Comprehension
Former Governor of a State and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate Droupadi Murmu was elected the 15th President of India, the first tribal woman to be elected to the position and the youngest as well. She was declared elected on Thursday after four rounds of counting, although she had crossed the half-way mark after the third round of counting itself, posting an unassailable lead over her rival and the Opposition’s candidate who conceded the election thereafter. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to greet Ms. Murmu at her residence in New Delhi after the third round of counting showed that she had crossed the half-way mark.
Ms. Murmu hails from the Santhal tribe and was born in the district of Mayurbhanj, coming up the hard way in life, graduating and teaching in Odisha before entering electoral politics at the local body level and later being elected MLA and serving as a Minister in the Biju Janata Dal-BJP coalition government from 2000 to 2004. She remained an MLA till 2009, representing Rairangpur in Odisha, a town that burst into celebrations since her name was announced as a candidate for the post of President of India. She was known to intervene in stopping amendments to the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act that was being brought in by the BJP government of Raghubar Das, which involved changing land use in tribal areas.
[Excerpt taken and edited from “Droupadi Murmu elected 15th President of India”, The Hindu]
Ms. Murmu hails from the Santhal tribe and was born in the district of Mayurbhanj, coming up the hard way in life, graduating and teaching in Odisha before entering electoral politics at the local body level and later being elected MLA and serving as a Minister in the Biju Janata Dal-BJP coalition government from 2000 to 2004. She remained an MLA till 2009, representing Rairangpur in Odisha, a town that burst into celebrations since her name was announced as a candidate for the post of President of India. She was known to intervene in stopping amendments to the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act that was being brought in by the BJP government of Raghubar Das, which involved changing land use in tribal areas.
[Excerpt taken and edited from “Droupadi Murmu elected 15th President of India”, The Hindu]
Question: 1
Before Droupadi Murmu, India had only one other female president, Pratibha Patil. When did Patil serve as the President of India?
Before Droupadi Murmu, India had only one other female president, Pratibha Patil. When did Patil serve as the President of India?
Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
- 2007-2012
- 2005-2010
- 2012-2017
- 2006-2011
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The Correct Option is A
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The correct option is (A):2007-2012 .
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The question asks for the years during which Pratibha Patil served as President of India, India's first female president. Let's check each option.
- 2007-2012: Pratibha Patil took office as the 12th President of India in July 2007 and completed a full five year term, handing over to her successor in July 2012. This matches her actual term.
- 2005-2010: Patil was not President during these years, she was serving as the Governor of Rajasthan in this period, before her election as President.
- 2012-2017: This is the term of Pranab Mukherjee, who succeeded Patil as President in 2012, not Patil's own term.
- 2006-2011: This range does not match her actual tenure either, it neither starts nor ends at the correct year.
Pratibha Patil's presidency ran for the standard five year term starting in 2007 and ending in 2012, which is the only option matching that period.
Therefore, the correct answer is 2007-2012.
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Question: 2
President Murmu has earlier served as a Governor of which State?
President Murmu has earlier served as a Governor of which State?
Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
- Odisha
- Bihar
- Jharkhand
- West Bengal
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The Correct Option is C
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The correct option is (C):Jharkhand .
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The question asks which state Droupadi Murmu served as Governor of before becoming President. Let's check each option.
- Odisha: This is Murmu's home state, she was born in Mayurbhanj district and built her early political career there, as an MLA and state minister, but this is not the state she served as Governor of.
- Bihar: Murmu did not hold the office of Governor in Bihar.
- Jharkhand: Murmu was appointed Governor of Jharkhand in 2015 and served through 2021, becoming the first woman to complete a full term as Governor of that state. This matches the office referred to in the question.
- West Bengal: Murmu did not serve as Governor of West Bengal.
Murmu's political career began in her home state of Odisha at the local body and legislative level, but her Governorship, the office the question is asking about, was in Jharkhand.
Therefore, the correct answer is Jharkhand.
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Question: 3
The first presidential election was held by the Election Commission in which year?
The first presidential election was held by the Election Commission in which year?
Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
- 1952
- 1950
- 1948
- 1949
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The Correct Option is A
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The correct option is (A):1952 .
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The question asks in which year the Election Commission conducted India's first presidential election. Let's check each option.
- 1952: India's first presidential election was held in 1952, after the Constitution had come into force in 1950 and the first general elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, whose members form the electoral college for the President, had been completed. Rajendra Prasad was elected President in this election.
- 1950: This is the year the Constitution of India came into effect and Rajendra Prasad became the first President, but he took office that year without an election, since the electoral college itself, the elected members of Parliament and state assemblies, did not yet exist.
- 1948: India did not yet have its Constitution in force in this year, so no presidential election could have taken place.
- 1949: The Constitution was adopted in November 1949 but only came into force in January 1950, and the electoral college needed for a presidential election was not yet in place.
The President's office existed from 1950, but an actual election needed an electoral college of elected legislators, which only existed once the first general elections were completed, making 1952 the year of the first presidential election.
Therefore, the correct answer is 1952.
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Question: 4
The Rashtrapati Bhavan was formerly known as the Viceroy’s palace (during colonial times). Where did the Governor General reside before the transfer of the British capital to Delhi in 1911?
The Rashtrapati Bhavan was formerly known as the Viceroy’s palace (during colonial times). Where did the Governor General reside before the transfer of the British capital to Delhi in 1911?
Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
- Belvedere House
- Raisina Palace
- Secretariat Building
- Writers’ Building
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The Correct Option is A
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The correct option is (A):Belvedere House .
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The question asks where the Governor General lived before the British capital moved from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911, that is, before the current Rashtrapati Bhavan on Raisina Hill existed. Let's check each option.
- Belvedere House: This mansion in Alipore, Calcutta, served as the official residence of the Governor General, and later the Viceroy, through most of the nineteenth century, right up to the shift of the capital to Delhi in 1911. It matches both the location and the time period the question asks about.
- Raisina Palace: This name refers to the building that eventually became the Viceroy's House in New Delhi, designed by Edwin Lutyens and completed in 1929. It came into use only after the capital moved to Delhi, so it cannot be the residence used before 1911.
- Secretariat Building: The Secretariat buildings on Raisina Hill house government offices, the North and South Blocks, not a residence, and they too belong to the New Delhi complex built after 1911.
- Writers' Building: This is the historic administrative building in Calcutta that housed the offices of the East India Company's clerks and later the Bengal secretariat. It was never used as the Governor General's residence.
Only Belvedere House matches both the Calcutta location and the pre-1911 timeframe described in the question.
Therefore, the correct answer is Belvedere House.
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Question: 5
Who among the following was a candidate in the elections for the Vice President of India in 2022?
Who among the following was a candidate in the elections for the Vice President of India in 2022?
Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
- R. Venkataraman
- Yashwant Sinha
- M. Venkaiah Naidu
- Margaret Alva
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The Correct Option is D
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The correct option is (D): Margaret Alva.
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The question asks which of the four people actually contested India's Vice Presidential election held in 2022. Let's look at each name.
- R. Venkataraman: He served as Vice President of India from 1984 to 1987 and later as President from 1987 to 1992, decades before the 2022 election, so he could not have been a candidate in it.
- Yashwant Sinha: A former Union minister and diplomat, Sinha was the joint opposition candidate in the 2022 Presidential election, contesting against Droupadi Murmu, not in the Vice Presidential race, so he does not fit this question.
- M. Venkaiah Naidu: Naidu was the sitting Vice President going into 2022, having been elected in 2017 for a five year term that ended in August 2022. He was completing his existing term rather than contesting the 2022 election himself.
- Margaret Alva: A veteran Congress leader and former Governor, Alva was the joint opposition candidate in the 2022 Vice Presidential election, contesting against Jagdeep Dhankhar, who won. She is the only one of the four who actually stood in that election.
Checking each name against the actual 2022 Vice Presidential contest shows only Margaret Alva was a candidate in it.
Therefore, the correct answer is Margaret Alva.
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Question: 6
Voting in an Indian Presidential Election is through:
Voting in an Indian Presidential Election is through:
Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
- A first-past-the-post system through a single transferable vote cast in a secret ballot
- A proportional representation system through a single transferable vote cast in a secret ballot
- A proportional representation system through a single transferable vote cast in an open ballot
- A first-past-the-post system through a single transferable vote cast in an open ballot
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The Correct Option is B
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The correct option is (B): A proportional representation system through a single transferable vote cast in a secret ballot.
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The question tests the exact voting mechanism the Constitution prescribes for electing the President of India. Let's break down what each option claims.
- A first-past-the-post system through a single transferable vote cast in a secret ballot: First-past-the-post is a plurality system where whoever gets the most votes wins outright with no ranking or transfer of votes, so it cannot be combined with a single transferable vote, which by definition involves ranked preferences. This option mixes two incompatible systems.
- A proportional representation system through a single transferable vote cast in a secret ballot: Article 55 of the Constitution, read with the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952, provides that electors rank candidates in order of preference on a single transferable vote, the result being worked out on the principle of proportional representation, and the ballot is secret. This matches the constitutional scheme exactly.
- A proportional representation system through a single transferable vote cast in an open ballot: This gets the proportional representation and single transferable vote parts right but wrongly claims the ballot is open. The Constitution requires the vote to be secret, so this option fails on the ballot type.
- A first-past-the-post system through a single transferable vote cast in an open ballot: This combines the wrong voting system, first-past-the-post, with the wrong ballot type, open, making it doubly incorrect.
Only the second option correctly states both the proportional representation, single transferable vote mechanism and the requirement of a secret ballot.
Therefore, the correct answer is a proportional representation system through a single transferable vote cast in a secret ballot.
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Question: 7
Who was the first Dalit to hold the office of the President of India?
Who was the first Dalit to hold the office of the President of India?
Updated On: Jul 14, 2026
- Ram Nath Kovind
- V.V. Giri
- Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
- Kocheril Raman Narayanan
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The Correct Option is D
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The correct option is (D):Kocheril Raman Narayanan .
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The question asks which of these four Presidents was the first from a Dalit community. Let's check each one's background and term.
- Ram Nath Kovind: Kovind, President from 2017 to 2022, does belong to a Dalit community, but he held office two decades after Narayanan and was therefore India's second Dalit President, not the first.
- V.V. Giri: Giri was President from 1969 to 1974. He was a trade unionist and lawyer by background but was not from a Dalit community, and his term predates Narayanan's by decades anyway.
- Neelam Sanjiva Reddy: Reddy was President from 1977 to 1982 and was, at the time, the youngest person to hold the office, but he was not from a Dalit community.
- Kocheril Raman Narayanan: Narayanan served as President from 1997 to 2002. He was the first person from a Dalit community to hold the office, and also the first President from Kerala.
Among the four, only Narayanan fits the description of being the first Dalit President.
Therefore, the correct answer is Kocheril Raman Narayanan.
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Top CLAT Questions
- In the realm of contemporary literature, the interplay between character and setting is a nuanced dance that shapes the narrative’s essence. The setting, often described with painstaking detail, becomes more than a backdrop; it becomes a character, influencing the plot and character development.
Consider, for instance, the barren expanse of the desert in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake. The arid landscape mirrors the sense of isolation felt by the protagonist, Gogol, as he navigates his identity crisis in a foreign land. The relentless sun and vast sands are not mere descriptions; they are the silent witnesses to his inner turmoil.
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Yes, there were some apricot trees close to the house. There were clumps of iris that had finished blooming. There was the kitchen with a wing of smoke lifting out of its chimney and a stack of wood outside its door. But these were incidental, almost unimportant.
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The 19th century ushered in a new era of literary giants. Jane Austen’s novels, such as Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, provide incisive social commentary through the lens of wit and romance. Austen’s heroines, like Elizabeth Bennet and Elinor Dashwood, remain beloved literary figures known for their intelligence and resilience. The Romantic era brought forth poets like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who celebrated * 8 UG the beauty of nature and the emotional intensity of the individual. Wordsworth’s ‘‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’’ and Coleridge’s ‘‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’’ are testament to the power of the written words to evoke profound emotions and imagery. Moving towards 20th century, English literature continued to evolve. Virginia Woolf’s ground-breaking novel Mrs. Dalloway explored the inner thoughts and lives of its characters with a modernist narrative style. Dystopian visions, as seen in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four provided stark warnings about the dangers of totalitarianism and the erosion of individual freedom.
Today, English literature is a global phenomenon, transcending borders and languages. Indian authors like Arundhati Roy, with her novel The God of Small Things, have won prestigious international literary awards. The book not only explores intricate family dynamics but also delves into the broader socio-political landscape of India. In summary, English literature is a testament to the enduring power of storytelling and the written word. It encompasses an array of authors, themes, and styles that continue to captivate and inspire readers across the world. - On the evening of the 10th, General Dyer arrived at Amritsar, and the Deputy-Commissioner handed over the civil power to him. He issued a proclamation by word of mouth that no meetings should be held. Two days later, after there had been no sort of riot, nor murder, General Dyer heard that a meeting was to be held at the Jallianwala Bagh. He proceeded there with about fifty troops, half British, half Indian, and a certain number of Ghurkas, armed with their kukris. The Jallianwala Bagh is an open space, half a mile square, which has one entry wide enough for three persons. The troops got in and lined up on a mound of debris. The walls, seven feet high, and the surrounding houses enclosed the people. There were, too, three alleys through which the people might have been able to pass. Within thirty seconds of the troops getting in, General Dyer gave orders to fire, and the crowd of people, estimated at anything from 5,000 to 20,000, who were sitting on the ground peacefully listening to the mob oratory, were fired on. The result of the troops’ fire into the mass of people we do not know. But we do know that Dyer’s own estimate of the casualties resulting from ten minutes continual individual firing, was 400 to 500 killed and 1,500 wounded. The people were not able to escape. They were people who had not offered any violence and who had not been warned. These people were shot down. After ten minutes, the ammunition was exhausted and the troops marched off, and they left 1,500 wounded there. There were men lying there for two days, dying of thirst, eating the ground, bleeding to death and nobody to look after them. Those who lived nearby came and carried away some of the wounded from the heap of dead and dying, but the unfortunate country people died there miserably of their wounds. This is what is done in 1919 in British India…
Centuries hence you will find Indian children brought up to this spot, just as they visit now the Cawnpore Well, and you can imagine the feelings of these Indians for generations over this terrible business.
[Col. Wedgwood, MP, speaking in the British Parliament, 22 December 1919]
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