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History

The Mughal Gardens were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the British architect who planned most of
New Delhi. India‘s British rulers decided to shift the capital from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911— a move
announced during the coronation of King George at the Delhi Durbar on December 12, 1911. Sir
Lutyens was selected to advise on Delhi‘s planning in 1912. His team selected Raisina Hill on the
southern side for the presidential palace, then called the Viceroy‘s House, since the northern site
was close to the Yamuna River and hence vulnerable to floods. The presidential palace took more
than 17 years to build, at an estimated cost of Rs. 14 million. Lord Irwin, Viceroy and Governor-
General of India, became its first occupant on April 6, 1929. The name of the Viceroy‟s House was
changed to Government House when India became independent on August 15, 1947. It was changed
to Rashtrapati Bhavan during the term of President Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

Geography

The Ganga originates as Bhagirathi from the Gangotri glacier in Uttar Kashi District of Uttarakhand at
an elevation of 7,010 m. Alaknanda River joins Bhagirathi at Devaprayag. From Devapryag the river is
called as Ganga. It is joined by the Yamuna at Allahabad. At Farraka, it bifurcates into Bhagirathi-Hugli
in West Bengal and Padma-Meghna in Bangladesh (it ceases to be known as the Ganga after Farraka).
The total length of the Ganga River from its source to its mouth (measured along the Hugli) is 2,525
km. The Ganga River mainly passes through the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Jharkhand, and West Bengal. Major left-bank tributaries include the Gomti River, Ghaghara River,
Gandaki River and Kosi River; major right-bank tributaries include the Yamuna River, Son River,
Punpun and Damodar. After entering Bangladesh, the main branch of the Ganges river is known as
the Padma. The Padma is joined by the Jamuna River, the largest distributary of the Brahmaputra.

Uttarakhand is often referred to as the Devbhumi, due to many Hindu temples and pilgrimage
centres found throughout the state. On 9 November 2000, Uttarakhand became the 27th state of the
Republic of India, being created from the Himalayan and adjoining northwestern districts of Uttar
Pradesh. Mr Pushkar Singh Dhami is serving as the current Chief Minister of Uttarakhand since March
10, 2021. The winter capital of Uttarakhand is Dehradun, the largest city of the state, which is a rail
head. Gairsain, a town in Chamoli district is the summer capital of Uttarakhand. The High Court of
the state is located in Nainital.

Jammu and Kashmir is a region administered by India as a union territory and consists of the
southern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between
India and Pakistan since 1947 and between India and China since 1962. The region of Jammu and
Kashmir is separated by the Line of Control from the Pakistani-administered territories of Azad
Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan in the west and north, respectively. A resolution to repeal Article 370
was passed by both the houses of the Parliament of India in August 2019. All provisions of the Indian
Constitution are now equally applicable to it. Provisions for the formation of the union territory of
Jammu and Kashmir were contained within the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which
was passed by both houses of the Parliament of India in August 2019. The act re-constituted the
former state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, ‗Jammu and Kashmir‘ and ‗Ladakh‘,
with effect from 31 October 2019. The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir is administered under
the provisions of Article 239 of the Constitution of India. The Article 239A, originally formulated for
the union territory of Puduchery, will also be applicable to Jammu and Kashmir. Manoj Sinha is the
current Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. Girish Chandra Murmu was the first Lieutenant
Governor.

Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in
the world. It was created on 1 April 1937 as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh during British
rule, and was renamed Uttar Pradesh in 1950, giving the acronym UP. The state is divided into 18
divisions and 75 districts with the capital being Lucknow. On 9 November 2000, a new state,
Uttarakhand, was carved out from the state‘s Himalayan hill region. The two major rivers of the state,
the Ganges and Yamuna, join at Allahabad and flow further east as Ganges. The state contributes 80
seats to the lower house of the Indian Parliament, Lok Sabha and 31 seats to the upper house of the
Indian Parliament, Rajya Sabha. Anandiben Mafatbhai Patel is serving as the current Governor of
Uttar Pradesh. She also served as Governor of Madhya Pradesh. She has served as the first female
Chief Minister of Gujarat. Yogi Adityanath is serving as the current Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Northeast India (officially North Eastern Region) is the easternmost region of India representing both
a geographic and political administrative division of the country. It comprises eight states – Arunachal
Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. Siliguri Corridor or
Chicken‘s Neck is a narrow stretch of land of about 22 kilometres, located in the Indian state of West
Bengal, which connects India‘s northeastern states to the rest of India.

Politics

Droupadi Murmu has been serving as the 15th president of India since 25 July 2022. She is the first
person belonging to the tribal community and also the second woman after Pratibha Patil to hold the
office. She is also the youngest person to occupy the post and the first President born in Independent
India. Before entering politics, she worked as a clerk in the State Irrigation and Power Department
from 1979 to 1983, and then as a teacher in Rairangpur until 1997. Droupadi Murmu was born to a
Santali family on 20 June 1958, in Uparbeda village in the Baidaposi area of Rairangpur, Odisha.
Murmu was sworn in as the Governor of Jharkhand on 18 May 2015, becoming the first woman to
hold the position. Prathibha DeviSingh Patil served as the 12th president of India spanning from 2007
to 2012. She is the first woman to become the president of India. K.R. Narayanan was the first Dalit
to hold the high office of the President of India from 1997 to 2002. Ramnath Kovind is the 2nd Dalit
President of India served from 2017 to 2022.

Internationall

The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international
tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with
jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against
humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. Governed by an international treaty called ‗The
Rome Statute‘, the ICC is the world‘s first permanent international criminal court. India did not signed
the Rome Statute, and thus, is not a member of ICC. It is distinct from the International Court of
Justice, an organ of the United Nations that hears disputes between states. While praised as a major
step towards justice, and as an innovation in international law and human rights, the ICC has faced a
number of criticisms from governments and civil society, including objections to its jurisdiction,
accusations of bias, Eurocentrism and racism, questioning of the fairness of its case-selection and
trial procedures, and doubts about its effectiveness.
IAF

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure
Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8
October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British Empire which honoured India‘s aviation service
during World War II with the prefix Royal. After India gained independence from United Kingdom in
1947, the name Royal Indian Air Force was kept and served in the name of the Dominion of India.
With the transition to a republic in 1950, the prefix Royal was removed. Since 1950, the IAF has been
involved in four wars with neighbouring Pakistan. Other major operations undertaken by the IAF
include Operation Vijay, Operation Meghdoot, Operation Cactus and Operation Poomalai. The
President of India holds the rank of Supreme Commander of the IAF. Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram
Chaudhari is currently serving as the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS).

Buddhism started in India over 2,600 years ago as a way life that had a potential of transforming a
person. It is one of the important religions of South and South-Eastern Asian countries. The religion is
based upon the teachings, life experiences of its founder Siddhartha Gautam, born in circa 563 BCE.
He was born into royal family of Sakya clan who ruled from Kapilvastu, in Lumbini which is situated
near the Indo-Nepal Border. At the age of 29, Gautama left home and rejected his life of riches and
embraced a lifestyle of asceticism, or extreme self-discipline. After 49 consecutive days of
meditation, Gautama attained Bodhi (enlightenment) under a pipal tree at Bodhgaya, a village in
Bihar. Buddha gave his first sermon in the village of Sarnath, near the city of Benares in Uttar
Pradesh. This event is known as Dharma-Chakra-Pravartana (turning of the wheel of law). He died at
the age of 80 in 483 BCE at a place called Kushinagara a town in Uttar Pradesh. The event is known as
Mahaparinibban. The main teachings of Buddhism are encapsulated in the basic concept of four
noble truths or ariya-sachchani and eightfold path or astangika marg. Four noble truths: 1. Suffering
(dukkha) is the essence of the world. 2. Every suffering has a cause – Samudya. 3. Suffering could be
extinguished – Nirodha. 4. It can be achieved by following the Atthanga Magga (Eight Fold Path). The
essence of Buddhism is the attainment of enlightenment. It points to a way of life that avoids self-
indulgence and self-denial. There is no supreme god or deity in Buddhism.