AFCAT General Awareness — practice by topic

Answer: C. Garba dance was the latest UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage inclusion from India. UNESCO inscribed Garba of Gujarat to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2023, making it India's 15th element on the list. Distractors fail by chronology: (A) Chhau dance of eastern India was inscribed in 2010. (B) Durga Puja in Kolkata was inscribed in 2021. (D) Kumbh Mela was inscribed in 2017. Garba (2023) is the most recent addition to the list, hence C. Source: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists + Ministry of Culture announcements.

Answer: D. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar authored 'The India Way' and 'Why Bharat Matters'. Dr. S. Jaishankar, India's External Affairs Minister since 2019, is the author of: - 'The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World' (2020): outlines India's foreign policy approach amid global geopolitical churn. - 'Why Bharat Matters' (2024): explores India's emerging strategic profile and its role in a multipolar world order. Jaishankar is a career diplomat (Foreign Secretary 2015-2018) before joining the Cabinet. Distractors fail: (A) Bhupender Yadav is Environment Minister and has authored 'The Rise of the BJP'. (B) Nalin Mehta is a journalist who wrote 'The New BJP'. (C) Shashi Tharoor is a Congress MP and prolific author (Inglorious Empire, etc.) but not these two specific titles. Source: Publisher catalogues (HarperCollins / Rupa Publications).

Answer: D. HALBI, HO, and KUI are TRIBAL LANGUAGES of India. These are LANGUAGES SPOKEN BY SCHEDULED TRIBE COMMUNITIES in central and eastern India. (1) HALBI (also spelt Halabi, Halbic): an INDO-ARYAN LANGUAGE spoken by the HALBA / HALBI TRIBAL COMMUNITIES primarily in BASTAR REGION OF CHHATTISGARH, parts of Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. It acts as a LINGUA FRANCA in the Bastar region across tribal communities. About 600,000+ speakers (Census 2011). (2) HO: a MUNDA (Austro-Asiatic) LANGUAGE spoken by the HO TRIBE in JHARKHAND (Singhbhum), Odisha (Mayurbhanj), West Bengal, Assam, and Chhattisgarh. About 1.4 million speakers. Written in WARANG CHITI script, developed by Lako Bodra in the 20th century. The HO TRIBE is one of the major scheduled tribes of Jharkhand-Odisha. Ho is closely related to Mundari and Santali. (3) KUI: a DRAVIDIAN LANGUAGE spoken by the KANDH (also called Kondh or Khond) TRIBES of ODISHA (Kandhamal, Kalahandi, Rayagada, Koraput), with smaller speaker populations in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. About 940,000 speakers. The Kui-speaking Kandhs are notable for their cultural distinctiveness and historical significance. Together these illustrate India's TRIBAL LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY — Halbi (Indo-Aryan), Ho (Austro-Asiatic / Munda), Kui (Dravidian) — three different LANGUAGE FAMILIES spoken by tribal communities. Why other options are WRONG: (A) Dance forms of NW India — Bhangra, Giddha, Ghoomar, Kalbelia. Not these names. (B) Musical instruments — sitar, sarod, sarangi, dholak, mridangam, tabla. Not these names. (C) Pre-historic cave paintings — Bhimbetka, Edakkal, Jogimara. Not these names. Source: Census of India 2011 Language Tables / syllabus Themes in Indian History / Ministry of Tribal Affairs database.