60 free India trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
55 free India trivia questions with answers. These Indian trivia questions cover the whole country, not just the Taj Mahal: the states and languages, the Indus Valley and the Mughals, Ashoka and Gandhi, the flag and the anthem, Diwali and Holi, cricket and Bollywood, ISRO's Moon landing, Ramanujan's taxicab number, and the food that only arrived with the Portuguese. It is written for anyone - Indian or not - who wants a fair, factual quiz about India rather than a list of cliches. Easy questions come first (capital, independence day, national animal) and the set works up to details that will stretch a Delhi quiz team: who designed the flag, where India played its first Test, which village out-rains Cherrapunji. Use it for a classroom, a Diwali party round, or a solo test. Every answer has been checked against a reference page and carries its source, so the dates and figures are the real ones.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is the capital of India?
New Delhi
Delhi's planned twin was inaugurated as the imperial capital in 1931, replacing Calcutta; Mumbai remains the largest city by population.
Q 02India ranks where among the world's countries by land area?
Seventh
It is the largest by population, having overtaken China in 2023, but sits behind Russia, Canada, China, the USA, Brazil and Australia by area.
Q 03On what date did India gain independence from Britain?
15 August 1947
Nehru marked the moment with his 'Tryst with Destiny' speech; 26 January 1950, when the constitution took effect, became Republic Day.
Q 04Which river gives India its name?
The Indus
The Greeks called the river Indos; ironically most of the Indus now flows through Pakistan. The constitution's other name for the country is Bharat.
Q 05Which ancient urban culture flourished in the subcontinent around 2500-1900 BCE?
The Indus Valley Civilisation
Its cities Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had grid streets and covered drains, and its script has never been deciphered.
Q 06How many states does India have?
28
Plus eight union territories, for 36 subnational units; Rajasthan is the largest state by area and Goa the smallest.
Q 07Which is India's most populous state, with almost 200 million people at the 2011 census?
Uttar Pradesh
On its own it would be the world's fifth most populous country; tiny Sikkim, with about 610,000 people, is the least populous state.
Q 08How many languages are listed in the Eighth Schedule of India's constitution?
22
Hindi is the most spoken first language at about 44%, Bengali is second, and the constitution names no single national language.
Q 09India's founding legal charter, in force since 26 January 1950, holds which world record?
Longest written national constitution
It originally ran to 395 articles and 22 parts, took nearly three years to draft under B. R. Ambedkar, and was hand-lettered by calligrapher Prem Behari Narain Raizada.
Q 10Who chaired the drafting committee of India's constitution?
B. R. Ambedkar
Ambedkar, a Dalit jurist educated at Columbia and the LSE, later converted to Buddhism with hundreds of thousands of followers.
Q 11How many spokes does the Ashoka Chakra at the centre of the Indian flag have?
24
The navy-blue wheel is taken from the Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath, which is also India's national emblem.
Q 12Who designed the Indian national flag?
Pingali Venkayya
For decades the law required every flag to be made of khadi, the hand-spun cloth Gandhi championed; the rule was relaxed in 2021.
Q 13What is the national animal of India?
Bengal tiger
Adopted in 1973, the same year Project Tiger began; India now holds well over 3,000 wild tigers, most of the world's total.
Q 21Emperor Ashoka embraced Buddhism and non-violence after the brutal conquest of which region?
Kalinga
He ruled the Mauryan Empire from Pataliputra around 268-232 BCE; his lion capital at Sarnath is now India's state emblem.
Q 22Gandhi's 1930 Salt March covered about 388 km from Ahmedabad to which coastal village?
Dandi
He picked up a lump of natural salt to defy the British monopoly; the march took 24 days and drew worldwide coverage.
Q 23Gandhi's birthday, 2 October, is observed worldwide as what?
International Day of Non-Violence
In India it is Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday; the honorific Mahatma means 'great-souled'.
Q 14Which bird is India's national bird?
Indian peafowl
The peacock got the job in 1963; the elephant is separately the 'national heritage animal' and the Ganges river dolphin the national aquatic animal.
Q 15India's national anthem, 'Jana Gana Mana', was composed by whom?
Rabindranath Tagore
He also wrote Bangladesh's anthem, making him the only person with two national anthems to his name; the separate national song is 'Vande Mataram'.
Q 16In 1913 the poet of Gitanjali became the first non-European to win which honour?
Nobel Prize in Literature
He won for Gitanjali and gave back his British knighthood after the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
Q 17Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal as a tomb for whom?
His wife Mumtaz
More than 20,000 workers laboured on the white-marble mausoleum in Agra from 1632; Shah Jahan was eventually buried beside her.
Q 18On the bank of which river does the Taj Mahal stand?
Yamuna
It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 and was voted one of the New 7 Wonders of the World in 2007.
Q 19Who founded the Mughal Empire after defeating the Sultan of Delhi at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526?
Babur
A descendant of both Timur and Genghis Khan, he wrote a candid memoir, the Baburnama; the dynasty's court language was Persian.
Q 20Which Mughal emperor pushed the empire to its greatest territorial extent?
Aurangzeb
The empire's last emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, was deposed by the British after the 1857 uprising and exiled to Burma.
Q 24Before returning to India, Gandhi spent 21 years practising law and organising protest in which country?
South Africa
He was thrown off a train at Pietermaritzburg for sitting in a first-class carriage, an episode he called a turning point.
Q 25Who was India's first prime minister?
Jawaharlal Nehru
He served for 16 years and 286 days, still the longest tenure; his birthday, 14 November, is celebrated as Children's Day.
Q 26Diwali, the festival of lights, is traditionally linked to the homecoming of which figure to Ayodhya?
Rama
Celebrants light diyas, draw rangoli and set off fireworks over about five days between mid-October and mid-November; many also honour Lakshmi, goddess of wealth.
Q 27Holi, the festival of colours, marks the arrival of which season?
Spring
It falls on the last full moon of the month of Phalguna; the night before, bonfires called Holika Dahan burn to mark good over evil.
Q 28Holi's association with Radha and Krishna makes which region its spiritual heartland?
Braj, around Mathura
In Barsana women famously chase men with sticks in the 'Lathmar Holi'.
Q 29Roughly how many free meals does the Golden Temple's community kitchen in Amritsar serve each day?
Over 100,000
The langar feeds anyone regardless of faith; the shrine's four entrances symbolise that openness, and its gold leaf was donated by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1830.
Q 30Which gathering, rotating among Prayagraj, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain, is the world's largest?
Kumbh Mela
About 660 million people attended in 2025; UNESCO added it to its intangible heritage list in 2017.