Family quiz
Discover India
Eight questions for each age group, on things children learn about India at school. A grown-up can read each question aloud and tap the answer the child chooses. Nothing you type or choose leaves this phone.
How to play
- Choose the round for the child's age.
- Look at the picture and read the question aloud. The child chooses an answer.
- After each answer, read the short explanation together.
Ages 4 to 6
Question 1
Which of these birds is India's national bird?
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Answer B. The peacock. The male has a shining blue neck and a long bronze-green tail. He fans out his tail when he dances.
Question 2
Which of these animals is India's national animal?
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Answer B. The tiger. It has a thick yellow coat of fur with dark stripes.
Question 3
Our national flag has three colours. Which colour is at the top?
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Answer A. Saffron. Saffron is at the top, white is in the middle and green is at the bottom. In the centre is a navy-blue wheel.
Question 4
At which festival do families light rows of little clay lamps called diyas?
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Answer A. Diwali, the festival of lights. Homes are lit with rows of diyas, little clay lamps.
Question 5
Holi is a festival of …
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Answer A. Colours. At Holi, people of all ages throw coloured water and powder at each other, to welcome spring.
Question 6
At Sankranti, children in Hyderabad fly these high in the sky. What are they?
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Answer A. Kites. Sankranti comes in January, and every year at Sankranti Telangana holds an International Kite Festival in Secunderabad.
Question 7
India's national heritage animal has a long trunk. Which animal is it?
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Answer A. The elephant. India calls the Asian elephant its National Heritage Animal.
Question 8
Charminar is a famous building in Hyderabad. How many tall towers does it have?
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Answer B. Four. Its four tall towers are called minars. Sultan Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah built Charminar in 1591.
Ages 7 to 10
Question 1
The wheel in the centre of our flag is the Ashoka Chakra. How many spokes does it have?
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Answer C. 24. The navy-blue wheel is copied from the wheel on the Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. It is about as wide as the white band.
Question 2
Who wrote our national anthem, 'Jana Gana Mana'?
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Answer A. Rabindranath Tagore. He wrote it in Bengali, and the full anthem takes about 52 seconds. Our national song, 'Vande Mataram', was written by Bankimchandra Chatterji.
Question 3
On which date does India celebrate Independence Day?
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Answer B. 15 August. India became independent on 15 August 1947. On 26 January we celebrate Republic Day: our Constitution came into force on that day in 1950.
Question 4
Which words are written below the lions on our national emblem?
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Answer A. Satyameva Jayate, which means 'truth alone triumphs'. The emblem comes from the Lion Capital that Emperor Ashoka put up at Sarnath.
Question 5
Telangana's state bird is the palapitta. What is its English name?
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Answer A. The Indian roller, also called the blue jay. In Telangana, spotting a palapitta at Dasara is thought to bring good luck.
Question 6
Which is Telangana's state festival, when women stack flowers into tall, colourful towers and sing and dance with them?
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Answer A. Bathukamma. Women carry their flower stacks in processions with folk songs and dancing. At the end, the flowers are floated on water.
Question 7
Pochampally, in Telangana, is famous for which craft?
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Answer A. Ikat weaving. Pochampally Ikat is a registered Geographical Indication: a name that belongs to cloth from this place.
Question 8
India celebrates Children's Day on 14 November. Whose birthday is it?
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Answer A. Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. Children's Day falls on his birthday: he was born on 14 November 1889.
Pictures and sources
- India's national flag: saffron, white and green bands, with a navy-blue wheel of 24 spokes in the centre. Drawing by Bharatiyata for this quiz.