Railway
The National Library of India is situated at:
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option A — Kolkata
Detailed Solution
The National Library of India is located on the Belvedere Estate in Alipore, Kolkata, West Bengal.
About the National Library of India:
- It is the largest library in India by volume of books, with more than 2.2 million books and a large collection of manuscripts, maps, newspapers and periodicals.
- It is the library of public record in India.
- It functions under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
- It was declared an "Institution of National Importance" under the Constitution of India (Entry 62 of the Union List in the Seventh Schedule mentions it).
History:
Its origin goes back to the "Calcutta Public Library", which was founded in 1836. It was a private library that was open to the public.
In 1891, the "Imperial Library" was formed by combining several libraries of the government secretariat.
In 1903, Lord Curzon, the Viceroy, merged the Calcutta Public Library with the Imperial Library and opened it to the public as the "Imperial Library".
After independence, it was renamed the National Library by the Imperial Library (Change of Name) Act, 1948.
It was opened to the public under its new name on 1 February 1953, by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the Education Minister.
The Belvedere House, where it is located, was earlier the winter residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal.
Legal deposit:
- Under the Delivery of Books and Newspapers (Public Libraries) Act, 1954, every publisher in India must send a copy of each book and newspaper published to four public libraries:
- The National Library, Kolkata.
- The Connemara Public Library, Chennai.
- The Asiatic Society Library (State Central Library), Mumbai.
- The Delhi Public Library, Delhi.
Other important libraries:
- The Library of Congress, Washington DC (USA), is often called the largest library in the world.
- The Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (now the Prime Ministers' Museum and Library) is in New Delhi.
National Library Day in India is observed on 12 August, the birth anniversary of S. R. Ranganathan, the "Father of Library Science in India".
Why not the other options?
- ✗New Delhi has the Delhi Public Library and the Prime Ministers' Museum and Library.
- ✗Mumbai has the Asiatic Society Library.
- ✗Chennai has the Connemara Public Library.
Quick tip
Remember: National Library of India = Kolkata (Belvedere Estate; Imperial Library 1903, renamed 1948, opened 1953); legal deposit to Kolkata, Chennai (Connemara), Mumbai and Delhi; S. R. Ranganathan = father of library science (12 August).
💬 Discussions on this question
Ask a doubt ›Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.
Ask a doubtMore Monuments & Religious Places Questions
View all ›- Q1.The Somnath Jyotirlinga temple is located in which state?
- Q2.The Kamakhya Temple is located in:
- Q3.The brick temple of Bhitargaon, one of the oldest surviving brick temples of India, is situated in:
- Q4.The Mahabodhi Temple is situated at:
- Q5.The famous Brihadeeswara Temple, built by Rajaraja Chola I, is situated in:
More General Knowledge Questions
- Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
- Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
- Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
- Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
- Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms
Monuments & Religious Places — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Monuments & Religious Places, 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 India's important monuments, temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras and pilgrimage sites, who built them and when, their architectural styles, and India's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Questions ask who built a monument, where it is located, or which dynasty or style it belongs to. For example, the Qutub Minar was begun by Qutbuddin Aibak, and the Sun Temple at Konark was built by the Eastern Ganga king Narasimhadeva I. Revise the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a list, noting the most recent additions. Practise the monuments and religious places 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.