Are you preparing for UPSC CSE Prelims? UPSC Essentials brings to you its initiative of daily subject-wise quizzes. These quizzes are designed to help you revise some of the most important topics from the static part of the syllabus. Attempt today’s subject quiz on History and Culture to check your progress. Note: Today’s history and culture quiz is based on popular literary works related to India’s freedom struggle. The questions have been curated from two articles by Mohammad Asim Siddiqui, written for the UPSC Specials column in UPSC Essentials by The Indian Express. 🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for July 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com🚨 QUESTION 1 Consider the following statements: 1. Vande Mataram, India’s national song that was very popular during the freedom struggle, is from Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s Bengali novel Anandmath 2. The famous song “Vijayi Vishwa tiranga pyara/jhanda uncha rahe hamara”, often sung during important events, was written by Hasrat Mohani. Which of the above given statements is/are true? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Explanation Vande Mataram, India’s national song that was very popular during the freedom struggle, is from Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s Bengali novel Anandmath (1882). The famous song “Vijayi Vishwa tiranga pyara/jhanda uncha rahe hamara”, often sung during important events, was written by Hindi poet Shyamlal Gupta in 1924 and was later adopted by the Indian National Congress. Therefore, a is the correct answer. (For more, refer - Ye Jung hai Jung-e Azadi: lyrical echoes of India’s freedom struggle by Mohammad Asim Siddiqui, UPSC Specials, The Indian Express.) QUESTION 2 Which of the following literary works is a collection of poems inspired by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s Bardoli Satyagraha in Gujarat – the agitation against the excessive taxation imposed on farmers by the colonial government? (a) Poos ki Raat (b) Khooni Vaisakhi (c) Vijay Sandesh (d) Bharat Bharti Explanation Ramdhari Singh Dinkar (1908-1974), another important poet known for taking up the themes of nationalism and patriotism in his poetry, wrote Vijay Sandesh (1928), a collection of poems inspired by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s Bardoli Satyagraha in Gujarat – the agitation against the excessive taxation imposed on farmers by the colonial government. Therefore, c is the correct answer. (For more, refer - Ye Jung hai Jung-e Azadi: lyrical echoes of India’s freedom struggle by Mohammad Asim Siddiqui, UPSC Specials, The Indian Express.) QUESTION 3 Consider the following pairs: Literary Works : Author/Poet 1. Khooni Vaisakhi : Nanak Singh 2. In Gokhale’s Garden : Sarojini Naidu 3. To India- My Native Land : Henry Louis Vivian Derozio 4. Bharat Bharti : Maithilisharan Gupt Which of the above mentioned pairs are correctly matched? (a) 1, 2 and 3 only (b) 1, 2 and 4 only (c) 2, 3 and 4 only (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4 Explanation In Bharat Bharti (1912), a book of social awakening, Maithilisharan Gupt contrasts India’s greatness in education, art and civilisation in the past with the decline he perceived in his time. Henry Louis Vivian Derozio (1809-1831) clearly expressed his patriotism and love of freedom in his poetry. His famous poem “To India: My Native Land” mourns the loss of India’s ancient glory and laments its ‘chained’ state and misery under British rule. Sarojini Naidu described Gopal Krishna Gokhale as “steadfast, serene, dauntless, supremely wise” in her poem In Gokhale’s Garden. Nanak Singh (1897-1971), who participated in the protest against the Rowlett Act and miraculously survived the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, wrote a moving account of the tragedy in his long poem Khooni Vaisakhi: A Poem from the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre 1919. Therefore, d is the correct answer. (For more, refer - Ye Jung hai Jung-e Azadi: lyrical echoes of India’s freedom struggle by Mohammad Asim Siddiqui, UPSC Specials, The Indian Express.) QUESTION 4 Consider the following statements: 1. Ram Prasad Bismil , a freedom fighter and poet, wrote the ghazal “Sarfaroshi ki tamanna” in 1921 after the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy. 2. “Inquilab Zindabad”, the patriotic war cry of revolutionaries during the freedom movement, was coined by freedom fighter and Urdu poet Hasrat Mohani in 1921. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 Explanation Bismil Azimabadi, a freedom fighter and poet, wrote the ghazal “Sarfaroshi ki tamanna” in 1921 after the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy. This ghazal became very popular after Ram Prasad Bismil (1897-1927), a freedom fighter and one of the founders of Hindustan Socialist Republican Association, recited it while facing his execution in 1927 for the Kakori train robbery. Hence, statement 1 is not correct. Therefore, b is the correct answer. (For more, refer - Ye Jung hai Jung-e Azadi: lyrical echoes of India’s freedom struggle by Mohammad Asim Siddiqui, UPSC Specials, The Indian Express.) QUESTION 5 Naya Qanoon, 1919 ki ek Baat and Tamasha, exploring events of the freedom movement, were written by: (a) Saadat Hasan Manto (b) Premchand (c) Mulk Raj Anand (d) Khwaja Ahmad Abbas Explanation Among the stories exploring events of the freedom movement, Saadat Hasan Manto’s “Naya Qanoon”, “1919 ki ek Baat” and “Tamasha” stand out as iconic stories. “Naya Qanoon” indirectly refers to the Government of India Act 1935. “Tamasha” and “1919 ki ek Baat” were written against the backdrop of the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy. Therefore, a is the correct answer. (For more, refer: Stories of India’s freedom struggle through Tagore, Premchand and Manto by Mohammad Asim Siddiqui, UPSC Specials, The Indian Express.) QUESTION 6 Many of Premchand’s writings demonstrate his patriotism and anti-colonial stance. Which of the following literary works was not penned by him? (a) Soz-e Watan (b) Karmabhumi (c) Karbala (d) Kanthapura Explanation Raja Rao’s famous novel Kanthapura (1938) is as much known for his use of de-anglicised English as for his treatment of many Gandhian ideas in the novel. Therefore, d is the correct answer. (For more, refer: Stories of India’s freedom struggle through Tagore, Premchand and Manto by Mohammad Asim Siddiqui, UPSC Specials, The Indian Express.) QUESTION 7 Ghare Baire ( translated into English as Home and the World ), set against the backdrop of the Swadeshi movement in Bengal, is written by: (a) Chittaranjan Das (b) Sarat Chandra Chatterjee (c) Rabindranath Tagore (d) Bankim Chandra Chatterjee Explanation Rabindranath Tagore’s novel Ghare Baire (1916), translated into English as Home and the World, engages creatively with Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s Anandmath (1882). Tagore’s novel is critical of the western idea of nationalism, advanced by a character called Sandip. Set against the backdrop of the Swadeshi movement in Bengal, the novel presents a nuanced view of the movement through Nikhilesh’s and Sandip’s different perspectives. Therefore, c is the correct answer. (For more, refer: Stories of India’s freedom struggle through Tagore, Premchand and Manto by Mohammad Asim Siddiqui, UPSC Specials, The Indian Express.) QUESTION 8 Which of the following literary works, written in the context of Gandhiji’s Satyagraha and Dandi March, shows the impact of the movement on a village and the enthusiasm of ordinary villagers in welcoming the Satyagrahis and supporting their cause? (a) Nil Darpan (b) Dasher Katha (c) Bharat Bharti (d) Samar Yatra Explanation Premchand’s story “Samar Yatra”, written in the context of Gandhiji’s Satyagraha and Dandi March, shows the impact of the movement on a village and the enthusiasm of ordinary villagers to welcome the Satyagrahis and their cause. The story also presents an old and ailing woman, Nohari, who welcomes the freedom fighters, overcoming her physical limitations. Therefore, d is the correct answer. (For more, refer: Stories of India’s freedom struggle through Tagore, Premchand and Manto by Mohammad Asim Siddiqui, UPSC Specials, The Indian Express.) Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.
