Famous Personalities — Set 7
Haryana GK · प्रसिद्ध व्यक्तित्व · Questions 61–70 of 100
Ravi Kant Sharma, who won gold in boxing at the Commonwealth Games, is from which Haryana boxing hub?
Correct Answer: B. Bhiwani Boxing Club
Bhiwani Boxing Club has been the cradle of Indian amateur boxing, earning the town the nickname 'Mini Cuba'. It has produced Olympic and Commonwealth Games medalists including Vijender Singh, Akhil Kumar, Jitender Kumar, and others. The Bhiwani Boxing Club (Bhiwani Boxing Association) started as a modest club and became a national institution. Haryana's boxing culture in Bhiwani-Jhajjar-Rohtak belt has made it the boxing capital of India.
Bhura Lal Balmiki, a Haryana-based folk singer and poet, is associated with which literary form?
Correct Answer: B. Ragini (Haryanvi folk songs)
Ragini is the primary folk song tradition of Haryana, typically performed in competitive singing contests called 'Ragini Muqabala'. Folk singers from all communities including Balmiki, Jat, Ahir, and others participate in Ragini competitions. Ragini songs address themes of love, social issues, heroic tales, and mythological stories. Haryana Sangeet Natak Akademi (HSNA) promotes and preserves the Ragini tradition through festivals and awards.
The 1857 freedom fighter Ram Prasad Bismil was born in which state/region?
Correct Answer: B. Uttar Pradesh (Shahjahanpur)
Ram Prasad Bismil was born in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, not Haryana. He was a revolutionary freedom fighter and poet who organized the Kakori Train Robbery (1925). This question tests awareness of freedom fighter origins to distinguish Haryana's actual freedom fighters like Rao Tula Ram from those of other states. Haryana's own 1857 heroes include Rao Tula Ram (Rewari), Shah Mall (Baghpat area border), and local chieftains who resisted British rule.
Which Haryana-based Sufi saint's dargah is located in Panipat and is revered by both Hindus and Muslims?
Correct Answer: B. Bu Ali Shah Qalandar
Bu Ali Shah Qalandar's dargah is located in Panipat, Haryana. He was a famous 13th-century Sufi saint of the Qadiriyya order. His full name was Ali Ahmad Sabir and he is venerated by both Hindus and Muslims. The annual urs at his dargah attracts thousands of devotees. He is considered one of the important Sufi figures connected to the Delhi Sultanate period in Haryana's history.
Sheikh Chilli, after whom a famous mausoleum in Kurukshetra is named, is said to have been the tutor of which Mughal prince?
Correct Answer: B. Dara Shikoh
Sheikh Chilli (Sheikh Abdul Qadir Muhammad Hussain Ansari) is believed to have been the tutor or spiritual teacher of Mughal prince Dara Shikoh, Emperor Shah Jahan's eldest son. His mausoleum (tomb) in Thanesar, Kurukshetra district, Haryana is an important heritage monument. The mausoleum was built by Dara Shikoh. 'Sheikh Chilli' has also become a proverbial figure in Urdu/Hindi for a daydreamer, though this is folk etymology.
Which Haryana-born woman politician has served as a Union Cabinet Minister in the Modi government?
Correct Answer: D. Selja Kumari (Kumari Selja)
Kumari Selja (Sellja Kumari) is a Congress leader from Ambala, Haryana. She served as Union Cabinet Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Overseas Indian Affairs in the UPA government. She is from the scheduled caste community and has been an MP from Ambala and Sirsa constituencies. She served as President of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee. She has been one of Haryana's prominent female politicians at the national level.
Ajay Jadeja, the former Indian cricketer, is from which region but had cricket connections to Haryana?
Correct Answer: B. Rajkot, Gujarat (Nawab of Janjira family)
Ajay Jadeja is from Rajkot, Gujarat and represents the Jadejas of Nawanagar (cricketing family that produced Ranjitsinhji). He played for Haryana in domestic Ranji Trophy cricket and later for Delhi. His domestic cricket association with Haryana made him well-known in Haryana sports circles. He represented India in ODIs and was known for aggressive batting. He faced match-fixing allegations in 2000 but was later cleared.
The 'Dronacharya Award' for sports coaches is named after which mythological teacher. Which Haryana coach is a Dronacharya awardee?
Correct Answer: A. O.P. Bhardwaj (boxing coach, Bhiwani)
O.P. Bhardwaj, the boxing coach from Bhiwani, is a Dronacharya Award winner who trained several national and international boxing champions from Haryana. The Dronacharya Award is India's highest coaching honor, named after the legendary teacher Dronacharya from Mahabharata. Bhiwani's boxing success is largely attributed to dedicated coaches like Bhardwaj. Haryana has also produced Dronacharya awardees in wrestling (Satpal Singh, Mahabali Satpal's wrestling lineage).
Kumkum Bhatia (Karisma Kapoor's early acting coach) — this is a distractor. Which Haryana-born actress worked in 1970s Bollywood?
Correct Answer: B. Padma Khanna (born in undivided Punjab/Haryana region)
Padma Khanna, the Bollywood actress famous for her cabaret roles in 1970s Hindi films, was born in the undivided Punjab region (parts of which are now Haryana). Haryana and Punjab share a common cultural heritage from the pre-1966 era. Several Bollywood personalities of the 1960s-70s have roots in the greater Punjab-Haryana region. Modern Haryana-origin actresses include Parineeti Chopra (Ambala) and several others who have made their mark in contemporary cinema.
The Mahabharata battlefield of Kurukshetra has inspired which literary tradition prominent in Haryana?
Correct Answer: D. Both B and C — Mahabharata themes in Alha and Saang
Haryana's folk arts are deeply inspired by the Mahabharata, given Kurukshetra's central place in the epic. Alha-Udal heroic ballads reference Mahabharata-style martial traditions. Saang/Swang folk theater extensively uses Mahabharata stories, characters like Krishna, Karna, and Arjuna. Ragini songs also reference Kurukshetra and Mahabharata themes. The International Geeta Mahotsav held annually in Kurukshetra celebrates the Mahabharata's Bhagavad Gita connection.