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History of India

Try to answer these questions about the history of India.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: July 27, 2017
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First submittedJuly 17, 2017
Times taken16,352
Average score76.2%
Rating4.53
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Question
Answer
What was the former name of Mumbai?
Bombay
What disputed region have China, India, and Pakistan battled to control?
Kashmir
What was Gandhi’s first name?
Mohandas
What honorific, meaning “great soul”, do many people know Gandhi by?
Mahātmā
What culinary product did Gandhi march to the sea to obtain?
Salt
What country ruled the Indian subcontinent from 1858 to 1947?
United Kingdom
What country controlled the state of Goa until India invaded and reconquered it in 1961?
Portugal
What river is considered to be the “cradle of civilization” on the Indian subcontinent?
Indus
The oldest scriptures in Hinduism are known as the Vedas.
What language are they written in?
Vedic Sanskrit
What Greek conqueror invaded India?
Alexander the Great
What empire controlled most of India from the 1500s to 1800s?
Mughal Empire
What famous mausoleum was built in Agra to house the tomb of Shah Jahan’s wife?
Taj Mahal
What worldwide religion follows the teachings of Siddhārtha Gautama?
Buddhism
What religion, started around 500 BC, practices non-violence against all people and animals?
Jainism
Who was the first, and only, female Prime Minister of India?
Indira Gandhi
Who was the first Prime Minister of India? (Hint: His jackets were iconic)
Jawaharlal Nehru
What popular board game is thought to have originated in India before 600 AD?
Chess
Who was the first person to sail from Europe to India?
Vasco da Gama
What nomadic European ethnic group originally came from India?
The Romani
What empire, led by Ashoka, controlled nearly the entire subcontinent in the 200s BC?
Maurya Empire
What Catholic nun gained international renown for her charity work in Calcutta?
Mother Teresa
+2
Level 95
Jul 17, 2017
May I suggest changing the third question to read something different? Perhaps what was the first name of the Indian religious leader known popularly as "Gandhi?"

As you show in a later question, there's another very famous Indian Gandhi.

+7
Level 77
Jul 17, 2017
Everybody knows which Gandhi the quiz is asking about.
+2
Level 75
Jan 5, 2018
Yes, even everyone in India could probably guess it, but Indira, Sanjay, Rajiv, Sonia, and Rahul were/are pretty big deals. It's particularly obvious if you don't know about these people.
+1
Level 90
Jul 20, 2017
Besides, if you answer the other one, it fills in that answer later on in the quiz.
+1
Level 66
Jul 26, 2017
M Gandhi was not a religious leader.
+2
Level 69
Nov 14, 2018
He kind of was in a sort of way. He tried to help unite the Hindus in India and the Muslims in Pakistan.
+1
Level 49
Jan 13, 2023
But that not what a religious leader is. A religious leader makes significant contribution to the dogma of the religion, which he didn't necessarily do.
+2
Level 73
Jul 22, 2017
why isn;t moghul acceptable?
+1
Level 9
Jan 6, 2018
i got all of them right. the quiz was pretty simple.
+1
Level 51
Sep 13, 2018
Wasn't Alexander Macedonian?
+5
Level 76
Sep 15, 2019
He was, but Macedon is different to the modern state of (North) Macedonia. At the time, Macedon was considered to be a bit of an uncivilised state, but at the end of the day, they spoke a Greek dialect and followed Greek customs, so most modern historians (as well as most Macedonians at the time) considered themselves to be Greek.
+3
Level 21
Feb 20, 2020
India is clearly the best.
+3
Level 71
Jul 21, 2020
I think Sindhu should be accepted for Indus?
+2
Level 57
Feb 9, 2021
Maybe specify which Gandhi?

There's Mohandas, Indira, Rajiv, Rahul, Sonia, etc.

+1
Level 79
Feb 19, 2021
I just missed Maurya Empire!
+1
Level 67
Feb 21, 2021
St. Teresa of Calcutta should be acceptable.
+4
Level 80
Jun 2, 2022
Maurya? Well that’s A-shoka...
+1
Level 81
Jan 19, 2023
Could "GB" be accepted as a type-in for Great Britain?
+1
Level 60
Oct 26, 2023
Portugal is the one who invaded and conquered Goa, not India. India liberated Goa from the Portuguese rule. *sigh*