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Lesson 2 of 8 · Static General Knowledge: Symbols, Firsts, Awards, Sports and Organisations

Firsts and Superlatives of India: First Office-Holders, First Women, Largest and Longest

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Why firsts are asked

Firsts and superlatives are one-line questions in almost every SSC and Railway paper. A first, once made, stays first, and the longest river does not move, so learn them in groups: offices, women, achievements and geography.

First holders of high offices

The first President was Rajendra Prasad (1950-1962), the only President to serve two terms, and the first Vice-President was Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who later became the second President. Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister and Lord Mountbatten the first Governor-General of independent India, while C. Rajagopalachari (1948) was the first and only Indian Governor-General. H.J. Kania was the first Chief Justice of India, G.V. Mavalankar the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Sukumar Sen the first Chief Election Commissioner. Zakir Husain (1967) was the first Muslim President and Giani Zail Singh the first Sikh President. In British India, Warren Hastings was the first Governor-General of Bengal (1773), Lord William Bentinck the first Governor-General of India (1833) and Lord Canning the first Viceroy (1858).

First women

Annie Besant was the first woman President of the Congress (1917) and Sarojini Naidu the first Indian woman to hold that post (1925); Sarojini Naidu also became the first woman Governor of a state (United Provinces, 1947). Sucheta Kripalani became the first woman Chief Minister (Uttar Pradesh, 1963), Indira Gandhi the first woman Prime Minister (1966) and Pratibha Patil the first woman President (2007). M. Fathima Beevi was the first woman judge of the Supreme Court (1989), Kiran Bedi the first woman IPS officer (1972), Anna Rajam Malhotra the first woman IAS officer (1951) and Meira Kumar the first woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha (2009). Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was the first woman President of the UN General Assembly (1953). Kadambini Ganguly and Chandramukhi Basu were the first women graduates in India (1883).

Firsts in service, science and adventure

Satyendranath Tagore was the first Indian to qualify for the Indian Civil Service (1863). K.M. Cariappa became the first Indian Commander-in-Chief of the Army on 15 January 1949; Sam Manekshaw was the first Field Marshal (1973) and Arjan Singh the only Marshal of the Indian Air Force. Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian in space (1984, aboard Soyuz T-11), and Kalpana Chawla the first woman of Indian origin in space (1997). Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary first reached the summit of Everest on 29 May 1953, and Bachendri Pal became the first Indian woman to climb it in 1984. Mihir Sen was the first Indian to swim the English Channel (1958), and Bhanu Athaiya the first Indian to win an Oscar, for costume design in Gandhi (1983).

Largest and smallest

By area Rajasthan is the largest state and Goa the smallest; among union territories Ladakh (since 2019) is the largest and Lakshadweep the smallest. By population (Census 2011) Uttar Pradesh is the largest state and Sikkim the smallest. Census 2011 also gives Bihar the highest density (1,106 persons per sq km) and Arunachal Pradesh the lowest (17), Kerala the highest literacy (94%) and the highest sex ratio (1,084 women per 1,000 men), and Haryana the lowest sex ratio (879). Gujarat has the longest coastline of any state. The Thar or Great Indian Desert, mostly in Rajasthan, is the largest desert, and Ladakh is a cold desert.

Rivers, lakes and islands

The Ganga, about 2,525 km long, is the longest river of India and has the largest river basin; the Godavari, about 1,465 km long, is the longest river of peninsular India and is called the Dakshin Ganga; and the Narmada is the longest west-flowing river. Wular in Jammu and Kashmir is the largest freshwater lake, Chilika in Odisha the largest coastal lagoon and Sambhar in Rajasthan the largest inland saline lake. Majuli on the Brahmaputra in Assam is the largest river island, while Umananda in the Brahmaputra at Guwahati is often called the smallest inhabited river island.

Peaks, dams and bridges

K2 (8,611 m), in Gilgit-Baltistan under Pakistan's occupation, is the highest peak on India's map, and Kangchenjunga (8,586 m) on the Sikkim-Nepal border is the highest peak in territory India administers. Anamudi (2,695 m) in Kerala is the highest peak of south India, Doddabetta the highest in the Nilgiris and Guru Shikhar at Mount Abu the highest in the Aravallis. Hirakud on the Mahanadi in Odisha is the longest dam and Tehri on the Bhagirathi in Uttarakhand the highest, while Bhakra on the Sutlej forms the Gobind Sagar reservoir. Pamban Bridge (1914) was India's first sea bridge, Howrah Bridge (1943) over the Hooghly is a famous cantilever bridge, the Dhola-Sadiya or Bhupen Hazarika Setu over the Lohit (about 9.15 km, 2017) was India's longest bridge when it opened, and Bogibeel over the Brahmaputra (2018) was its longest rail-cum-road bridge when it opened.

Extreme points

Indira Point on Great Nicobar is the southernmost point of India and Kanyakumari the southern tip of the mainland; Indira Col in the Siachen area is the northernmost point, Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh the easternmost and Guhar Moti in Kutch, Gujarat, the westernmost.

Key facts

First President Rajendra Prasad; first Vice-President S. Radhakrishnan; first Chief Justice H.J. Kania; first Lok Sabha Speaker G.V. Mavalankar; first Chief Election Commissioner Sukumar Sen.
Only Indian Governor-General: C. Rajagopalachari (1948); first Governor-General of independent India: Lord Mountbatten; first Viceroy: Lord Canning (1858).
Women firsts: Governor Sarojini Naidu (1947), Chief Minister Sucheta Kripalani (1963), Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (1966), Supreme Court judge Fathima Beevi (1989), President Pratibha Patil (2007), Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar (2009).
Congress Presidents: Annie Besant (1917) was the first woman; Sarojini Naidu (1925) the first Indian woman.
First Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw (1973), second K.M. Cariappa (1986); only Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh; first Indian ICS officer Satyendranath Tagore (1863).
Space and summits: Rakesh Sharma in space 1984; Kalpana Chawla 1997; Everest first climbed 29 May 1953 by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary; Bachendri Pal first Indian woman on Everest 1984.
Census 2011: most populous state Uttar Pradesh, least Sikkim; highest density Bihar, lowest Arunachal Pradesh; highest literacy and sex ratio Kerala; lowest sex ratio Haryana.
Longest river Ganga; longest peninsular river Godavari (Dakshin Ganga); largest freshwater lake Wular; largest lagoon Chilika; largest inland saline lake Sambhar; largest river island Majuli.
Longest dam Hirakud (Mahanadi); highest dam Tehri (Bhagirathi); highest peak of south India Anamudi; highest in the Aravallis Guru Shikhar; Statue of Unity (182 m, Gujarat) was the world's tallest statue when unveiled in 2018.
Extreme points: south Indira Point (Great Nicobar), north Indira Col, east Kibithu (Arunachal Pradesh), west Guhar Moti (Kutch); southern tip of the mainland Kanyakumari.

Quick revision

First President Rajendra Prasad, PM Nehru, CJI H.J. Kania, Speaker Mavalankar, CEC Sukumar Sen; only Indian Governor-General Rajagopalachari; women: Governor Sarojini Naidu 1947, CM Sucheta Kripalani 1963, PM Indira Gandhi 1966, SC judge Fathima Beevi 1989, President Pratibha Patil 2007; Rakesh Sharma 1984; Everest 29 May 1953; largest state Rajasthan, smallest Goa; UP most populous (2011); Ganga longest, Godavari Dakshin Ganga; Wular, Chilika, Sambhar, Majuli; Hirakud longest, Tehri highest dam.

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