Famous Personalities — Set 6
Gujarat GK · प्रसिद्ध व्यक्तित्व · Questions 51–60 of 100
Muzaffar Ahmad, the co-founder of the Communist Party of India, belonged to which state?
Correct Answer: A. Bengal
Muzaffar Ahmad was from Bengal, not Gujarat. However, Shripad Amrit Dange, one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India (CPI), had significant connections to Gujarat's working-class movements and was a key figure in the Ahmedabad mill workers' rights movement. Gujarat's trade union history is deeply connected to leaders like Anasuya Sarabhai and Mahatma Gandhi, who helped establish the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (TLA) in 1917.
Anasuya Sarabhai (Motaben) was a pioneer in which field in Gujarat?
Correct Answer: C. Labour rights and trade union movement
Anasuya Sarabhai (1885-1972), affectionately called 'Motaben' (elder sister), was a pioneer of the labour rights movement in Gujarat and one of India's first women trade union leaders. She worked closely with Mahatma Gandhi to establish the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (TLA) in 1917, fighting for the rights of textile mill workers in Ahmedabad. Anasuya Sarabhai's negotiation during the 1918 Ahmedabad Mill Strike, supported by Gandhi's hunger strike, won workers a 35% wage increase and is considered a landmark in Indian labour history.
Pramukh Swami Maharaj was the spiritual head of which organization based in Gujarat?
Correct Answer: B. Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha (BAPS)
Pramukh Swami Maharaj (1921-2016) was the fifth spiritual successor and head of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha (BAPS), the Swaminarayan sect of Hinduism headquartered in Sarangpur, Gujarat. He was responsible for building Akshardham temples in Gandhinagar (Gujarat) and Delhi, which are among India's most visited monuments. Pramukh Swami Maharaj is credited with inspiring millions worldwide and guiding humanitarian, cultural, and spiritual activities in over 170 countries.
The Swaminarayan Sampraday was founded by Sahajanand Swami (Lord Swaminarayan). He was born in which state?
Correct Answer: B. Uttar Pradesh
Sahajanand Swami, revered as Lord Swaminarayan by followers, was born on April 3, 1781, in Chhapaiya village in Gonda district, Uttar Pradesh. He came to Gujarat at age 21, established his headquarters at Ahmedabad, and founded the Swaminarayan Sampraday. Gujarat became the home and center of his spiritual activities, and the two major temples he established at Ahmedabad (1822) and Vadtal (1824) remain the central seats of the original Swaminarayan sect.
Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa to India in which year and settled in Gujarat?
Correct Answer: B. 1915
Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in January 1915 after 21 years, at the invitation of Gopal Krishna Gokhale. He initially founded the Satyagraha Ashram near Ahmedabad in 1915 (moved to its present Sabarmati location in 1917), establishing his base in Gujarat. Gandhi first conducted his experiments with Satyagraha in India in Champaran (Bihar, 1917), Kheda (Gujarat, 1918), and Ahmedabad (textile workers' strike, 1918) before leading nationwide movements.
Dalsukh Malvania was a renowned scholar of which ancient religious tradition from Gujarat?
Correct Answer: B. Jain philosophy and agamic literature
Dalsukh Malvania (1910-2000) was one of India's foremost scholars of Jain philosophy and agamic (Jain canonical) literature, based at the L.D. Institute of Indology in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He devoted his life to editing, translating, and interpreting ancient Jain texts and manuscripts, making invaluable contributions to the understanding of Jain philosophy and logic. Gujarat, being the heartland of Jainism with major pilgrimage sites like Palitana and Girnar, has produced many great Jain scholars.
Chunilal Mehta, a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, helped establish which institution in Ahmedabad?
Correct Answer: A. Gujarat Vidyapith
Gujarat Vidyapith was established by Mahatma Gandhi on October 18, 1920, in Ahmedabad, as a nationalist university to provide education on Indian cultural values outside the British system. Key associates like Kakasaheb Kalelkar, Mahadev Desai, and supporters from Gujarat's business community helped establish and sustain this institution. Gujarat Vidyapith is now a Deemed University and is known for its Gandhian values in education, offering courses in language, commerce, education, and journalism.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar received financial support for his education from the Maharaja of which Gujarat princely state?
Correct Answer: B. Baroda (Vadodara)
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar received a scholarship from Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda State to study at Columbia University in New York (1913-1916) and later the London School of Economics. Baroda's progressive Maharaja was one of the few Indian rulers who supported the education of Dalits, seeing merit in Ambedkar's extraordinary intellectual abilities. After his education, Ambedkar served briefly in the Baroda State Service before moving to Mumbai to begin his legal and activist career.
Gijubhai Badheka was a pioneer in which field in Gujarat?
Correct Answer: B. Child education and child psychology
Gijubhai Badheka (1885-1939) was a pioneer of child education and child psychology in Gujarat, known as 'Mucchhala Montessori' (Montessori with a moustache) for his revolutionary approach to children's education inspired by Maria Montessori's methods. He founded the Bal Mandir school in Bhavnagar in 1920 and wrote extensively on child education, storytelling, and teaching methods. His book 'Divaswapna' (Day Dream) is a classic of Gujarati educational literature describing an inspiring teacher-student relationship.
Ramanujacharya's Vishishtadvaita philosophy was promoted in Gujarat by which saint?
Correct Answer: B. Vallabhacharya
Vallabhacharya (1479-1531) was a Vaishnava philosopher and saint who founded the Pushtimarg (Path of Grace) sect of devotional Hinduism, with Vrindavan and Gujarat as important centers. His philosophy of Shuddhadvaita (Pure Nondualism) emphasized devotion to Krishna and the Pushtimarg became very popular in Gujarat. The Vallabh Sampraday's seven major pilgrimage seats (Srinathji at Nathdwara being primary) remain important centers of Vaishnavism in India.