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Haryana General Knowledge: key facts and practice questions

Revise Haryana General Knowledge for the HSSC CET: the facts and distinctions that keep coming up, a one-glance revision list, and 10 practice questions with answers and explanations.

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Key concepts and facts

Ancient history: The Ghaggar plain is dense with Harappan sites. Rakhigarhi (Hansi district, carved out of Hisar in December 2025) is regarded as the largest in India; Banawali (Fatehabad), excavated by R.S. Bisht, yielded a terracotta plough model; Bhirrana (Fatehabad) has pre-Harappan levels that a 2016 study placed in the 8th–7th millennium BCE, among the oldest of the Indus tradition; Mitathal is in Bhiwani. Ancient tradition (the Manusmriti) placed Brahmavarta between the Saraswati and the Drishadvati. At Kurukshetra, Jyotisar is revered as the place of the Gita sermon, and Brahma Sarovar draws pilgrims at solar eclipses. Agroha is linked with Maharaja Agrasen, ancestor of the Agrawals. Thanesar (Sthanvishvara) was the Pushyabhuti capital; Harshavardhana was crowned there in 606 CE and later ruled from Kannauj, and his court poet Banabhatta wrote the Harshacharita.
Medieval history: On the road to Delhi, Haryana often decided north India's fate. At Tarain (Taraori, Karnal) Prithviraj Chauhan III beat Muhammad Ghori in 1191 and lost to him in 1192. Razia Sultan was killed near Kaithal in 1240. Firoz Shah Tughlaq founded Hisar (1354) and Fatehabad, cut canals from the Yamuna and moved an Ashokan pillar from Topra to Delhi. At Panipat, Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi on 21 April 1526 and built the Kabuli Bagh mosque; Akbar's army under Bairam Khan defeated Hemu on 5 November 1556; and Ahmad Shah Abdali crushed the Marathas under Sadashivrao Bhau on 14 January 1761. Shaikh Farid, Jahangir's treasurer, founded Faridabad in 1607; Nawab Fidai Khan laid out the Pinjore garden; Nadir Shah beat Muhammad Shah at Karnal in 1739; Banda Singh Bahadur ruled from Lohgarh. The Treaty of Surji-Anjangaon (1803) brought the region under the British.
Revolt, freedom struggle and statehood: In 1857 the forces of Rao Tula Ram of Rewari fought the British at Nasibpur near Narnaul, and Raja Nahar Singh of Ballabhgarh was hanged in 1858; as punishment the region was moved from the North-Western Provinces to Punjab. Lala Lajpat Rai practised law at Hisar, Sir Chhotu Ram ('Deenbandhu') co-founded the Unionist Party, and Pt. Neki Ram Sharma is remembered as 'Haryana Kesari'. After the Hukam Singh committee and Justice J.C. Shah's boundary commission, the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 created Haryana on 1 November 1966. Chandigarh became a Union Territory, the shared capital and seat of the common High Court. Pt. Bhagwat Dayal Sharma was the first Chief Minister and Dharma Vira the first Governor. The unicameral Vidhan Sabha has 90 seats, and the state sends 10 members to the Lok Sabha and 5 to the Rajya Sabha. Gaya Lal's defections of 1967 coined 'Aaya Ram Gaya Ram', and the SYL canal is a long-running water dispute with Punjab. Census 2011 recorded a sex ratio of 879, the lowest among states.
Geography and wildlife: Haryana (44,212 sq km) is landlocked, surrounds Delhi on three sides and is separated from Uttar Pradesh by the Yamuna. The north-eastern Shivaliks hold the Morni hills and Karoh peak, the highest point; Aravalli offshoots run through the south. Between them lies the alluvial plain of low Khadar and higher Bangar, sandy and dry in the south-west. The Yamuna, the only perennial river, feeds the Western Yamuna Canal at Hathnikund (Yamunanagar). The Ghaggar receives the Kaushalya, Tangri and Markanda and has the Ottu barrage near Sirsa; the Sahibi rises in Rajasthan, has the Masani barrage in Rewari and reaches Delhi as the Najafgarh drain; Adi Badri is revered as the source of the Saraswati. Sultanpur (Gurugram) and Kalesar (Yamunanagar) are national parks, Bhindawas (Jhajjar) is the largest wetland and Pinjore has India's first vulture breeding centre. State symbols: blackbuck, black francolin, peepal and lotus.
Economy: With Punjab, Haryana led the Green Revolution in wheat. Wheat and rice dominate, with basmati around Karnal and Kaithal, bajra and mustard in the dry south and cotton in Sirsa, Hisar and Fatehabad. The Murrah buffalo and Hariana cattle are native breeds; NDRI, CSSRI and IIWBR are at Karnal, CIRB and CCS Haryana Agricultural University at Hisar. Haryana is credited with electrifying all its villages by 1970. Gurugram (Maruti from 1983) is the automobile and IT hub and Panipat the 'City of Weavers'; Ambala Cantt makes scientific instruments and Yamunanagar plywood.
Culture and people: Phag is danced in Phalgun, Loor by girls of the Bangar tract in spring and Khoria by women on the night the baraat leaves; Saang is the folk theatre made famous by Pt. Lakhmi Chand, the 'Surya Kavi'. The dialects are Bangru (centre), Bagri (west), Ahirwati (south), Mewati (Nuh) and Braj (Palwal). The Surajkund Crafts Mela is held every February at Faridabad. Names to know: Kalpana Chawla (Karnal), Santosh Yadav (Rewari), Pt. Jasraj (Mewati gharana), Vijender Singh of Bhiwani, the 'Mini Cuba' of boxing, Sakshi Malik and Kapil Dev, the 'Haryana Hurricane'.
Traps to avoid: Tarain 1191 (Prithviraj won) versus 1192 (Ghori won); Panipat 1526 Babur, 1556 Akbar's army, 1761 Abdali. Thanesar was Harsha's first capital, Kannauj his later one. Hathnikund is on the Yamuna, Ottu on the Ghaggar, Masani on the Sahibi. Kalibangan is in Rajasthan. Deenbandhu is Chhotu Ram, Haryana Kesari is Neki Ram Sharma, Punjab Kesari is Lajpat Rai.

One-glance revision list

Harappan sites by district: Rakhigarhi (Hansi district since December 2025, earlier Hisar; largest in India), Banawali and Bhirrana (Fatehabad), Mitathal (Bhiwani). Kalibangan is in Rajasthan, not Haryana.
Three battles of Panipat: 1526 Babur beat Ibrahim Lodi; 1556 Akbar's army under Bairam Khan beat Hemu; 1761 Ahmad Shah Abdali beat the Marathas under Sadashivrao Bhau.
Tarain (Taraori, Karnal): 1191 Prithviraj III beat Muhammad Ghori; 1192 Ghori beat Prithviraj III. Karnal 1739: Nadir Shah beat Muhammad Shah.
Thanesar line: Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) dynasty; Harshavardhana crowned 606 CE, later ruled from Kannauj; Banabhatta wrote the Harshacharita.
Founders: Hisar 1354 and Fatehabad (Firoz Shah Tughlaq), Faridabad 1607 (Shaikh Farid, Jahangir's treasurer), Pinjore garden (Nawab Fidai Khan), Surajkund (Tomar king Surajpal), Lohgarh capital (Banda Singh Bahadur).
Statehood: Hukam Singh committee and Shah Commission (1966), Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966, Haryana Day 1 November 1966; first CM Pt. Bhagwat Dayal Sharma, first Governor Dharma Vira.
Numbers: Vidhan Sabha 90 (unicameral), Lok Sabha 10, Rajya Sabha 5; area 44,212 sq km; Census 2011 sex ratio 879, the lowest among states.
Barrages by river: Hathnikund on the Yamuna (Yamunanagar), Ottu on the Ghaggar (Sirsa), Masani on the Sahibi (Rewari). The Sahibi reaches Delhi as the Najafgarh drain.
Protected areas: Sultanpur National Park (Gurugram), Kalesar National Park (Yamunanagar), Bhindawas sanctuary (Jhajjar, largest wetland), Jatayu vulture breeding centre (Pinjore).
State symbols: animal blackbuck, bird black francolin, tree peepal, flower lotus.
Sobriquets: Deenbandhu = Sir Chhotu Ram; Haryana Kesari = Pt. Neki Ram Sharma; Punjab Kesari = Lala Lajpat Rai; Surya Kavi = Pt. Lakhmi Chand; Haryana Hurricane = Kapil Dev; Mini Cuba = Bhiwani.
Dances by occasion: Phag (Phalgun, farmers), Loor (girls of the Bangar tract, spring), Khoria (women, the night the baraat leaves); Saang is folk theatre and Ragini a folk song form.

Lessons in depth

10 longer lessons on Haryana General Knowledge, one per sub-topic, each with its key facts and a quick revision.

Practice questions

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1. On which date did Haryana come into existence as a separate state? (A) 1 November 1966 (B) 1 November 1956 (C) 26 January 1950 (D) 15 August 1967

Answer: (A) 1 November 1966. Haryana was created on 1 November 1966 under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, and the day is celebrated as Haryana Day. 1 November 1956 is the date on which the States Reorganisation Act came into force.

2. The Mughal-style terraced garden at Pinjore, now called the Yadavindra Gardens, was laid out in the 17th century by whom? (A) Ali Mardan Khan (B) Nawab Fidai Khan (C) Shaikh Farid (D) Raja Surajpal

Answer: (B) Nawab Fidai Khan. Nawab Fidai Khan, foster brother of Aurangzeb, designed the Pinjore garden; it was later renamed after Maharaja Yadavindra Singh of Patiala. Ali Mardan Khan is known for canal works under Shah Jahan.

3. Loor, a dance of Haryana performed by girls in the spring month of Phalgun with question-and-answer songs, is associated mainly with which region? (A) Bangar (B) Mewat (C) Ahirwal (D) Braj (Palwal)

Answer: (A) Bangar. Loor, a local word for a girl, is danced around Holi in the Bangar tract of central Haryana. Mewat is the Nuh region, Ahirwal the Rewari-Mahendragarh area and Braj the Palwal-Hodal area in the south-east.

4. Unlike the usual grid (chessboard) layout of Harappan towns, the streets of Banawali in Fatehabad district are noted for being laid out in which pattern? (A) Concentric rings around a central tank (B) A single long street along the river (C) A spiral pattern (D) A radial pattern

Answer: (D) A radial pattern. Banawali's streets ran in a radial pattern rather than meeting at right angles, a feature often noted as unusual among Harappan towns.

5. Banabhatta, the court poet of Harsha, wrote the Harshacharita and which other celebrated prose work? (A) Dashakumaracharita (B) Mrichchhakatika (C) Kadambari (D) Kiratarjuniya

Answer: (C) Kadambari. Bana's two famous prose works are the Harshacharita and the Kadambari. Dashakumaracharita is by Dandin and Kiratarjuniya by Bharavi.

6. Banda Singh Bahadur, who had made Lohgarh his stronghold, was captured at Gurdas Nangal and executed at Delhi in 1716 during the reign of which Mughal emperor? (A) Farrukhsiyar (B) Bahadur Shah I (C) Aurangzeb (D) Muhammad Shah

Answer: (A) Farrukhsiyar. Banda was captured in 1715 and put to death in Delhi in 1716 under Farrukhsiyar. Earlier, Bahadur Shah I had campaigned against him and taken Lohgarh.

7. Ballabhgarh, the seat of Raja Nahar Singh who was hanged after the 1857 revolt, is in which present-day district of Haryana? (A) Gurugram (B) Palwal (C) Faridabad (D) Nuh

Answer: (C) Faridabad. Ballabhgarh is a town in Faridabad district, where Raja Nahar Singh's palace still stands. The cricket stadium at Faridabad is also named after him.

8. Which two of Haryana's Lok Sabha constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes? (A) Hisar and Bhiwani-Mahendragarh (B) Karnal and Kurukshetra (C) Ambala and Sirsa (D) Rohtak and Sonipat

Answer: (C) Ambala and Sirsa. Ambala and Sirsa are the two SC-reserved seats among Haryana's 10 Lok Sabha constituencies. Rohtak, Sonipat, Karnal and the others are general seats.

9. Tosham hill, an isolated rocky outlier of the Aravallis rising from the sandy plain, is located in which district of Haryana? (A) Mahendragarh (B) Hisar (C) Rewari (D) Bhiwani

Answer: (D) Bhiwani. Tosham hill stands near Tosham town in Bhiwani district and is one of the Aravalli outliers scattered across south-western Haryana. Hisar district lies to its north, but the hill itself falls in Bhiwani district.

10. In parts of Haryana, patches of land have been made barren by a white crust of salts on the surface. Such saline-alkaline soils are locally called: (A) Regur (B) Laterite (C) Reh or kallar (D) Bhur

Answer: (C) Reh or kallar. Reh or kallar soils form where poor drainage and rising groundwater bring salts to the surface; the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute at Karnal works on reclaiming them. Regur is the black cotton soil of the Deccan.

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