Q.2097

In 2016, which religious community received minority status in the state of Maharashtra, which means, among others, they can be counted separately in surveys?

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The Jews. More here

Q.2069

The ascension of the planet Jupiter into the Leo section of the zodiac gives its name to which major 2016 event in India?

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The Simhastha Kumba Mela, held in Ujjain in 2016.

Q.2051

Image: Reuters

Seen here is Buddhist monk Phra Prommangkalachan from the Wat Traimitr Withayaram temple. He is holding up something which he is credited with creating as a good luck charm. This was apparently put to good use in 2015-16.

What is in the centre of this religious cloth?

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The logo of Leicester City F.C. Some credit the monk's blessings to the team's sensational feat of winning the 2015-16 English Premier League title. More here.

Q.2046

In April 2016, the U.S. Treasury announced its much awaited decision of putting a woman on a dollar note design, naming Harriet Tubman as the person who will be added to the front of the $20 bill.

Tubman was a 19th century abolitionist who helped a large number of people escape slavery. What famous nickname did fellow abolitionist William Garrison give her, making a Biblical allusion?

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He called her 'Moses' because Moses led the Hebrews out of slavery from Egypt. More here.

Q.1846

In Buddhism, this word means "place of the deathless" and has philosophical significance. It later became the name of a place in India with Buddhist temples. In Hindu myths, it is the city with the court of Indra.

In 2015, a place with this name is formally coming to being. Which place?

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Amaravati, the under-construction capital of Andhra Pradesh. More here.

This day last year: Q.1481

Q.1791

GS Khwaja, director of epigraphy at Archaeological Survey of India said also visited the temple of Baalshamin, which was built in 1st century AD. It was dedicated to the rain god and the Arabs would pray here. The area also had an amphitheatre for staging dramas and games. This was a precious multicultural site, a footprint of time.

Why is this temple in the news?

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ISIS is believed to have destroyed it

The militant group placed a large quantity of explosives in the temple of Baalshamin and then blew it up. Syria's head of antiquities was quoted as saying the temple was blown up on 23 August 2015.

Q.1767

Some artisans from a specific place situated a little over 80 km from Mumbai have blacklisted close to 150 traders on 2nd August 2015 since they had defaulted on payments in the past four years. Thus, they won’t be doing any business of selling the ______ _____ with these dealers.

This year, around 85,000 ______ ____ will be sent to various parts of Maharashtra and other neighbouring states. Few will also be sent abroad but a pay-first policy will be ensured.

Identify the product these artisans expertise in and the famous place as well. Their business peaks during August-September every year.

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Ganpati Idols from Pen

Mokal, an artisan, said that as Ganeshotsav is fast approches, any trader visiting Pen taluka for business is first scanned on a computer database to check if he/she has been blacklisted.

Q.1750

This painting by J.M.W. Turner depicts a festival or a grand celebration.

Traditionally, it is held at one of the prestigious four sites after a certain period. These four sites are supposed to be the places where drops of an elixir were dropped from the ‘pot’.

Which four places are these and what gathering is being talked about?

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Haridwar, Allahabad, Nashik and Ujjain Kumbha Mela

The Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha Kumbh Mela began on 14 July 2015. The year-long festival will end 11 August 2016.

Q.1735

In June 2015, "khandias" in Mumbai went on strike with other "Class IV" employees to ask for better wages and working conditions. These khandias work in dakhmas, where no one else usually goes and where certain birds and now solar panels are used.

What do khandias do?

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They are pall-bearers in the Parsi community and deliver bodies to the Parsi Towers of Silence. More here on what's going on.

This day last year: Q.1370

Q.1722

Fourteen years after the incident, on 7 June 2015, Xinyu Zhang and Hong Liang, from China, who were saddened by the destruction of the ______ filled the empty cavities where the _____ once stood with 3D laser light projection technology.

About 150 local people came out to see the unveiling of the holographic version on Sunday, 7 June 2015.

What was being resurrected?

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Buddhas of Bamiyan resurrected in Afghanistan

The two statues of Standing Buddhas of Bamiyan managed to survive for more than 1500 years. These statues were destroyed in March 2001 by Taliban declaring them as false idols.

Q.1560

Who said this? He’s also on the hit list of Al-Qaeda.

I stand with Charlie Hebdo, as we all must, to defend the art of satire, which has always been a force for liberty and against tyranny, dishonesty and stupidity ... religious totalitarianism has caused a deadly mutation in the heart of Islam and we see the tragic consequences in Paris today.

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Salman Rushdie
He is on Al Qaeda’s hit list and has received death threats for his novel ‘The Satanic verses’.

Q.1528

Entered this month's Q.IZ?

The actor Christian Bale played "Moses" in the 2014 film "Exodus: Gods and Kings". Bale had been approached to play another Biblical character for a film that released in 2014, which he declined.

Which film or character?

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"Noah".

This day last year: Q.1163

Q.1501

The Sunna (Islamic legal custom) prescribes them as only pollutants and doesn't ban them. But since they had a place of importance in Zorastrianism (Iran's state religion before the Muslim invasion and conversion) the state went after them to put Zorastrianism down. Now, this has become a symbol of silent resistance by the middle and upper middle classes of Iran. Some legislators are trying to pass a law which would make trading or keeping them at home punishable by 74 lashes as they see this as a 'sign of Western influence and is unsafe especially for kids and women'.

Iranian police forces, among few others will be exempt from punishment. What are we talking about?

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Keeping dogs as pets. Since the Sunna calls them pollutants, cleansing oneself before every prayer, if you have a pet dog at home can be cumbersome. More here.

This day last year: Q.1136

Q.1489

"Operation Zarb-e-Azb" is a 2014 Pakistani military operation against Taliban militants in the North Waziristan area of the country. "Azb" in this Urdu phrase (one translation of the phrase is "sharp and cutting") is a reference to a sword used by which person?

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The Prophet Mohammad. More on the operation here.

This day last year: Q.1123

Q.1466

Image: Wikimedia

This is an example of a "yantra", a diagram considered to have special symbolisms and powers in Eastern traditions. This served as the inspiration for a new symbol, an 8-pointed star, along with a brand name in Asia that stands for something without limits.

What from the world of travel is this, which was unveiled in August 2014?

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"Vistara", the new airline by the Tata group and Singapore Airlines. More on this logo.

This day last year: Q.1101

Q.1444

The peacock is a very important symbol in this little-known religion, with the "Peacock Angel" being a significant figure in the religion's founding myths. They are primarily located in Northern Iraq, but if other forces in the region have their way, they may not remain there.

Which religion is this, which has made headlines in mid-2014 for being persecuted?

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Yazidis, who are being targeted by the Islamic State - more here.

This day last year: Q.1079

Q.1389

The conflict between Israeli forces and Palestinian groups intensified in mid-2014. One of the major events that led to this was the disappearance of three Israeli teenagers. Israel launched an operation to find these boys, which was named after a famous Biblical phrase from the story involving Adam's sons.

What phrase?

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"Brother's Keeper". More on this operation and the phrase.

This day last year: Q.1024

Q.1380

The last time these religious relics, located in India, were displayed to the public was in 2004. The norm is for a 'decennial exposition', i.e. this display is done once every ten years. The next exposition has thus been scheduled for 2014, starting from November.

What is this?

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The relics of St. Francis Xavier in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa. More here.

This day last year: Q.1015

Q.1359

"Simian" is the name of a 2014 graphic novel by Vikram Balagopal. The story, based on myths and legends, begins with the old protagonist meeting his younger brother in a forest.

Who are these brothers?

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Hanuman, the monkey (simian?) god, and Bhima, his half-brother. Here's a review and here's the book on Amazon and on Flipkart.

This day last year: Q.994

Q.1353

In May 2014, Pope Francis visited the Middle East, meeting with leaders such as the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. At one point, the two men seemed to have a minor argument, reported to have gone as this: Netanyahu said "Jesus was here, in this land. He spoke __X__". The Pope corrected him, saying Jesus spoke "___Y___".

What two languages were they referring to?

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X: Hebrew, Y: Aramaic. For more on this seemingly innocuous debate, read this.

This day last year: Q.988