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'The Arctic Home in the Vedas' was written by:
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Answer: Option C — Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Detailed Solution
"The Arctic Home in the Vedas" is a book by Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, published in 1903.
About the book:
- Tilak argued, using astronomical references and descriptions in the Vedas and the Avesta (the Zoroastrian scripture), that the original home of the Aryans was in the Arctic region near the North Pole.
- He pointed to Vedic references to long dawns, long nights and long days, which, he said, could only describe polar conditions.
- According to him, the Aryans migrated south from the Arctic after the last Ice Age made it uninhabitable.
- The theory is not accepted by modern historians, but the book is still known as an example of Tilak's scholarship.
Tilak's other scholarly works:
"The Orion, or Researches into the Antiquity of the Vedas" (1893): used astronomical evidence to argue that the Vedas were very old.
"Gita Rahasya" (also called "Shrimad Bhagavad Gita Rahasya" or "Karmayoga Shastra"): written in Marathi while he was imprisoned in Mandalay, Burma (1908-1914). It interprets the Gita as a call to selfless action (karma yoga).
About Bal Gangadhar Tilak (1856-1920):
- He was born on 23 July 1856 in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.
- He was a leader of the "Extremist" group of the Indian National Congress, together with Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal ("Lal-Bal-Pal").
- He gave the famous slogan "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it."
- He started the newspapers "Kesari" (Marathi) and "Mahratta" (English) in 1881.
- He popularised the public celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi (1893) and Shivaji Jayanti (1895) to unite people.
- He founded the All India Home Rule League in April 1916 at Belgaum.
- The British journalist Valentine Chirol called him the "Father of Indian unrest".
Other works by reformers:
- Dayananda Saraswati: "Satyarth Prakash"; argued that India itself was the Aryan homeland.
- Aurobindo Ghose: "The Life Divine".
- Swami Vivekananda: "Raja Yoga".
Why not the other options?
- ✗Dayananda Saraswati wrote "Satyarth Prakash".
- ✗Aurobindo Ghose wrote "The Life Divine".
- ✗Swami Vivekananda wrote "Raja Yoga".
Quick tip
Remember: Tilak = "The Arctic Home in the Vedas" (1903), "The Orion" (1893), "Gita Rahasya" (written in Mandalay jail); "Swaraj is my birthright"; "Satyarth Prakash" = Dayananda.
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Books & Authors — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Books & Authors, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers famous books and their authors, including ancient Indian texts, works of the freedom struggle, classic and modern literature, autobiographies of famous people, and recently published books by well-known personalities. Questions usually name a book and ask for its author, or the other way round. Ancient and historical books, such as Arthashastra (Kautilya), Indica (Megasthenes) and Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore), are tested most often. Autobiographies are another favourite, so learn titles such as 'My Experiments with Truth' (Mahatma Gandhi) and 'Wings of Fire' (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam). Practise the books and authors questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.