SSC
Who is the author of 'The Turbulent Years: 1980-1996'?
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Answer: Option D — Pranab Mukherjee
Detailed Solution
"The Turbulent Years: 1980-1996" is the second volume of the political memoirs of Pranab Mukherjee, the 13th President of India. It was published in 2016.
About the book:
It covers a dramatic period in Indian politics: Indira Gandhi's return to power in 1980, Operation Blue Star (1984), her assassination, Rajiv Gandhi's government, the Bofors controversy, the rise of coalition politics, the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi (1991), the economic reforms of 1991 and the demolition of the Babri Masjid (1992).
It also describes Mukherjee's own fall from favour in the Congress in the mid-1980s, when he formed a separate party for a short time, and his return.
Pranab Mukherjee's memoir series:
- "The Dramatic Decade: The Indira Gandhi Years" (2014): covers 1969-1980, including the Bangladesh war and the Emergency.
- "The Turbulent Years: 1980-1996" (2016).
- "The Coalition Years: 1996-2012" (2017).
- "The Presidential Years: 2012-2017" (published after his death, in 2021).
About Pranab Mukherjee (1935-2020):
- He was born in Mirati village, Birbhum district, West Bengal.
- He held many important ministries, including Finance, Defence, External Affairs and Commerce, and was known as the Congress party's chief troubleshooter.
- He was President of India from 2012 to 2017.
- He received the Padma Vibhushan (2008) and the Bharat Ratna (2019).
Books by other political leaders:
- Manmohan Singh: "Changing India" (five volumes).
- Chidambaram: "Speaking Truth to Power" and "A View from the Outside".
- Yashwant Sinha: "Relentless" (autobiography).
- K. Advani: "My Country My Life".
Why not the other options?
- ✗Manmohan Singh wrote "Changing India".
- ✗Chidambaram wrote "Speaking Truth to Power".
- ✗Yashwant Sinha wrote "Relentless".
Quick tip
Remember: Pranab Mukherjee's memoirs = "The Dramatic Decade" (1969-80), "The Turbulent Years" (1980-96), "The Coalition Years" (1996-2012), "The Presidential Years" (2012-17); Bharat Ratna 2019.
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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.