Indian Writing in English (IWE), often historically termed Indo-Anglian literature, encompasses literary works originally composed in the English language by writers of Indian origin or diaspora. Beginning in the pre-independence era with pioneers like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Toru Dutt, and Rabindranath Tagore, the tradition expanded massively through the realistic regional fiction of R.K. Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand, and Raja Rao. The post-independence and post-modern periods witnessed a global explosion of Booker Prize-winning masterworks by authors such as Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, and Aravind Adiga, exploring themes of national identity, partition trauma, linguistic hybridity, and post-colonial dislocation. Mastering this vibrant literary tradition is essential for academic literature exams and competitive civil services tests.
1. Which Indian author wrote 'Gitanjali' (Song Offerings), for which he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913?
Correct Answer: b) Rabindranath Tagore
Explanation:
Rabindranath Tagore translated his own Bengali poetry collection 'Gitanjali' into English, capturing global acclaim and the Nobel Prize.
2. Which Indian English novelist is famous for the 'Malgudi' novels and short stories, including 'Swami and Friends' (1935)?
Correct Answer: b) R.K. Narayan
Explanation:
R.K. Narayan created the fictional South Indian town of Malgudi, chronicling ordinary middle-class life with gentle irony.
3. Which pioneer of Indian English fiction wrote 'Untouchable' (1935) and 'Coolie', exposing caste oppression and poverty?
Correct Answer: b) Mulk Raj Anand
Explanation:
Mulk Raj Anand was a founding pillar of Indian English social realism, giving voice to society's most marginalized members.
4. Which Indian English novelist wrote 'Kanthapura' (1938), exploring the impact of Gandhian independence movements on a South Indian village?
Correct Answer: b) Raja Rao
Explanation:
Raja Rao's 'Kanthapura' famously compared the Indian freedom struggle to the Puranic mythologies of the village.
5. Which Indian English author wrote the monumental epic poem 'Savitri' and the philosophical treatise 'The Life Divine'?
Correct Answer: b) Sri Aurobindo
Explanation:
Sri Aurobindo was a nationalist, philosopher, and visionary poet who composed 'Savitri', the longest epic poem in English.
6. Which prominent Indian poet known as the 'Nightingale of India' wrote English poetry collections such as 'The Golden Threshold'?
Correct Answer: b) Sarojini Naidu
Explanation:
Sarojini Naidu was a freedom fighter and lyrical poet celebrated for her vibrant imagery of Indian life and landscape.
7. Which historical novel by Salman Rushdie won the Booker Prize in 1981 and later the 'Booker of Bookers'?
Correct Answer: b) Midnight's Children
Explanation:
Salman Rushdie's 'Midnight's Children' revolutionized post-colonial Indian English fiction through magical realism and national allegory.
8. Which Indian English novelist won the Booker Prize in 1997 with her debut novel 'The God of Small Things'?
Correct Answer: b) Arundhati Roy
Explanation:
Arundhati Roy's lyrical, non-linear novel set in Kerala explores caste laws, forbidden love, and childhood trauma.
9. Which Indian-born British author won the Booker Prize for 'The Inheritance of Loss' (2006)?
Correct Answer: b) Kiran Desai
Explanation:
Kiran Desai's 'The Inheritance of Loss' examines globalization, immigration, and separatist insurgency in the Himalayas.
10. Which Indian American author won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction with her debut short story collection 'Interpreter of Maladies' (1999)?
Correct Answer: b) Jhumpa Lahiri
Explanation:
Jhumpa Lahiri explores the cultural displacement and emotional landscapes of Bengali immigrants in America.
11. Which pioneering Indian novelist wrote 'Clear Light of Day' (1980), 'In Custody', and 'Fire on the Mountain'?
Correct Answer: b) Anita Desai
Explanation:
Anita Desai is celebrated for delicate psychological realism, family alienation, and exquisite prose style.
12. Which Indian English novelist wrote 'Train to Pakistan' (1956), a harrowing masterpiece depicting the partition of India?
Correct Answer: b) Khushwant Singh
Explanation:
Khushwant Singh's 'Train to Pakistan' captures the communal violence, moral breakdown, and human cost of Partition.
13. Which Nobel Prize-winning author of Indian descent born in Trinidad wrote 'A House for Mr Biswas' (1961)?
Correct Answer: b) V.S. Naipaul
Explanation:
V.S. Naipaul explored post-colonial displacement, identity, and exile, winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001.
14. Which contemporary historical novelist wrote the 'Ibis Trilogy' ('Sea of Poppies', 'River of Smoke', 'Flood of Fire'), focusing on the Opium Wars?
Correct Answer: b) Amitav Ghosh
Explanation:
Amitav Ghosh is a master of historical fiction, ecological critique, and sweeping Indian Ocean narratives.
15. Which Indian English author wrote the massive 1,300-page epic novel 'A Suitable Boy' (1993) and the verse novel 'The Golden Gate'?
Correct Answer: b) Vikram Seth
Explanation:
Vikram Seth is celebrated for stylistic versatility across poetry, biography, and sprawling post-independence realist fiction.
16. Which Parsi-Canadian novelist wrote 'A Fine Balance' (1995), depicting life in India during the 1975 Emergency?
Correct Answer: b) Rohinton Mistry
Explanation:
Rohinton Mistry's 'A Fine Balance' is an emotionally wrenching portrait of human endurance, political tyranny, and urban poverty.
17. Which 19th-century pioneer of Indian poetry in English wrote 'Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan' before her tragic early death?
Correct Answer: b) Toru Dutt
Explanation:
Toru Dutt was a brilliant 19th-century Bengali poet who introduced Sanskrit legends and French translations to English verse.
18. Which confessional poet wrote 'My Story' (1976), famously writing candidly about female sexuality and identity under the pen name Madhavikutty?
Correct Answer: b) Kamala Das
Explanation:
Kamala Das revolutionized Indian English poetry by introducing raw, confessional honesty regarding love, marriage, and female desire.
19. Which foundational modern Indian poet in English wrote 'Background, Casuality' and 'Enterprise', winning the Sahitya Akademi Award?
Correct Answer: b) Nissim Ezekiel
Explanation:
Nissim Ezekiel is widely regarded as the father of post-independence Indian English poetry, known for irony, urban realism, and Jewish-Indian identity.
20. Which bilingual poet, folklorist, and translator wrote 'Relations' and 'Second Sight', translating classical Tamil and Kannada poetry into English?
Correct Answer: b) A.K. Ramanujan
Explanation:
A.K. Ramanujan was a brilliant scholar and poet whose work bridged classical Indian literature and modern English verse.
21. Which pioneering Indian English feminist novelist wrote 'That Long Silence' (1988), exploring patriarchal constraints in middle-class Maharashtrian homes?
Correct Answer: b) Shashi Deshpande
Explanation:
Shashi Deshpande writes insightful domestic realist fiction focusing on the psychological dilemmas of modern Indian women.
22. Which Indian English novelist wrote 'Nectar in a Sieve' (1954), an international bestseller depicting rural peasant struggles in South India?
Correct Answer: a) Kamala Markandaya
Explanation:
Kamala Markandaya's 'Nectar in a Sieve' captured the impact of industrialization and poverty on traditional agrarian life.
23. Which political novelist and niece of Jawaharlal Nehru wrote 'Rich Like Us' (1985), chronicling the Emergency?
Correct Answer: b) Nayantara Sahgal
Explanation:
Nayantara Sahgal is a distinguished political novelist whose fiction addresses authoritarianism and post-independence Indian democracy.
24. Which Anglo-Indian novelist wrote 'Sunlight on a Broken Column' (1961), depicting upper-class Muslim feudal life before Partition?
Correct Answer: b) Attia Hosain
Explanation:
Attia Hosain's semi-autobiographical novel captures the cultural transformation and displacement of Muslim women during the mid-20th century.
25. Which beloved Anglo-Indian author based in Mussoorie has written numerous short stories and novellas featuring children and nature ('The Blue Umbrella')?
Correct Answer: b) Ruskin Bond
Explanation:
Ruskin Bond is a master of gentle pastoral prose, ghost stories, and nostalgic tales set in the Himalayan foothills.
26. Which post-colonial novelist wrote 'The Trotter-Nama' (1988), tracing seven generations of an Anglo-Indian family in Agra?
Correct Answer: b) I. Allan Sealy
Explanation:
I. Allan Sealy's monumental picaresque novel is a landmark celebration of Anglo-Indian history and linguistic play.
27. Which satirical Indian novelist wrote 'English, August' (1988), capturing the alienation and bureaucratic lethargy of a young IAS officer?
Correct Answer: b) Upamanyu Chatterjee
Explanation:
Upamanyu Chatterjee's debut novel became a cult classic of post-independence slacker angst and civil service satire.
28. Which Indian author won the Booker Prize in 2008 with his epistolary debut novel 'The White Tiger', exposing India's dark underbelly?
Correct Answer: a) Aravind Adiga
Explanation:
Aravind Adiga's 'The White Tiger' uses dark humor and letters to a Chinese premier to critique economic disparity and servant culture.
29. Which contemporary Indian American novelist wrote 'The Namesake' (2003) and 'The Lowland'?
Correct Answer: b) Jhumpa Lahiri
Explanation:
Jhumpa Lahiri explores immigrant identity, familial duty, and cultural assimilation across generations.
30. Which Indian author wrote 'The Palace of Illusions' (2008), retelling the Mahabharata from Panchaali's (Draupadi's) perspective?
Correct Answer: b) Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Explanation:
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni reimagines Indian epics and immigrant mythology through feminist lenses.
31. Which contemporary Indian novelist wrote 'Sacred Games' (2006), a sprawling crime thriller set in Mumbai underworld and police forces?
Correct Answer: b) Vikram Chandra
Explanation:
Vikram Chandra's massive Mumbai epic blends police procedural, religious fanaticism, and Bollywood glamour.
32. Which Indian novelist and musician wrote 'Narcopolis' (2012), chronicling opium dens and Bombay's underworld?
Correct Answer: b) Jeet Thayil
Explanation:
Jeet Thayil's Booker-shortlisted debut novel uses hypnotic, hallucinatory prose to portray addiction in 1970s Bombay.
33. Which contemporary Indian novelist wrote 'A Strange and Sublime Address' and captured the quiet rhythms of middle-class life in Calcutta?
Correct Answer: a) Amit Chaudhuri
Explanation:
Amit Chaudhuri is celebrated for delicate, micro-detailed domestic realism focusing on perception rather than dramatic plot.
34. Which Indian author wrote 'Animal's People' (2007), a novel narrated by a survivor of the Bhopal gas disaster?
Correct Answer: b) Indra Sinha
Explanation:
Indra Sinha's Booker-shortlisted novel gives voice to the victims of the world's worst industrial catastrophe.
35. Which Marathi and Indian English novelist wrote 'Ravan and Eddie' and the epic historical novel 'Cuckold'?
Correct Answer: a) Kiran Nagarkar
Explanation:
Kiran Nagarkar was a prominent voice in modern Indian literature, known for irreverent humor and historical depth.
36. Which prominent Kannada playwright and author translated his own plays like 'Tughlaq' and 'Hayavadana' into English?
Correct Answer: b) Girish Karnad
Explanation:
Girish Karnad used historical and mythological frameworks to address contemporary political tyranny and identity.
37. Which pioneering Indian English playwright won the Sahitya Akademi Award for 'Final Solutions', addressing communalism and gender?
Correct Answer: b) Mahesh Dattani
Explanation:
Mahesh Dattani was the first playwright in Indian English to win the Sahitya Akademi Award, tackling taboo social issues on stage.
38. Which Indian playwright wrote 'Harvest' (1997), a dystopian play dealing with organ harvesting and futuristic neo-colonialism?
Correct Answer: b) Manjula Padmanabhan
Explanation:
Manjula Padmanabhan's award-winning dystopian drama explores economic exploitation and First World-Third World disparities.
39. Which pioneering 19th-century Indian author wrote 'Rajmohan's Wife' (1864), recognized as the first Indian novel in English?
Correct Answer: b) Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
Explanation:
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, famous for Bengali literature, began his novelistic career with 'Rajmohan's Wife' in English.
40. Which Indian author wrote 'Twilight in Delhi' (1940), capturing the cultural decline of Muslim aristocracy under British rule?
Correct Answer: b) Ahmed Ali
Explanation:
Ahmed Ali's 'Twilight in Delhi' is a modernist elegy for the fading Mughal culture of the old city.
41. Which Indian American physician and author wrote 'Cutting for Stone' (2009), a bestselling novel set in Ethiopia and New York?
Correct Answer: b) Abraham Verghese
Explanation:
Abraham Verghese combines medical realism with epic family storytelling across continents.
42. Which Indian American oncologist won the Pulitzer Prize for his non-fiction book 'The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer' (2010)?
Correct Answer: b) Siddhartha Mukherjee
Explanation:
Siddhartha Mukherjee wrote a monumental, literary biography tracing humanity's centuries-long war against cancer.
43. Which prominent Indian surgeon and writer for 'The New Yorker' wrote 'Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End'?
Correct Answer: b) Atul Gawande
Explanation:
Atul Gawande explores medical ethics, aging, and palliative care through deeply reflective prose.
44. Which prolific Indian bestselling author wrote 'Five Point Someone' (2004) and '2 States', popularizing campus and commercial pop fiction?
Correct Answer: b) Chetan Bhagat
Explanation:
Chetan Bhagat revolutionized Indian publishing by introducing accessible, colloquial English fiction addressing youth culture.
45. Which Indian author launched the phenomenally successful mythological fantasy 'The Immortals of Meluha' (2010), reimagining Lord Shiva?
Correct Answer: b) Amisha Tripathi
Explanation:
Amish Tripathi pioneered contemporary Indian mythological fiction, blending philosophy, action, and ancient lore.
46. Which Indian author wrote 'The Rozabal Line' and historical conspiracy thrillers blending theology and mythology?
Correct Answer: b) Ashwin Sanghi
Explanation:
Ashwin Sanghi is known for fast-paced historical mystery thrillers intertwining Indian history and international conspiracies.
47. Which Indian poet and critic edited the influential 'Modern Indian Poetry in English' (1969), championing modernist poetics?
Correct Answer: c) Arvind Krishna Mehrotra
Explanation:
Arvind Krishna Mehrotra is a prominent modernist poet, translator, and anthologist who shaped Indian English poetry.
48. Which Indian English poet and civil servant wrote 'Under Orion' and 'The Keeper of the Dead', capturing the landscapes of Kutch and Rohilkhand?
Correct Answer: b) Keki N. Daruwalla
Explanation:
Keki N. Daruwalla brings a tough, masculine idiom and vivid geographical awareness to Indian poetry in English.
49. Which Oriya poet and physicist wrote 'A Rain of Rites' and 'Relationship', becoming the first Indian to win the Sahitya Akademi Award for English poetry?
Correct Answer: a) Jayanta Mahapatra
Explanation:
Jayanta Mahapatra's poetry is celebrated for lyrical melancholy, deep attachment to Cuttack, and profound spiritual questioning.
50. Which prodigy poet won the Hawthornden Prize at age 19 for his debut collection 'A Beginning' (1958)?
Correct Answer: a) Dom Moraes
Explanation:
Dom Moraes was a legendary expatriate poet and travel writer whose lyrical early verse gained international acclaim.
51. Which Parsi-Indian poet and critic wrote 'Fix' and edited 'New Writing in India', exploring urban alienation in Bombay?
Correct Answer: a) Adil Jussawalla
Explanation:
Adil Jussawalla is a seminal modernist voice in Indian poetry, addressing political disillusionment and exile.
52. Which Goan-Indian poet, art critic, and physician wrote 'Visiting Room' and the famous poem 'On Killing a Tree'?
Correct Answer: a) Gieve Patel
Explanation:
Gieve Patel combined medical practice with minimalist, morally engaged poetry concerning violence, mortality, and nature.
53. Which Goan-Indian poet and academic wrote 'Fix' and 'Ways of Belonging', known for sharp feminist irony and Goan Catholic cultural critique?
Correct Answer: a) Eunice de Souza
Explanation:
Eunice de Souza's poetry is renowned for pithy, anti-sentimental wit and precise domestic critique.
54. Which contemporary Indian poet born in Gujarat and living in Germany wrote 'Brunizem' and 'Mulberry Tree', exploring language and exile?
Correct Answer: a) Sujata Bhatt
Explanation:
Sujata Bhatt explores multilingual identity, cultural roots, and transnational migration in her celebrated poetry.
55. Which contemporary poet and documentary filmmaker born in Pakistan wrote 'Purdah' and 'Postcards from God', addressing fundamentalism and gender?
Correct Answer: a) Imtiaz Dharker
Explanation:
Imtiaz Dharker's verse combines visual artistry with powerful social critique regarding displacement and religious dogmatism.
56. Which Anglo-Indian novelist wrote 'Trying to Grow' and 'God's Little Soldier', exploring religious extremism and familial expectations?
Correct Answer: b) Tarun Tejpal
Explanation:
Tarun Tejpal's provocative novels examine contemporary Indian political corruption, fundamentalism, and moral decay.
57. Which Parsi author wrote 'Trying to Grow' and the autobiographical novel 'Difficult Daughters'?
Correct Answer: a) Manju Kapur
Explanation:
Manju Kapur writes realist domestic fiction focusing on educated Indian women striving for independence within traditional families.
58. Which Pakistani-American author wrote 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' (2007), examining post-9/11 geopolitical anxiety through a dramatic monologue?
Correct Answer: b) Mohsin Hamid
Explanation:
Mohsin Hamid's novel uses an intense frame narrative set in Lahore to interrogate American hegemony and disillusionment.
59. Which Pakistani-British author wrote 'Ice-Candy-Man' (1988), portraying the Partition of India from a Parsi child's perspective in Lahore?
Correct Answer: a) Bapsi Sidhwa
Explanation:
Bapsi Sidhwa's novel (published in the US as 'Cracking India') provides a poignant witness account of communal violence during Partition.
60. Which Pakistani-American memoirist wrote 'Meatless Days' (1989), combining lyrical prose with political history and family loss?
Correct Answer: a) Sara Suleri
Explanation:
Sara Suleri's 'Meatless Days' is a dazzling post-colonial memoir reflecting on Pakistan's creation and familial grief.
61. Which contemporary British-Pakistani novelist wrote 'Home Fire' (2017), a modern retelling of Sophocles's 'Antigone'?
Correct Answer: a) Kamila Shamsie
Explanation:
Kamila Shamsie won the Women's Prize for Fiction for 'Home Fire', exploring radicalization, state surveillance, and sibling loyalty.
62. Which Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist wrote 'The English Patient' (1992), winning the Booker Prize for its poetic WWII desert narrative?
Correct Answer: b) Michael Ondaatje
Explanation:
Michael Ondaatje is celebrated for lyrical, fragmented prose exploring identity, history, and trauma across international borders.
63. Which Sri Lankan-Canadian author wrote 'Funny Boy' (1994), chronicling growing up gay during the ethnic tensions leading to the Sri Lankan civil war?
Correct Answer: b) Shyam Selvadurai
Explanation:
Shyam Selvadurai's 'Funny Boy' is a landmark coming-of-age novel depicting the 1983 anti-Tamil riots in Colombo.
64. Which Sri Lankan British novelist wrote 'Reef' (1994), depicting post-colonial Ceylon through the eyes of a domestic servant?
Correct Answer: a) Romesh Gunesekera
Explanation:
Romesh Gunesekera's delicate, sensory prose captures the ecological and political decay of island life.
65. Which Sri Lankan author won the Booker Prize in 2022 with 'The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida', set during the Sri Lankan civil war?
Correct Answer: b) Shehan Karunatilaka
Explanation:
Shehan Karunatilaka's darkly humorous satirical novel uses a ghostly afterlife framework to expose wartime atrocities.
66. Which Bangladeshi-British author wrote 'Brick Lane' (2003), chronicling the lives of Bangladeshi immigrants in East London?
Correct Answer: a) Monica Ali
Explanation:
Monica Ali's 'Brick Lane' captured the immigrant experience, cultural isolation, and domestic awakening in London.
67. Which Bangladeshi author wrote 'A Golden Age' (2007), a historical novel set during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War?
Correct Answer: b) Tahmima Anam
Explanation:
Tahmima Anam's debut novel portrays a mother's active participation in the Bengali guerrilla resistance against Pakistan.
68. Which Indian English novelist wrote 'The Glass Palace' (2000), tracing a family across Burma, India, and Malaya during the colonial era?
Correct Answer: b) Amitav Ghosh
Explanation:
Amitav Ghosh's historical novel explores the fall of the Burmese monarchy and the displacement caused by British imperialism.
69. Which Indian author wrote 'The Shadow Lines' (1988), winning the Sahitya Akademi Award for its meditation on borders, memory, and Partition?
Correct Answer: b) Amitav Ghosh
Explanation:
Amitav Ghosh's 'The Shadow Lines' examines how national borders construct artificial divisions across families in India and Bangladesh.
70. Which Malayalam novelist translated his own allegorical masterpiece 'The Legends of Khasak' into English?
Correct Answer: a) O.V. Vijayan
Explanation:
O.V. Vijayan was a pioneer of modern Indian fiction who blended existential philosophy, myth, and village life.
71. Which Indian author wrote 'Goat Days' (Aadujeevitham), chronicling the brutal modern slavery of an Indian migrant worker in Saudi Arabia?
Correct Answer: a) Benyamin
Explanation:
Benyamin's bestselling Malayalam novel (translated into English) exposes the harrowing plight of Gulf diaspora laborers.
72. Which contemporary Indian novelist wrote 'Hangwoman' (2014), a dark satirical thriller about India's first female executioner?
Correct Answer: a) K.R. Meera
Explanation:
K.R. Meera is a celebrated Malayalam author whose translated works dissect patriarchy, media sensationalism, and violence.
73. Which Indian English novelist wrote 'Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard' (1998), a whimsical comedy set in a fictional North Indian town?
Correct Answer: a) Kiran Desai
Explanation:
Kiran Desai's debut novel uses magical realism and gentle satire to portray a young man who retreats into a tree.
74. Which Indian poet and novelist won the Sahitya Akademi Award for 'The Last Labyrinth' (1981), exploring spiritual hunger and carnal desire?
Correct Answer: a) Arun Joshi
Explanation:
Arun Joshi's existential novels ('The Foreigner', 'The Apprentice') examine the spiritual alienation of modern Indian intellectuals.
75. Which Indian English novelist wrote 'The Strange Case of Billy Biswas' (1971), depicting an anthropologist who abandons civilization for tribal life?
Correct Answer: a) Arun Joshi
Explanation:
Arun Joshi explored the deep psychological rift between Westernized bourgeois ambition and primal spiritual calling.
76. Which historical novelist wrote 'A Bend in the Ganges' (1964), charting the violent upheavals of Partition through two friends?
Correct Answer: a) Manohar Malgonkar
Explanation:
Manohar Malgonkar was a prominent military historian and novelist focusing on princely states, war, and Partition.
77. Which Indian English poet and novelist wrote 'All About H. Hatterr' (1948), celebrated for its eccentric, exuberant colonial pidgin English?
Correct Answer: a) G.V. Desani
Explanation:
G.V. Desani's linguistic tour de force was praised by T.S. Eliot and Anthony Burgess for breaking new ground in Indian English style.
78. Which Indian English author wrote 'The Moor's Last Sigh' (1995), charting the history of a pepper-baron family in Cochin and Bombay?
Correct Answer: a) Salman Rushdie
Explanation:
Salman Rushdie blended art history, Jewish-Portuguese diaspora lore, and political satire in 'The Moor's Last Sigh'.
79. Which Indian author wrote 'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness' (2017), addressing Kashmir, communal violence, and Delhi's marginalized communities?
Correct Answer: a) Arundhati Roy
Explanation:
Arundhati Roy's second novel returned to fiction after two decades, weaving political activism and lyrical polyphony.
80. Which Indian English novelist wrote 'Embers' and 'The Immigrants', exploring the psychological complexities of Parsi society?
Correct Answer: a) Firuzi Dubash
Explanation:
Firuzi Dubash captures the insular humor and cultural traditions of the Parsi community in Bombay.
81. Which Indian author wrote 'Selection Day' (2016), examining cricket obsession and familial tyranny in Mumbai slums?
Correct Answer: a) Aravind Adiga
Explanation:
Aravind Adiga's 'Selection Day' exposes the grueling pressures of sports ambition and urban survival in India.
82. Which Indian American author wrote 'The Namesake' and 'Unaccustomed Earth', exploring diasporic longing?
Correct Answer: a) Jhumpa Lahiri
Explanation:
Jhumpa Lahiri is a master of chronicling immigrant generational divides and cultural adjustment.
83. Which Indian author wrote 'The Infinity of Lists' or similar post-modern works? Let's check classical Indian English poetry: Who wrote 'The Collector's Wife'?
Correct Answer: a) Mitra Phukan
Explanation:
Mitra Phukan is a prominent writer from Assam who writes novels and children's literature in English.
84. Which author from Nagaland wrote 'These Hills Called Home: Stories from a War Zone', documenting insurgency and violence?
Correct Answer: a) Temsula Ao
Explanation:
Temsula Ao is a noted Naga poet, short-story writer, and ethnographer who chronicles the trauma of the Naga political conflict.
85. Which Arunachali poet and novelist wrote 'The Black Hill' and 'River Poems', capturing indigenous folklore and Himalayan geography?
Correct Answer: a) Mamang Dai
Explanation:
Mamang Dai is a celebrated writer from Arunachal Pradesh preserving oral traditions and ecological awareness in English.
86. Which Naga novelist wrote 'When the River Sleeps' (2014), winning the Hindu Literary Prize for its exploration of Naga animism and myth?
Correct Answer: a) Easterine Kire
Explanation:
Easterine Kire brings traditional Naga folklore and historical memory into contemporary Indian English fiction.
87. Which Indian English novelist wrote 'Cobalt Blue' (1899/2006 translation), a deeply poetic epistolary novel translated from Marathi by Jerry Pinto?
Correct Answer: b) Jerry Pinto
Explanation:
Jerry Pinto is a celebrated Goan-Indian poet, novelist ('Em and the Big Hoom'), and translator.
88. Which Indian author wrote 'Em and the Big Hoom' (2012), winning the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize for its depiction of maternal bipolar disorder?
Correct Answer: a) Jerry Pinto
Explanation:
Jerry Pinto's debut novel is a tender, humorous, and heartbreaking portrait of a Goan Catholic family in Bombay.
89. Which Indian English poet and novelist wrote 'The Blue Bedspread' (1999), exploring familial secrets in Calcutta through household objects?
Correct Answer: b) Raj Kamal Jha
Explanation:
Raj Kamal Jha is a novelist and editor whose works examine violence, childhood trauma, and contemporary urban India.
90. Which Indian novelist wrote 'The City and the Sea' and 'The Blue Bedspread', focusing on nocturnal urban violence and media guilt?
Correct Answer: a) Raj Kamal Jha
Explanation:
Raj Kamal Jha uses haunting narrative structures to investigate the dark underside of Indian metropolitan life.
91. Which Indian novelist wrote 'The Opium Clerk' and 'The Yellow Emperor's Cure', blending historical research and adventure?
Correct Answer: a) Kunal Basu
Explanation:
Kunal Basu is an Indian-born academic and historical fiction writer whose novels span diverse global eras.
92. Which Indian English author wrote 'The Business' and 'The Lives of Others' (2014), winning the Hindu Literary Prize for its portrait of 1950s Calcutta and Naxalite politics?
Correct Answer: a) Neel Mukherjee
Explanation:
Neel Mukherjee's Booker-shortlisted 'The Lives of Others' is a searing exploration of family collapse and political fanaticism.
93. Which contemporary Indian novelist wrote 'An Atlas of Impossible Longing' (2008), chronicling a family across Partition and industrial Bengal?
Correct Answer: a) Anuradha Roy
Explanation:
Anuradha Roy is celebrated for lyrical prose, architectural detail, and quiet emotional resonance in domestic fiction.
94. Which Indian author won the Booker Prize in 2023 with 'Prophet Song'—wait, Paul Lynch won for Ireland. Who was the Indian shortlist nominee? Let's check: Chetna Maroo for 'Western Lane'.
Correct Answer: a) Chetna Maroo
Explanation:
Chetna Maroo was shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize for her debut novel 'Western Lane', set in the world of British-Gujarati squash players.
95. Which Indian American novelist wrote 'Burnt Sugar' (2000/2020), shortlisted for the Booker Prize, exploring complex mother-daughter resentment?
Correct Answer: a) Avni Doshi
Explanation:
Avni Doshi's 'Burnt Sugar' (published in India as 'Girl in White Cotton') examines memory, aging, and bitter maternal legacy.
96. Which Indian author wrote 'A Burning' (2020), a critically acclaimed debut novel following a young Muslim woman accused of terrorism on social media?
Correct Answer: a) Megha Majumdar
Explanation:
Megha Majumdar's 'A Burning' is a taut, fast-paced contemporary novel examining ambition, justice, and social media in India.
97. Which Indian author wrote 'Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line' (2020), following children investigating missing slum kids in Delhi?
Correct Answer: a) Deepa Anappara
Explanation:
Deepa Anappara's debut novel combines journalistic insight with a child's-eye perspective on urban poverty and missing children.
98. Which Indian novelist won the JCB Prize for Literature with 'The Far Field' (2019), set in turbulent Kashmir and Karnataka?
Correct Answer: a) Madhuri Vijay
Explanation:
Madhuri Vijay's debut novel explores political unrest, moral complicity, and personal grief in Kashmir.
