International Organizations, Defence, Books & Authors, World History

Notes:
The book “The Secret Diary of Kasturba” has been authored by Neelima Dalmia Adhar. It’s an imaginary chronicle of the life of Kasturba, the wife of Father of Nation “Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi”. The book is written in a diary form with Kastur penning her experiences in Porbandar where she was born on April 11, 1869- six months before the birth of Mohandas Gandhi who was born in neighbourhood on October 2, 1869 and, early life with young Mohandas, her days in Africa and Mohandas’s rise as a mass leader. The book tries to tell the world what it meant to Kasturba to be wife of Mahatma Gandhi.

Notes:
National Handloom Day is celebrated annually on August 7 to honor the handloom weaving community of India and to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement. On this day in 1905, the formal proclamation of the Swadeshi Movement was made in a meeting at the Calcutta Town hall.

Notes:
In 1992, the Government of India decided to confer Bharat Ratna to Subhash Chandra Bose, but it was opposed by some members of his family who had refused to accept the fact of his death. In 1997 as per the Supreme Court’s verdict Bose’s award was cancelled. It is the only case in India when the award was announced but not conferred.

Notes:
World Bank is one of five institutions created at the Breton Woods Conference in 1944. World Bank is part of the United Nations system, but its governance structure is different. World Bank’s headquarter is situated at Washington DC.

Notes:
In India, April 24th is celebrated as National Panchayati Raj Diwas every year. This day marks the passing of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, that came into force with effect from 24 April 1993

Notes:
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is not based in Basel, Switzerland. it is headquartered in Paris, France. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) are both located in Basel. The OECD, established in 1961, focuses on economic development and policy coordination among member countries.

Notes:
One of the most famous speeches of the Cold War period in which former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill condemns the Soviet Union’s policies in Europe is also called as Iron Curtain Speech.

Notes:
The Special Service Bureau (now Sashastra Seema Bal) was conceived in November 1962 and eventually created in March 1963 with the sole objective of achieving ‘Total security preparedness’ in the remote border areas for performing a ‘stay-behind’ role in the event of a war. SSB was started in North Assam, North Bengal, hill districts of Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand), Himachal Pradesh, part of Punjab and Ladakh area of J&K.

Notes:
The correct answer is the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Established in 1992, the CSTO is a military alliance of several former Soviet republics, aimed at mutual defense and security cooperation. Its headquarters are indeed located in Moscow, Russia. In contrast, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was formed in 1954 and dissolved in 1977, while the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was founded in 2001 with its headquarters in Beijing, China.

Notes:
In the 9th century, a Digambara Jain monk, Jinasena composed a Sanskrit poem “Adipurana” that deals with the story of the first Jain Tirthankar Rishabha Deva and his sons Bharata and Bahubali. It consists of 12 thousand shlokas and divided into 12 parvas.