India's culture shows up in the exam as fixed matches: a language and its state, a festival and where it is celebrated, a book and its author. This page sorts them out — the 8th Schedule of the Constitution and official languages, the major festivals state by state, the main religions, and a list of famous books and authors. Learn the pairings and these become quick, certain marks.
22
Scheduled languages
In the 8th Schedule
343
Article for Hindi
Official language of the Union
4
Religions born in India
Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh
Languages and the Constitution
The 8th Schedule, and which state speaks what officially.
| Point | Remember |
|---|---|
| 8th Schedule | Lists the 22 scheduled languages of India |
| Article 343 | Hindi in Devanagari = official language of the Union |
| First classical language | Tamil (given the status in 2004) |
| Punjabi | Official language of Punjab; in the 8th Schedule |
| Konkani / Bengali / Malayalam | Official in Goa / Tripura & W. Bengal / Kerala |
QUICK CHECK
PYQ · SSC — Under which Article of the Constitution is Hindi declared the official language?
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Answer: B — Article 343
Article 343(1) makes Hindi in Devanagari script the official language of the Union.
QUICK CHECK
PYQ · SSC — Konkani is the official language of which state?
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Answer: D — Goa
Konkani (in Devanagari script) is the official language of Goa.
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PYQ · SSC — Bengali is the official language of which state (besides West Bengal)?
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Answer: B — Tripura
Bengali is an official language of Tripura (along with Kokborok and English).
Festivals of India
Each festival belongs to a state — learn the pairs.
Festivals across India
A Pookalam — the flower rangoli of Onam, Kerala's harvest festival. Onam honours the legendary King Mahabali.
MEGSCHOPRA · CC BY-SA 4.0
A Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata — West Bengal's biggest festival, now on UNESCO's intangible heritage list.
Subhrajyoti07 · CC BY-SA 4.0
| Festival | State / region |
|---|---|
| Bihu | Assam |
| Onam | Kerala |
| Pongal | Tamil Nadu |
| Lohri / Baisakhi | Punjab |
| Chapchar Kut | Mizoram |
| Hornbill | Nagaland |
| Hemis / Losar | Ladakh |
| Durga Puja | West Bengal |
QUICK CHECK
PYQ · SSC — Which of the following is a harvest festival of India?
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Answer: B — Lohri
Lohri, celebrated on 13 January mainly in Punjab, marks the end of winter and the sugarcane harvest.
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PYQ · SSC — The 'Chapchar Kut' festival is celebrated in March every year in which state?
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Answer: B — Mizoram
Chapchar Kut is Mizoram's main spring festival, held in March after the jungle is cleared for farming.
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PYQ · SSC — Losar, celebrated on the first day of the eleventh month of the Tibetan calendar, is a festival of:
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Answer: D — Losar (Ladakh)
Losar is the Ladakhi (and Tibetan Buddhist) New Year.
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PYQ · SSC — The two-day Hemis religious festival is from which part of India?
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Answer: B — Ladakh
The Hemis Festival is held at Hemis Monastery near Leh in Ladakh.
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PYQ · SSC — Makaravilakku, held on Makar Sankranti at the Sabarimala temple, is a festival of which state?
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Answer: D — Kerala
Makaravilakku is held at the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple in Kerala.
Religions, and books and authors
India's faiths, and the book–author pairs the exam asks.
| Book | Author |
|---|---|
| Gitanjali | Rabindranath Tagore |
| The White Tiger | Aravind Adiga |
| The God of Small Things | Arundhati Roy |
| My Experiments with Truth | M. K. Gandhi |
| The Discovery of India | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Wings of Fire | A. P. J. Abdul Kalam |
QUICK CHECK
PYQ · SSC — Who is the author of the book 'The White Tiger'?
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Answer: B — Aravind Adiga
Aravind Adiga wrote 'The White Tiger', which won the Booker Prize in 2008.
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PYQ · SSC — Who is the author of 'The Namesake'?
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Answer: B — Jhumpa Lahiri
'The Namesake' (2003) is a novel by Jhumpa Lahiri.
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PYQ · SSC — Who wrote the autobiography 'My Experiments with Truth'?
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Answer: D — M. K. Gandhi
'The Story of My Experiments with Truth' is Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography, written in Gujarati.
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PYQ · SSC — Which book was written by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose?
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Answer: C — The Indian Struggle
Subhas Chandra Bose wrote 'The Indian Struggle', covering the national movement from 1920 to 1942.
QUICK CHECK
PYQ · SSC — 'Ashtadhyayi', written by the Sanskrit scholar Panini, is a book on:
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Answer: D — grammar
Panini's Ashtadhyayi ('eight chapters') is a classic treatise on Sanskrit grammar.
COMMON TRAPS
- 8th Schedule = 22 languages; Article 343 = Hindi; Tamil = first classical language.
- Konkani=Goa; Bengali=Tripura/W. Bengal; Malayalam=Kerala; Punjabi=Punjab.
- Onam=Kerala; Bihu=Assam; Pongal=Tamil Nadu; Hemis/Losar=Ladakh; Chapchar Kut=Mizoram.
- Gitanjali=Tagore; White Tiger=Adiga; My Experiments with Truth=Gandhi; Discovery of India=Nehru.
- Four India-born religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism.
FLASHCARDS
Quick revision
- Scheduled languages (8th Schedule)
- 22
- Article for official language Hindi
- Article 343
- Onam / Bihu / Pongal belong to
- Kerala / Assam / Tamil Nadu
- Gitanjali / Nobel 1913
- Rabindranath Tagore
- The White Tiger
- Aravind Adiga
- Religions born in India
- Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh
CHECK YOURSELF
Which pairing is wrong? (a) Onam – Kerala (b) Bihu – Assam (c) Hornbill – Nagaland (d) Lohri – Tamil Nadu
Show answer
(d) is wrong. Lohri is a Punjab festival, not Tamil Nadu (Tamil Nadu's harvest festival is Pongal).