:1. August 15 is celebrated as a national holiday in three countries other than India. Name one of the three countries that share their Independence Day with India. ==> Koreas.

Correct.

artood2 wrote:3. She was born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum, into a family of non-practicing Jews. She was among the first Russian women to attend university. After emigrating to America, she became famous by another name. Among her controversial positions were: support for abortion rights, opposition to the Vietnam war and the military draft, calling for a repeal of all laws against homosexuality (while calling it “immoral” and “disgusting”). At one point, she declared herself “the most creative thinker alive.” Her funeral was attended by Alan Greenspan, the longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve. What is her more famous name?

==>Ayn Rand

Correct.

artood2 wrote:4. The Prime Minister of India addresses the nation on August 15 from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Inside the fort, in its dIvAn-e-khAs – the Hall of Special Audience – this verse is engraved in the wall in gold letters: gar firdaus ba-rUh-e zamIn ast, hamin ast o hamin ast o hamin ast. What language is the verse in, and what does the verse mean?

==> Persian

Correct.

artood2 wrote:5. On Independence Day in 1947, Nehru did not address India from the Red Fort. He was instead in the Central Hall of Parliament House. Mohandas Gandhi was not with him on that momentous night. Where was Gandhi on August 15, 1947, and why?



==>Calcutta (or was it Dhaka/chittagong. it was somewhere in bengal), urging peace.

Somewhere in Bengal is correct, quite close to Chittagong.

artood2 wrote:6. Clara Ma, a 15-year old from Lenexa, Kansas, won a national essay contest three years ago. While she “collected” her prize three years ago, her victory came to national prominence just recently. What did Clara win?

curiosity?

Correct, she won the contest to name Curiosity.

artood2 wrote:8. The Constitution of India requires Parliament to meet at least once every six months. It is now established practice for Parliament to meet for three sessions a year, with each session involving around 30 working days. What are the three sessions of Parliament called?



==> Monsoon, winter, spring(budget)

Correct.

artood2 wrote:
10. The Zero Hour is a time every day during a Parliament session when any member can raise any topic for discussion, provided (s)he has informed the Speaker of the topic at the beginning of the day’s session. The Zero Hour follows immediately after the Question Hour, when MPs ask questions of the government. At what time does Zero Hour usually begin?

12 noon. Hamid ansari was trying to change it.

Correct.

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:

panini press wrote:1. August 15 is celebrated as a national holiday in three countries other than India. Name one of the three countries that share their Independence Day with India.

pakistan?

No. They celebrate Aug 14 as independence day.

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:

panini press wrote:2. The rest of the world knows this pastry by the name of a European country. But in that country (which is not Austria), the name for this pastry means “Viennese bread.” In 1850, bakery workers in this country went on a strike, and the country’s bakery owners had to hire foreign bakers to help out. Many of those bakers came from Vienna, and were unfamiliar with the recipes of their employers, so they made pastries from their native land. After the strike, bakery owners modified a popular Austrian recipe by adding more fat, and the result is the modern pastry. Name the pastry.

croissant?

No.

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:

panini press wrote:4. The Prime Minister of India addresses the nation on August 15 from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Inside the fort, in its dIvAn-e-khAs – the Hall of Special Audience – this verse is engraved in the wall in gold letters: gar firdaus ba-rUh-e zamIn ast, hamin ast o hamin ast o hamin ast. What language is the verse in, and what does the verse mean?

persian. it means -- if there is heaven on earth, it here, it is here, it is here. i think babur said this when he sighted kashmir or srinagar.

Correct. Jahangir was the one who saw Srinagar I think.

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:

panini press wrote:5. On Independence Day in 1947, Nehru did not address India from the Red Fort. He was instead in the Central Hall of Parliament House. Mohandas Gandhi was not with him on that momentous night. Where was Gandhi on August 15, 1947, and why?

noakhali, bangladesh. appealing to hindus to stay after their genocide by muslims.

Noakhali is the correct answer.

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:

panini press wrote:8. The Constitution of India requires Parliament to meet at least once every six months. It is now established practice for Parliament to meet for three sessions a year, with each session involving around 30 working days. What are the three sessions of Parliament called?

budget, monsoon and winter sessions.

Correct.

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:

panini press wrote:2. The rest of the world knows this pastry by the name of a European country. But in that country (which is not Austria), the name for this pastry means “Viennese bread.” In 1850, bakery workers in this country went on a strike, and the country’s bakery owners had to hire foreign bakers to help out. Many of those bakers came from Vienna, and were unfamiliar with the recipes of their employers, so they made pastries from their native land. After the strike, bakery owners modified a popular Austrian recipe by adding more fat, and the result is the modern pastry. Name the pastry.?

danish?

Correct.

blabberwock wrote:

panini press wrote:1. August 15 is celebrated as a national holiday in three countries other than India. Name one of the three countries that share their Independence Day with India.

South Korea

Correct.

blabberwock wrote:

2. The rest of the world knows this pastry by the name of a European country. But in that country (which is not Austria), the name for this pastry means “Viennese bread.” In 1850, bakery workers in this country went on a strike, and the country’s bakery owners had to hire foreign bakers to help out. Many of those bakers came from Vienna, and were unfamiliar with the recipes of their employers, so they made pastries from their native land. After the strike, bakery owners modified a popular Austrian recipe by adding more fat, and the result is the modern pastry. Name the pastry.

Danish?

Correct.

blabberwock wrote:

3. She was born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum, into a family of non-practicing Jews. She was among the first Russian women to attend university. After emigrating to America, she became famous by another name. Among her controversial positions were: support for abortion rights, opposition to the Vietnam war and the military draft, calling for a repeal of all laws against homosexuality (while calling it “immoral” and “disgusting”). At one point, she declared herself “the most creative thinker alive.” Her funeral was attended by Alan Greenspan, the longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve. What is her more famous name?

Ayn Rand

Correct.

blabberwock wrote:

5. On Independence Day in 1947, Nehru did not address India from the Red Fort. He was instead in the Central Hall of Parliament House. Mohandas Gandhi was not with him on that momentous night. Where was Gandhi on August 15, 1947, and why?

In Kolkata, fasting

Now I am confused. I think he was in Noakhali. At any rate, he was in Bengal.

blabberwock wrote:

7. Nehru’s “Tryst with Destiny” speech on August 15, 1947 is considered one of the finest speeches ever. Nehru took inspiration from the title of another political speech: “A Rendezvous with Destiny.” Who was the politician who delivered that earlier speech?

Roosevelt? (I do know that a famous politician named carvaka delivered a similar speech much later)

10. The Zero Hour is a time every day during a Parliament session when any member can raise any topic for discussion, provided (s)he has informed the Speaker of the topic at the beginning of the day’s session. The Zero Hour follows immediately after the Question Hour, when MPs ask questions of the government. At what time does Zero Hour usually begin?

Noon?

Both answers are correct.

indophile wrote:1. South Korea

2. Cheese Danish

3. Ayn Rand

4. If there’s paradise on earth this is it this is it

5. Calcutta during Hindu-Muslim riots.

8. Monsoon Session, Winter Session, Some other Session

9. Sylhet District in Bengal was partitioned.

All your answers are correct -- except Calcutta that I am no longer sure of. Sylhet district is correct -- but Sylhet was not part of Bengal before partition. What province was Sylhet previously part of?

Happy Independence Day to all trivia buffs! Many of this week's questions are related to this day. The usual rule applies: no internet searches of any kind please.

1. August 15 is celebrated as a national holiday in three countries other than India. Name one of the three countries that share their Independence Day with India.

Korea is one of the three countries (both North Korea and South Korea were liberated from Japanese colonial rule on August 15, 1945). There are a couple of other countries that were also liberated from colonial rule on this day in later years. Any guesses?

9. India’s Partition at independence was relatively straight-forward in the case of provinces other than Bengal and Punjab. While all other provinces chose which country to be part of through their elected legislatures (which were elected in 1946), Punjab and Bengal went through a more detailed – and traumatic – partition. However, one district of another province was also partitioned out and added to Pakistan, although the rest of the province is part of India now as a state. To complicate things further, one of the subdivisions of the district was left with that Indian state, with the rest of the district going to Pakistan. The people of that district have made a name for themselves as restaurateurs overseas. What is this district, and what state was it part of before Partition?

The district is Sylhet, now in Bangladesh. The district was not part of Bengal before 1947; what province was Sylhet originally part of?

panini press wrote:Sylhet was not part of Bengal before partition. What province was Sylhet previously part of?

Assam? Sylhetians are like Coorgies in the south, much better looking than others around them.

But Assam, the present Bangladesh & West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, and a big chunk of UP east of Oudh (Lucknow) was all Bengal at one point.

indophile wrote:

panini press wrote:Sylhet was not part of Bengal before partition. What province was Sylhet previously part of?

Assam? Sylhetians are like Coorgies in the south, much better looking than others around them.

Correct, it was part of Assam. They took most of the district and merged it with East Pakistan, while leaving one subdivision in Assam. So technically, Punjab, Bengal and Assam all got partitioned.

indophile wrote:But Assam, the present Bangladesh & West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, and a big chunk of UP east of Oudh (Lucknow) was all Bengal at one point.

True, that was Bengal presidency before they created additional provinces out of it.

wow. i am impressed with your partition related questions PP (from this and earlier trivias). yes, sylhet would be assam and the "restauteurs" bit tempted me to think bangladesh but your question tempted readers to rule out bengal and pakistan. i thought of junagad but it did not match. it was a masterfully crafted question.

i just used web-wisdom. gandhi was opposed to the independence carving and spent aug 15, 1947 in kolkata, fasting and hoping for "sense" to prevail. mensa member BW, aka maami, is right!

India and South Korea became independent at the same time. During the 1950s South Korean engineers used to be sent to Jamshedpur for training (may be other places too in India). Look at the situation then, and look at the situation now - in terms of comparitive industrial development and economy of the two countries!

indophile wrote:India and South Korea became independent at the same time. During the 1950s South Korean engineers used to be sent to Jamshedpur for training (may be other places too in India). Look at the situation then, and look at the situation now - in terms of comparitive industrial development and economy of the two countries!

South Korea had the inherent advantage of a high degree of ethnolinguistic homogeneity in its population. For an incredibly diverse country like India, it is much harder to march along purposefully towards development as the Koreans did. On top of that, they adopted the right economic model (while their brothers to the north didn't, and now have a much worse economy than India does). Access to the US market, which the South Koreans got due to Cold War considerations, also helped, while India didn't have that mostly because of its own failure to pursue it.

Huzefa Kapasi wrote:wow. i am impressed with your partition related questions PP (from this and earlier trivias). yes, sylhet would be assam and the "restauteurs" bit tempted me to think bangladesh but your question tempted readers to rule out bengal and pakistan. i thought of junagad but it did not match. it was a masterfully crafted question.

i just used web-wisdom. gandhi was opposed to the independence carving and spent aug 15, 1947 in kolkata, fasting and hoping for "sense" to prevail. mensa member BW, aka maami, is right!

Thanks. Yes, Calcutta is the correct answer. As you said earlier, Gandhi was in Noakhali between November 1946 and March 1947. He left for Bihar because the Muslim League of Bengal wanted him to leave Noakhali: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noakhali_genocide#Gandhi_peace_mission. On Aug 15, 1947, Gandhi was camped in Calcutta, fasting to keep that city from going through the same carnage that Punjab was already engulfed in. He was largely successful at preventing a bloodbath in Calcutta, although it can be argued that he merely slowed down and postponed the bloodbath in Bengal: lakhs of people did perish between 1947 and 1972 in East Pakistan.

Not too long ago the shirts, briefs and banians, cheap winter outerwear, cheap toys, etc. all came from South Korea. Now those goods all come from China, and S. Korea graduated to cars, semiconductors, consumer electronics, and other high end big margin stuff.

Here are the answers:

1. August 15 is celebrated as a national holiday in three countries other than India. Name one of the three countries that share their Independence Day with India.

Answer: Korea (North Korea and South Korea), Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville or French Congo), Bahrain

2. The rest of the world knows this pastry by the name of a European country. But in that country (which is not Austria), the name for this pastry means “Viennese bread.” In 1850, bakery workers in this country went on a strike, and the country’s bakery owners had to hire foreign bakers to help out. Many of those bakers came from Vienna, and were unfamiliar with the recipes of their employers, so they made pastries from their native land. After the strike, bakery owners modified a popular Austrian recipe by adding more fat, and the result is the modern pastry. Name the pastry.

Answer: Danish

3. She was born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum, into a family of non-practicing Jews. She was among the first Russian women to attend university. After emigrating to America, she became famous by another name. Among her controversial positions were: support for abortion rights, opposition to the Vietnam war and the military draft, calling for a repeal of all laws against homosexuality (while calling it “immoral” and “disgusting”). At one point, she declared herself “the most creative thinker alive.” Her funeral was attended by Alan Greenspan, the longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve. What is her more famous name?

Answer: Ayn Rand. Her current fans, like Paul Ryan, do not subscribe to her atheism, support of abortion rights, or opposition to legal discrimination against gays.

4. The Prime Minister of India addresses the nation on August 15 from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Inside the fort, in its dIvAn-e-khAs – the Hall of Special Audience – this verse is engraved in the wall in gold letters: gar firdaus ba-rUh-e zamIn ast, hamin ast o hamin ast o hamin ast. What language is the verse in, and what does the verse mean?

Answer: The verse is in Farsi and it means: "if there is paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this!" The fort was built by Shah Jahan, and the verse is attributed to his father Jahangir who said it when he saw the Vale of Kashmir.

5. On Independence Day in 1947, Nehru did not address India from the Red Fort. He was instead in the Central Hall of Parliament House. Mohandas Gandhi was not with him on that momentous night. Where was Gandhi on August 15, 1947, and why?

Answer: Gandhi was in Calcutta fasting to prevent rioting between Hindus and Muslims. His efforts are credited with preventing in Bengal the sort of colossal bloodshed that accompanied Partition in the Punjab.

6. Clara Ma, a 15-year old from Lenexa, Kansas, won a national essay contest three years ago. While she “collected” her prize three years ago, her victory came to national prominence just recently. What did Clara win?

Answer: She won a competition to name the Mars rover Curiosity.

7. Nehru’s “Tryst with Destiny” speech on August 15, 1947 is considered one of the finest speeches ever. Nehru took inspiration from the title of another political speech: “A Rendezvous with Destiny.” Who was the politician who delivered that earlier speech?

Answer: Franklin Roosevelt made the speech titled "A Rendezvous with Destiny" at the Democratic National Convention in 1936 where he accepted the party's presidential nomination for his second term.

8. The Constitution of India requires Parliament to meet at least once every six months. It is now established practice for Parliament to meet for three sessions a year, with each session involving around 30 working days. What are the three sessions of Parliament called?

Answer: Budget session (Feb-May), monsoon session (Jul-Aug), winter session (Nov-Dec).

9. India’s Partition at independence was relatively straight-forward in the case of provinces other than Bengal and Punjab. While all other provinces chose which country to be part of through their elected legislatures (which were elected in 1946), Punjab and Bengal went through a more detailed – and traumatic – partition. However, one district of another province was also partitioned out and added to Pakistan, although the rest of the province is part of India now as a state. To complicate things further, one of the subdivisions of the district was left with that Indian state, with the rest of the district going to Pakistan. The people of that district have made a name for themselves as restaurateurs overseas. What is this district, and what state was it part of before Partition?

Answer: Sylhet district of the Assam province was split up, with most of it joining East Bengal to form East Pakistan, and one subdivision called Karimganj remaining part of Assam. Sylheti enterpreneurs own a large fraction of Indian restaurants in the UK and New York.

10. The Zero Hour is a time every day during a Parliament session when any member can raise any topic for discussion, provided (s)he has informed the Speaker of the topic at the beginning of the day’s session. The Zero Hour follows immediately after the Question Hour, when MPs ask questions of the government. At what time does Zero Hour usually begin?

Answer: Noon.

panini press wrote:

indophile wrote:India and South Korea became independent at the same time. During the 1950s South Korean engineers used to be sent to Jamshedpur for training (may be other places too in India). Look at the situation then, and look at the situation now - in terms of comparitive industrial development and economy of the two countries!

South Korea had the inherent advantage of a high degree of ethnolinguistic homogeneity in its population. For an incredibly diverse country like India, it is much harder to march along purposefully towards development as the Koreans did. On top of that, they adopted the right economic model (while their brothers to the north didn't, and now have a much worse economy than India does). Access to the US market, which the South Koreans got due to Cold War considerations, also helped, while India didn't have that mostly because of its own failure to pursue it.

korea got very generous help from USA due to the cold war. Its to their credit that they made the best of it.

Probably they also have very little corruption.

The scale and scope of corruption may not be the same as India but they have had their share of big cases with Daewoo, Hyundai and samsung.

artood2 wrote:The scale and scope of corruption may not be the same as India but they have had their share of big cases with Daewoo, Hyundai and samsung.

Indeed, the ex-Chairman of Samsung was convicted and sentenced to "suspended" jail time. He is back at the helm now after a brief hiatus.

Here is the schedule for trivia posting.

Aug 22: Indo
Aug 29: BW
Sep 5: PI
Sep 12: PP
Sep 19: Indo
Aug 26: BW
Oct 3: PI
Oct 10: PP

PI missed her spot last week and Indo covered for her. So PI, if you want to post this week, that should work as well.

panini press wrote:PI missed her spot last week and Indo covered for her. So PI, if you want to post this week, that should work as well.

Sorry was not prepared for this. It is a lil difficult to post today. Can I do it tomorrow?

That should work... unless Indo has some questions ready to post .