CHAPTER 8: UNITY IN DIVERSITY, OR ‘MANY IN THE ONE’
1. What is the main theme of Chapter 8?
A. The growth of industries
B. Unity in diversity
C. The development of transport
D. The history of kingdoms
Answer: B. Unity in diversity
2. Which of the following is an example of India’s diversity?
A. Everyone follows the same customs
B. Everyone speaks one language
C. Different languages, foods, dresses and traditions
D. All regions have identical landscapes
Answer: C. Different languages, foods, dresses and traditions
3. Approximately what percentage of the world’s population lives in India, according to the chapter?
A. About 18 percent
B. About 5 percent
C. About 30 percent
D. About 50 percent
Answer: A. About 18 percent
4. Which organisation conducted the ‘People of India project’?
A. Archaeological Survey of India
B. Election Commission of India
C. Geological Survey of India
D. Anthropological Survey of India
Answer: D. Anthropological Survey of India
5. How many communities were surveyed in the ‘People of India project’?
A. 1,000
B. 4,635
C. 325
D. 705
Answer: B. 4,635
6. How many languages did the ‘People of India project’ count?
A. 25
B. 100
C. 325
D. 4,635
Answer: C. 325
7. How many scripts were counted in the project mentioned in the chapter?
A. 25
B. 18
C. 50
D. 100
Answer: A. 25
8. Who was the British historian quoted in the chapter as observing that India offers unity in diversity?
A. James Mill
B. Thomas Macaulay
C. William Jones
D. Vincent Smith
Answer: D. Vincent Smith
9. What does the phrase ‘unity in diversity’ mean in the context of India?
A. All people must follow identical customs
B. Different traditions exist alongside an underlying unity
C. Regional languages should disappear
D. Every region must have the same food
Answer: B. Different traditions exist alongside an underlying unity
10. Which of the following is discussed as a dimension of India’s cultural unity?
A. The use of only one type of clothing
B. The disappearance of festivals
C. Common food grains used in different ways
D. The absence of regional traditions
Answer: C. Common food grains used in different ways
11. What are staple grains?
A. Basic food grains consumed by many people
B. Grains used only for decoration
C. Grains grown exclusively for export
D. Grains that cannot be eaten
Answer: A. Basic food grains consumed by many people
12. Which of the following cereals is mentioned in the chapter?
A. Coffee
B. Tea
C. Cocoa
D. Wheat
Answer: D. Wheat
13. Which of the following is identified as a millet in the chapter?
A. Cardamom
B. Pearl millet (bajra)
C. Turmeric
D. Ginger
Answer: B. Pearl millet (bajra)
14. Which of the following is a common spice used throughout India, according to the chapter?
A. Vanilla only
B. Saffron only
C. Turmeric
D. Cocoa
Answer: C. Turmeric
15. How do common ingredients demonstrate unity and diversity?
A. The same ingredients can be combined in many ways to prepare different dishes
B. Every region prepares exactly the same dish
C. Ingredients are used only in one region
D. Different dishes require no common ingredients
Answer: A. The same ingredients can be combined in many ways to prepare different dishes
16. Which traditional Indian garment is discussed in detail in the chapter?
A. Kimono
B. Toga
C. Kilt
D. Sari
Answer: D. Sari
17. What type of garment is a sari described as?
A. A stitched woollen coat
B. An unstitched length of cloth
C. A leather uniform
D. A knitted cap
Answer: B. An unstitched length of cloth
18. Which materials are commonly used to make saris, according to the chapter?
A. Only leather and wool
B. Only jute
C. Cotton and silk, as well as synthetic fabrics today
D. Only plastic
Answer: C. Cotton and silk, as well as synthetic fabrics today
19. Which of the following is a famous type of silk sari mentioned in the chapter?
A. Banarasi
B. Denim
C. Khaki
D. Tweed
Answer: A. Banarasi
20. Which of the following is also listed as a famous type of silk sari?
A. Chintz
B. Muslin coat
C. Nylon uniform
D. Kanjivaram
Answer: D. Kanjivaram
21. What is one reason saris illustrate unity in diversity?
A. They are worn in exactly the same way everywhere
B. The same garment has many regional styles and ways of draping
C. They are made only in one colour
D. They are used only during festivals
Answer: B. The same garment has many regional styles and ways of draping
22. From which place does the stone relief of a woman wearing a sari, shown in Figure 8.2, come?
A. Lothal
B. Bodh Gaya
C. Vaiśhāli, in present-day Bihar
D. Mohenjo-daro
Answer: C. Vaiśhāli, in present-day Bihar
23. What happened to Indian textiles in earlier centuries, according to the chapter?
A. They were exported as far away as Europe
B. They were never traded outside India
C. They were used only by rulers
D. They were produced only for temples
Answer: A. They were exported as far away as Europe
24. What was ‘chintz’?
A. A type of metal tool
B. A traditional musical instrument
C. A kind of grain
D. A type of printed cotton cloth
Answer: D. A type of printed cotton cloth
25. Why did England and France eventually ban the import of chintz from India?
A. It was too heavy to transport
B. It was popular enough to threaten the sale of some European dresses and products
C. It could not be printed
D. It was not made from cotton
Answer: B. It was popular enough to threaten the sale of some European dresses and products
26. Which statement about the sari is supported by the chapter?
A. It has no history
B. It is worn only in northern India
C. It can be used for purposes beyond wearing as a dress
D. It is always made from synthetic fabric
Answer: C. It can be used for purposes beyond wearing as a dress
27. What does the chapter say about the ways of wearing the sari?
A. They vary from one region or community to another
B. They are identical throughout India
C. They have never changed
D. They are limited to one style
Answer: A. They vary from one region or community to another
28. Which festival marks the beginning of the harvest season in many parts of India around January 14?
A. Holi
B. Diwali
C. Onam
D. Makara Sankrānti
Answer: D. Makara Sankrānti
29. What does Figure 8.5 illustrate?
A. Different Indian scripts
B. Different names for similar festivals celebrated across India around the same date
C. Different types of Indian textiles
D. Different mountain ranges
Answer: B. Different names for similar festivals celebrated across India around the same date
30. Which of the following festival names appears on the map in Figure 8.5?
A. Baisakhi only
B. Christmas
C. Pongal
D. Easter
Answer: C. Pongal
31. Which festival name is shown for Assam in the map of harvest festivals?
A. Magh Bihu
B. Uttarayan
C. Pongal
D. Khichdi Parv
Answer: A. Magh Bihu
32. Which festival name is associated with Gujarat in the map?
A. Shishur Saenkraat
B. Magh Bihu
C. Poush Songkranti
D. Uttarayan
Answer: D. Uttarayan
33. What do the different names of harvest festivals demonstrate?
A. Festivals are celebrated only in one state
B. Similar cultural occasions can have different regional names
C. India has no common traditions
D. All festivals have the same rituals everywhere
Answer: B. Similar cultural occasions can have different regional names
34. Which literary collection is described as a collection of stories with animals as the main characters?
A. The Vedas
B. The Upanishads
C. The Pañchatantra
D. The Arthashastra
Answer: C. The Pañchatantra
35. What is one purpose of the stories in the Pañchatantra?
A. To teach important life skills
B. To explain modern technology
C. To provide railway timetables
D. To list agricultural taxes
Answer: A. To teach important life skills
36. How old is the original Sanskrit text of the Pañchatantra estimated to be at least?
A. 200 years
B. 500 years
C. 1,000 years
D. 2,200 years
Answer: D. 2,200 years
37. Into how many languages are about 200 adaptations of the Pañchatantra estimated to exist?
A. Fewer than 10
B. More than 50
C. Exactly 25
D. Only two
Answer: B. More than 50
38. Which two major Indian epics are discussed in the chapter?
A. Pañchatantra and Jātaka tales
B. Ṛig Veda and Sāma Veda
C. Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata
D. Arthashastra and Upanishads
Answer: C. Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata
39. What is a central theme of the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata, according to the chapter?
A. Heroes fighting to re-establish dharma
B. The invention of machines
C. The discovery of new continents
D. The development of modern industries
Answer: A. Heroes fighting to re-establish dharma
40. Who helps the Pāṇḍavas in the Mahābhārata, according to the chapter?
A. Rāvaṇa
B. Lakṣhmaṇa
C. Hanuman
D. Kṛiṣhṇa
Answer: D. Kṛiṣhṇa
41. In the Rāmāyaṇa, whom does Rāma defeat with the help of Lakṣhmaṇa and Hanuman?
A. Duryodhana
B. Rāvaṇa
C. Yājñavalkya
D. Vincent Smith
Answer: B. Rāvaṇa
42. What do the shorter stories within the two epics often explore?
A. Only trade and taxation
B. Only geographical boundaries
C. Values and questions about right and wrong
D. Only the construction of buildings
Answer: C. Values and questions about right and wrong
43. For how long have the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata been translated or adapted into regional literatures, according to the chapter?
A. More than two millenniums
B. Only 100 years
C. Less than 50 years
D. Exactly 500 years
Answer: A. More than two millenniums
44. Approximately how many versions of the Mahābhārata were counted in folklore forms in a survey of Tamil Nadu mentioned in the chapter?
A. Ten
B. Twenty
C. Fifty
D. About a hundred
Answer: D. About a hundred
45. Which of the following tribal communities is mentioned as having its own versions of the Indian epics?
A. Romans
B. Bhils
C. Greeks
D. Egyptians
Answer: B. Bhils
46. Which anthropologist directed the ‘People of India’ project mentioned in the chapter?
A. Vincent Smith
B. Rabindranath Tagore
C. K. S. Singh
D. Sri Aurobindo
Answer: C. K. S. Singh
47. What does the chapter say about tribal adaptations of the two epics?
A. Many are transmitted orally and include local legends
B. They exist only in printed Sanskrit books
C. They are found only outside India
D. They have no connection with local communities
Answer: A. Many are transmitted orally and include local legends
48. According to the chapter, what has helped create cultural interactions across India and parts of Asia?
A. The disappearance of regional languages
B. The rejection of all local traditions
C. The use of only one type of clothing
D. The spread and adaptation of the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata
Answer: D. The spread and adaptation of the Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata
49. What is the main message of the chapter’s conclusion?
A. Diversity must be eliminated to create unity
B. Diversity enriches Indian culture while an underlying unity remains
C. Regional customs have no value
D. Unity means every community must be identical
Answer: B. Diversity enriches Indian culture while an underlying unity remains
50. Which statement best reflects the chapter’s idea of ‘Many in the One’?
A. One language must replace every other language
B. Every region must have identical festivals
C. Different cultural traditions can coexist within a broader shared identity
D. Cultural differences always prevent unity
Answer: C. Different cultural traditions can coexist within a broader shared identity
