Latest GK History Questions for Competitive Exams

Hickey's Bengal Gazette was a weekly English newspaper published from Calcutta, India by the Irishman James Augustus Hickey. 

It was the first newspaper of the sub-continent and was started in 1780. 

It was an inspiration for the Indians to launch a newspaper of their own.

In late 1299, Duwa, the ruler of the Mongol Chagatai Khanate, dispatched his son Qutlugh Khwaja to conquer Delhi.

Vajrayana (Sanskrit: “Diamond Vehicle” or “Thunderbolt Vehicle”) or Mantrayana (Sanskrit: “Path of the Sacred Formulas”), also known as Tantric Buddhism, first emerged in various parts of India and Sri Lanka.

The Cripps Mission was an attempt in late March 1942 by the British Government to secure full Indian co-operation and support for their efforts in World War II.

To encourage widow marriage Mahadev Govind Ranade founded the Widow Marriage Association/Mandal in Mumbai in 1861.

The partition of Bengal was revoked in 1911. A new scheme of partition of Bengal was implemented on linguistic rather than religious grounds.

Usha Mehta (25 March 1920 – 11 August 2000) was a Gandhian and freedom fighter of India. She is also remembered for organizing the Congress Radio, also called the Secret Congress Radio, an underground radio station, which functioned for few months during the Quit India Movement of 1942.

1. Ajatshatru (c. 493/492 BCE - c. 462/460 BCE) was the second important king of the Haryanka Dynasty, who came to the throne of Magadha by deposing and executing his own father Bimbisara. 

2. The Haryana Dynasty (c. 545/544 BCE - c. 413 BCE) came into prominence during the rule of Bimbisara (r. 545/544 BCE - 493/492 BCE), who extended the kingdom through conquests and marriage alliances. 

3. The Magadha Kingdom started its expansion from the time of Bimbisara, but Ajatashatru annexed several important and powerful kingdoms in its vicinity – Kosala and Kashi, and then Vrijji and his empire roughly covered the present-day Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh (some minor parts), West Bengal (some major parts), Odisha (some parts) and also some parts of the neighbour countries of Bangladesh and Nepal. 

4. Ajatashatru, also known as Kunika, grew up in Rajagriha under the able guidance of his father.

The Satvahana Empire or Andhra Empire was a royal Indian dynasty based on Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar (Pune) and Prathisthan (Paithan) in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward. The Satavahanas were also the first rulers to make land grants to Brahmanas, although we find more instances of such grants being made to Buddhist monks. The Satavahanas adopted a policy of promoting administrative and financial independence.

1. Rabindranath Tagore wrote "Amar Sonar Bangla" to inspire the liberation struggle. 

2. The song was written in 1905 during the first partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon. 

3. This song was meant to rekindle the unified spirit of Bengal, to raise public consciousness against the communal political divide. 4. The first ten lines of this song constitute Bangladesh's national anthem, adopted in 1971 during its liberation war. 

5. Rabindranath Tagore was a Nobel laureate for literature and wrote the words and music to India‘s national anthem.