Famous Personalities — Set 10

Correct Answer: B. Sardar Patel University, Anand

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University in Vallabh Vidyanagar (near Anand), also known as SPUVVN, was founded in 1955 as one of Gujarat's premier universities named after Sardar Patel. Vallabh Vidyanagar itself was conceived by Bhailalbhai D. Patel (Bhaikaka), a freedom fighter and social worker, as a planned university town in the early years of independence. The town and university complex represent Gujarat's commitment to rural higher education and the cooperative spirit exemplified by the nearby Anand cooperative movement.

Correct Answer: B. Sudama Charitra

Narsinh Mehta (c. 1414-1481), considered the first great poet of Gujarati literature (Adi Kavi), wrote several celebrated compositions including 'Sudama Charitra', 'Govinda Gamala', 'Hundi', and the famous 'Vaishnav Jan To'. His 'Shringaramala' was a collection of devotional love lyrics to Krishna. Narsinh Mehta's compositions blend devotion, mysticism, and social criticism and are still sung across Gujarat and beyond. The musical tradition of Gujarati Bhakti poetry begins with him.

Correct Answer: B. 386 km

The Dandi March covered a distance of approximately 386 km (240 miles) from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi village in Navsari district on the Gujarat coast, taking 24 days (March 12 to April 5, 1930). Gandhi was accompanied by 78 chosen disciples and the march grew larger as thousands of supporters joined or lined the route. The Salt Satyagraha is considered the most significant organized act of civil disobedience in Indian history and led directly to the Round Table Conference negotiations.

Correct Answer: A. Mafatlal Group — a major textile and chemical company from Gujarat

The Mafatlal Group, founded by Nanji Kalidas Mehta (Nanjibhai Mafatlal, 1886-1948) in Gujarat, became one of India's major textile conglomerates with mills in Ahmedabad, Nadiad, and Mumbai. Nanjibhai Mafatlal was a pioneering industrialist who also engaged in philanthropy, education, and social welfare. The Mafatlal family's textile legacy represents Gujarat's historical dominance in India's cotton textile industry, which was centered in Ahmedabad (known as the 'Manchester of India').

Correct Answer: D. All of the above are celebrated Gujarati folk heroines

Gujarat's folk literature is rich with heroic women figures. Ranakdevi was a historical queen of Saurashtra who chose death over surrender to the Sultan of Patan. Jasma Odan was a historical washerwoman who sacrificed her life rather than submit to a powerful king's advances. Sorath and her lover Mahipatram (popularized in the folk ballad 'Lorak and Chanda') are tragic romantic figures. These stories, preserved in Bhavai theatre, ballads, and oral traditions, embody the values of dignity, courage, and sacrifice that Gujarat's folk culture celebrates.

Correct Answer: B. Preservation and promotion of Garba dance tradition

The Garba tradition of Gujarat, associated primarily with the nine nights of Navratri celebrated in honor of Goddess Amba (Durga), has been preserved and promoted by numerous artists, organizations, and cultural bodies across Gujarat. The Garba dance, performed in circles around a central deity, has been recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2023). Ahmedabad's Garba celebrations are among the world's largest organized dance events, with lakhs participating nightly during Navratri.

Correct Answer: B. Barrister (Law) — practiced law in South Africa and India

Mahatma Gandhi studied law at the Inner Temple in London and was called to the bar in 1891 as a barrister. He initially practiced law in Rajkot, Gujarat, with limited success before moving to South Africa in 1893 to work as a lawyer for an Indian merchant firm. In South Africa, Gandhi developed his Satyagraha philosophy while fighting discrimination against Indians, transforming from a lawyer into the political and spiritual leader who would lead India's independence movement.

Correct Answer: C. 562

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, as India's first Home Minister (1947-1950), succeeded in integrating 562 princely states into the Indian Union through a combination of persuasion, negotiation, and occasional use of military force (as in the cases of Hyderabad and Junagadh). This monumental achievement, which unified a subcontinent that had never been politically unified under a single democratic government, earned Patel the title 'Iron Man of India'. The process was largely completed by 1950 when the Constitution of India came into force.

Correct Answer: D. All three had Gujarat connections

Dadabhai Naoroji (1825-1917), born in Mumbai to a Parsi family from Gujarat, was the 'Grand Old Man of India' and the first Asian elected to the British Parliament (1892). Pherozeshah Mehta (1845-1915) was a Parsi lawyer and co-founder of the Indian National Congress, also from Mumbai's Parsi Gujarati community. Though Gandhi only returned to India in 1915, both Dadabhai Naoroji and Pherozeshah Mehta — with their Parsi-Gujarati heritage — were foundational figures of the Indian National Congress.

Correct Answer: C. Jamsetji Tata

Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (1839-1904), born in Navsari, Gujarat, is widely regarded as the 'Father of Indian Industry' for establishing India's first integrated steel plant (Tata Steel in Jamshedpur), the Empress Mills in Nagpur (the first modern cotton mill in India with power looms and cotton gins), and the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai — all revolutionary enterprises for colonial India. His vision for a scientific and industrial India also gave birth to the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. Jamsetji Tata's legacy, carried forward by the Tata Group, has made it India's most respected conglomerate.