Associations, Journals, Books and Plays: UPSC Previous Year Questions (Modern History)

Explanation

Charles Wilkins was the first Englishman to translate the Bhagavad Gita into English in 1785. His translation, titled The Bhagavat-Geeta, or Dialogues of Kreeshna and Arjoon, was published in 1785. He was a British orientalist and scholar who worked as a translator for the East India Company, making key Indian texts accessible to the Western world.

Option (a), (c) and (d) are incorrect:

William Jones is known for founding the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784 and made significant contributions to the study of Indian languages. Alexander Cunningham was an archaeologist and the first Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India. John Marshall too was an archaeologist who was pivotal in the discovery and preservation of the Indus Valley Civilization.

Explanation

Meena Kumari was a legendary actress, but she never won the Bharat Ratna. The Bharat Ratna is India’s highest civilian award, and the first female to receive it was Indira Gandhi (1971). Pairs (a), (b) and (c) are correctly matched:

In 1953, India’s first technicolour film ‘Jhansi Ki Rani’ was released. My Dear Kuttichatam was the first 3D film of India directed by Jijo Punnoose. It was released in 1984. It was Subhash Ghai, the director of the film, who got his 1999 film Taal insured for a sum of Rs 11 crore with the United India Insurance. Thus, Taal became the first Indian film to be insured ever.