First in India (Men) — Set 5

Correct Answer: B. Lal Bahadur Shastri

• **Lal Bahadur Shastri** = He was the first person to be awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously. • **1966** — He was awarded the Bharat Ratna after his death in 1966. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Jawaharlal Nehru: received the Bharat Ratna in 1955 while alive; B.R. Ambedkar: received the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1990, but later than Shastri; Sardar Patel: received the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1991, but later than Shastri.

Correct Answer: B. Avtar Singh Cheema

• **Avtar Singh Cheema** = He was the first Indian to reach the summit of Mount Everest. • **1965** — He was the first Indian man to reach the summit in 1965. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Tenzing Norgay: summited in 1953, but was part of a British expedition and obtained Indian nationality later; Nawang Gombu: summited in 1965, but was the second Indian to do so; H.P.S. Ahluwalia: also summited in 1965, part of the same expedition, but not the first Indian to reach the top.

Correct Answer: A. Gobind Behari Lal

• **Gobind Behari Lal** = He was the first Indian to win the Pulitzer Prize. • **1937** — He won the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism in 1937. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Jhumpa Lahiri: won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2000, but not the first Indian; Geeta Anand: won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting in 2003, but not the first Indian; Siddhartha Mukherjee: won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 2011, but not the first Indian.

Correct Answer: A. Satyendra Prasanna Sinha

• **Satyendra Prasanna Sinha** = He was the first Indian to become a member of the Viceroy's Executive Council. • **1909** — He was appointed as the Law Member in 1909. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: C.P. Ramaswami Iyer: served on the Council, but not the first Indian member; Tej Bahadur Sapru: a prominent lawyer and politician who served on the Council, but not the first Indian member; Syed Ameer Ali: an eminent jurist and first Indian Privy Councillor, but not the first member of the Viceroy's Executive Council.

Correct Answer: B. V.S. Naipaul

• **V.S. Naipaul** = He was the first Indian (of Indian descent) to win the Booker Prize. • **1971** — He won the Booker Prize in 1971 for his book 'In a Free State'. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Arundhati Roy: the first Indian citizen to win the Booker Prize (in 1997), but later than Naipaul; Salman Rushdie: won the Booker Prize (in 1981), but later than Naipaul; Kiran Desai: won the Booker Prize (in 2006), but later than Naipaul.

Correct Answer: B. Subroto Mukerjee

• **Subroto Mukerjee** = He was the first Indian Chief of Air Staff. • **1954** — He assumed the role, becoming the first Indian to lead the Indian Air Force. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Sir Thomas Elmhirst: He was the last British Chief of the Air Staff, preceding Mukerjee; A.M. Engineer: He was a later Chief of Air Staff, serving after Mukerjee; Arjan Singh: He was a Marshal of the Air Force and a later Chief of Air Staff, renowned for his leadership during the 1965 war.

Correct Answer: B. Wilson Jones

• **Wilson Jones** = He was the first Indian to win the World Amateur Billiards Championship. • **1958** — He secured the world title, marking India's first world championship in any sport. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Michael Ferreira: He was a world champion in snooker and billiards later; Geet Sethi: He is a multiple world champion in billiards but came after Jones; Pankaj Advani: He is a highly decorated world champion in billiards and snooker but came much later.

Correct Answer: A. B.N. Rau

• **B.N. Rau** = He was the first Indian to serve as a Judge of the International Court of Justice. • **1952** — He began his term at the ICJ, serving until 1953, and was also a key architect of the Indian Constitution. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Nagendra Singh: He also served as an ICJ judge and later as its President, but after B.N. Rau; Dalveer Bhandari: He is a current ICJ judge, appointed much later; R.S. Pathak: He also served as an ICJ judge, but after B.N. Rau.

Correct Answer: B. Vijender Singh

• **Vijender Singh** = He was the first Indian to win an Olympic medal in boxing. • **2008 Beijing Olympics** — He secured a bronze medal in the Middleweight category, marking India's first-ever Olympic boxing medal. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Mary Kom: She won a bronze medal in boxing at the 2012 London Olympics, but after Vijender Singh; Amit Panghal: He is an accomplished boxer but is yet to win an Olympic medal; Akhil Kumar: He is a prominent boxer known for his unique style but did not win an Olympic medal.

Correct Answer: B. C.V. Raman

• **C.V. Raman** = He was the first Indian to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics. • **1930** — He won the Nobel Prize for his groundbreaking work on the scattering of light, known as the 'Raman Effect'. • 💡 Wrong-option analysis: Homi Bhabha: He was a renowned nuclear physicist, considered the father of India's nuclear program, but did not win a Nobel Prize; S. Chandrasekhar: He was an Indian-American astrophysicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1983, much after C.V. Raman; Vikram Sarabhai: He was a physicist and astronomer, considered the father of the Indian space program, but did not win a Nobel Prize.