Mehrgarh, located in present-day Balochistan (Pakistan), provides the earliest evidence of agriculture in the Indian Sub-continent dating back to around 7000 BCE. This Neolithic site shows evidence of wheat and barley cultivation, domestication of cattle, sheep and goats, and early pottery making. The site represents the transition from hunting-gathering to settled agricultural life. Archaeological excavations have revealed multi-roomed mud-brick houses, storage structures for grain, and advanced farming techniques. Mehrgarh is considered a precursor to the Indus Valley Civilization and shows continuous cultural development from Stone Age to Harappan period.

Lothal, located in Gujarat on the Bhogava River, was an important port city of the Harappan Civilization. It is most famous for its well-planned dockyard, which is one of the oldest known docks in the world. The dock measured 218 meters long and 37 meters wide, with an inlet channel connecting it to the Sabarmati River and subsequently to the Arabian Sea. This indicates advanced maritime trade connections with Mesopotamia, Bahrain, and other Gulf regions.

The Great Bath was discovered at Mohenjodaro in Sindh, Pakistan. This magnificent structure measures 12 meters in length, 7 meters in width, and 2.4 meters in depth. It is constructed with finely fitted burnt bricks and sealed with natural bitumen to make it watertight.

Bhimbetka rock shelters are located in the Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, about 45 km south of Bhopal. This UNESCO World Heritage Site contains over 750 rock shelters with prehistoric cave paintings dating from the Mesolithic period (10,000 BCE).

Emperor Ashoka (r. 268-232 BCE) sent his son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra as Buddhist missionaries to Sri Lanka during the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa around 250 BCE. This mission successfully established Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

Muhammad bin Qasim led the first Muslim invasion of India in 712 CE when he conquered Sindh at the age of 17. He was sent by Al-Hajjaj, the governor of Iraq under the Umayyad Caliphate.

Akbar founded Din-i-Ilahi (Divine Faith) in 1582 CE as a syncretic religious movement combining elements from Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Jainism. The movement emphasized monotheism and respect for all religions.

The Indian National Congress was founded on 28th December 1885 in Bombay at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College. The first session was presided over by Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee and attended by 72 delegates.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak gave the famous slogan ‘Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it’. Tilak, known as ‘Lokmanya’, was one of the first leaders to demand complete independence rather than self-government within the British Empire.

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre occurred on 13th April 1919 in Amritsar, Punjab. General Reginald Dyer ordered troops to fire on a peaceful gathering, killing approximately 379 people according to official figures.

The Rowlatt Act was passed in March 1919. This repressive act gave the British government powers to detain suspects without trial for up to two years and arrest without warrant.

The Non-Cooperation Movement was launched by Mahatma Gandhi in September 1920 at a special session of Congress in Calcutta and formally approved at the Nagpur session in December 1920.

The Chauri Chaura incident occurred on 5th February 1922 in Chauri Chaura village of Gorakhpur district, Uttar Pradesh. This violent incident led Gandhi to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement.

The Simon Commission visited India in February 1928. The all-British commission led to nationwide protests with the slogan ‘Simon Go Back’ as no Indian member was included.

The Civil Disobedience Movement was launched in 1930 with the historic Dandi March. On 12th March 1930, Gandhi began a 24-day march covering 385 km from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi.

The Quit India Movement was launched on 8th August 1942 at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee. Gandhi gave the famous call ‘Do or Die’ demanding immediate British withdrawal.

The Tropic of Cancer (23°30′ North) passes through 8 Indian states: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura, and Mizoram.

The Ganga (Ganges) is the longest river in India, flowing for approximately 2,525 km entirely within the country. It originates from the Gangotri glacier in Uttarakhand.

Kanchenjunga at 8,586 meters is the highest peak entirely within India and the third highest mountain in the world. It is located on the India-Nepal border in Sikkim.

The Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November 1949, though it came into force on 26th January 1950, which is celebrated as Republic Day.

Originally, seven Fundamental Rights were provided in the Constitution. The Right to Property was later deleted by the 44th Amendment Act, 1978, making it six Fundamental Rights currently.

The President is elected by an Electoral College consisting of elected members of both Houses of Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies through proportional representation by single transferable vote.

The Prime Minister is appointed by the President under Article 75. However, the President is bound to appoint the leader of the party or coalition that has majority support in the Lok Sabha.

The maximum sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court is 34 judges including the Chief Justice of India, as per the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2019.

The Directive Principles of State Policy are enshrined in Part IV of the Constitution (Articles 36-51). They are non-justiciable guidelines for the government in policy-making.

The Planning Commission was established on 15th March 1950. It was replaced by NITI Aayog on 1st January 2015.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO), now part of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, releases GDP data in India.

The Finance Commission is constituted under Article 280 of the Constitution. It is appointed by the President every five years to recommend distribution of taxes between Union and States.

The Green Revolution in India was initiated in 1966-67. Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, known as the ‘Father of Green Revolution in India’, introduced high-yielding variety seeds.

The Environment Protection Act was enacted in 1986 following the Bhopal Gas Tragedy of December 1984. It provides the framework for environmental protection and pollution control.

Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve was the first biosphere reserve established in India in 1986. It is located in the Western Ghats covering parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka.

The SI unit of electric current is Ampere (A), named after French physicist André-Marie Ampère. One ampere represents the flow of one coulomb of electric charge per second.

The speed of light in vacuum is approximately 3 × 10⁸ meters per second (exactly 299,792,458 m/s). This is one of the fundamental physical constants, denoted by ‘c’.

The atomic number is determined by the number of protons in the nucleus. Every element has a unique atomic number which defines its identity and position in the periodic table.

Dmitri Mendeleev, a Russian chemist, developed the first widely accepted periodic table in 1869. He arranged elements in order of increasing atomic mass and grouped them based on similar properties.

The pH value of pure water at 25°C is exactly 7.0, which is considered neutral. pH ranges from 0-14, where below 7 is acidic and above 7 is basic.

Mitochondria are called the ‘powerhouse of the cell’ because they generate most of the cell’s supply of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is used as a source of chemical energy.

Photosynthesis primarily occurs in the leaves of plants, specifically in the chloroplasts of leaf cells. Leaves are specially adapted with large surface area and chlorophyll for this process.

The skin is the largest organ of the human body, covering an average area of about 2 square meters in adults and weighing approximately 3-4 kg (about 16% of body weight).

Blood group O negative (O-) is the universal donor because it can be transfused to patients of any blood group. It lacks A antigens, B antigens, and Rh factor antigens on red blood cells.

Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) deficiency causes Scurvy, characterized by bleeding gums, loose teeth, slow wound healing, joint pain, and anemia. Vitamin C is essential for collagen synthesis.

Malaria is caused by Protozoa of the genus Plasmodium. It is transmitted through the bite of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Four species primarily infect humans: P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae, and P. ovale.

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) is called the ‘brain of the computer’ as it performs all processing and calculations, executes instructions, and controls other components.

WWW stands for World Wide Web, an information system where documents and resources are accessed via the Internet using web browsers. It was invented by Sir Tim Berners-Lee in 1989.

Aryabhata, India’s first satellite, was launched on 19th April 1975 from the Soviet Union. It was named after the famous Indian mathematician and astronomer Aryabhata (5th century CE).

ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) was founded on 15th August 1969, superseding INCOSPAR established in 1962 by Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, considered the ‘Father of Indian Space Program’.

Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, is conferred for exceptional service in any field of human endeavor without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex.

The Olympic Games are held every 4 years (an Olympiad). The modern Olympics were revived in 1896 in Athens, Greece, by Baron Pierre de Coubertin.

‘The Discovery of India’ was written by Jawaharlal Nehru during his imprisonment at Ahmednagar Fort from April 1942 to March 1946. Published in 1946, it covers Indian history, philosophy, and culture.

Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India’s highest military decoration awarded for conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy. Instituted on 26th January 1950, only 21 PVCs have been awarded as of 2024.