Quiz – Week Ten

Question 1

In 2009 Muntazer al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist wrote, ‘When I threw the shoe in the face of the criminal __________, I wanted to express my rejection of his lies, his occupation of my country, my rejection of his killing my people. My rejection of his plundering the wealth of my country, and destroying its infrastructure…’ Who did al-Zaidi throw his shoe at? He was imprisoned for nearly a year for his act.

Question 2

In the 17th century, Gobindpur, Sutanati, and ______ were villages incorporated to form which city?. This city was the capital of British India from 1772 to 1911.

Question 3

In Karachi, Pakistan, roads named after Motilal Nehru and Jawaharlal Nehru have since been renamed. However, one road continues to be named after a member of their family. She made her own contributions to the struggle for Independence, but in 1936, her life was cut short due to illness. Who am I referring to?

Question 4

In the history of hosting the Men’s Football World Cup since 1930, what distinction do Japan, South Korea (2002), and South Africa (2010) share?

Question 5

This social practice was first outlawed in 1829. Yet, its last reported occurrence is as recent as 1987, when a young widow, Roop Kanwar died in Rajasthan. What am I referring to?

Question 6

This word emerged in the United States in the late 19th century, and gained wider prominence in the 1920s, after Prohibition was declared. Its origins quite literally stem from how alcohol was sold, and transported, where bottles of liquor would be hidden in footwear. Today, this word is largely used to describe the movement of any contraband. Which word?

Question 7

In 1967, a woman named Svetlana Alliluyeva defected from the USSR to the US, in India of all places. This remains, perhaps the most high profile defection of the Cold War-era, because of whose daughter she was. Why did Alliluyeva’s defection catch everyone offguard?

Question 8

Angie Brooks of Liberia (1969), Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain (2006) and Maria Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador (2018) are three of four women to be elected the President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in its seven decade long history. Who was not just the first Indian, but the first woman to be elected in 1953? She has also served as India’s Ambassador to the USSR and the United States.

Question 9

In 2019, PepsiCo took farmers in Gujarat to Court on charges of infringing on their intellectual property. It sued each farmer for INR 1 crore over the cultivation of a vegetable used in one of its most famous products. The case was later withdrawn after mediation by the government and public backlash. What is the vegetable and the product?

Question 10

Adapted for the screen by Pandit Narendra Sharma and Rahi Masoom Raza, which TV Series from 1988, was shown on TV in India, earlier this year?

Answers

1. George W Bush. In 2009, al-Zaidi wrote an article titled – Why I threw the shoe, which can be accessed – here.
2. Kolkata (Calcutta). Kalikata was the third village. Writing Kalikata in the question would have given the answer away!
3. Kamala Nehru.
4. First countries to host the World Cup in their respective continents. Japan and South Korea became the first Asian hosts in 2002, while South Africa was the first African country to host the Men’s Football World Cup in 2010.
5. Sati. One can read about Roop Kanwar – here.
6. Bootlegging. One can read about the history of bootlegging – here.
7. Svetlana Alliluyeva was Joseph Stalin’s daughter, and lived in the US till her death in 2011. She briefly visited the USSR in 1984, and lived there for a while, only to return to the US. On a visit to India in 1966, she drove from the Soviet Embassy to the US Embassy and made her intent clear.
8. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit. This interview sheds some light on her time as President of the UNGA and her life as one of India’s most influential women in the 20th century.
9. Potatoes and Lay’s Chips.
10. BR Chopra’s Mahabharat.