General Knowledge

Have you ever wondered how plants eat? Unlike us, plants do not go to a kitchen or a restaurant. They make their own food — and they do it using just three things: sunlight, water, and air. This process is called photosynthesis (say it: foto-SIN-thuh-sis). Here is how it works: Plants have a green pigment in their leaves called chlorophyll. This chlorophyll captures energy from sunlight. The plant then uses this energy to combine water (absorbed through the roots) and carbon dioxide gas (absorbed from the air through tiny pores in the leaves called stomata) to produce glucose — a type of sugar that is the plant's food. The amazing part? As a byproduct of this process, the plant releases oxygen into the air. That is the oxygen we breathe every day. So every breath you take is actually a gift from a plant! Key fact to remember: Photosynthesis happens in the leaves, where chlorophyll is found. No sunlight = no photosynthesis = no food for the plant.

On 15 August 1947, India woke up as a free nation after nearly 200 years of British rule. But this freedom did not come easily — it was earned through decades of struggle, sacrifice, and courage by millions of Indians. The fight for independence had many heroes. Mahatma Gandhi led the movement through non-violence — refusing to obey unjust laws, organising peaceful marches, and fasting to draw attention to India's cause. His 1930 Dandi March, where he walked 241 miles to make salt from the sea (to protest the British salt tax), became one of the most iconic moments of the freedom struggle. Bhagat Singh, Subhas Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and countless others each played their role. Some fought with words, some with peaceful protests, and some with revolutionary action. When independence finally came, Jawaharlal Nehru — who became India's first Prime Minister — gave his famous "Tryst with Destiny" speech at midnight, declaring that India had kept its appointment with destiny. Key fact: India became a Republic on 26 January 1950, when the Constitution of India came into effect. That is why we celebrate Republic Day on 26 January every year.

Every great civilisation in history grew near a river. The ancient Egyptians thrived along the Nile. The people of Mesopotamia built cities between the Tigris and Euphrates. And in India, one of the world's oldest civilisations — the Indus Valley Civilisation — flourished along the banks of the Indus River over 4,000 years ago. Why rivers? Because rivers provide fresh water for drinking and farming, fertile soil on their banks, fish for food, and a route for transport and trade. They are, quite literally, the lifelines of civilisation. India is a land of great rivers. The Ganga (or Ganges) is the longest river in India, flowing 2,525 km from the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. It is considered sacred in Hinduism and millions of people live along its banks. Other major rivers include the Brahmaputra (originating in Tibet), the Yamuna (a major tributary of the Ganga), the Godavari (the longest river in South India, also called the Dakshin Ganga or Ganga of the South), and the Krishna and Kaveri in the Deccan. Key fact: Rivers that flow into the sea are called rivers. Rivers that flow into another river are called tributaries. The Yamuna is a tributary of the Ganga.

In 1947, a young boy named Milkha Singh lost his home and his family during the Partition of India. He ran — not towards victory, but simply to survive. His father's last words to him were "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag!" — Run, Milkha, Run! Milkha ran all the way to Delhi, lived in refugee camps, and eventually joined the Indian Army. One day, a cross-country race was announced in the army. The prize? A glass of milk. For someone who had been hungry for so long, that glass of milk meant everything. Milkha ran with every bit of strength he had — and finished in the top ten. That was the beginning. He began training like no one else — running on hills at night, running against speeding trains to increase his speed, sometimes collapsing from exhaustion but always getting back up. He went on to win gold medals at the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, representing India on the world stage. In 1960, he was invited to race in Pakistan — the country where he had lost everything. He ran so fast that he broke the world record. The President of Pakistan was so amazed that he said: "Milkha, you didn't run today — you flew!" From that day on, the world called him The Flying Sikh. Milkha Singh's story teaches us that hard work and determination can turn a life of tragedy into a life of triumph.

Our solar system is our cosmic neighbourhood — the Sun and everything that orbits around it. Let us take a quick tour. At the centre is the Sun — a massive star made mostly of hydrogen and helium. It is so large that about 1.3 million Earths could fit inside it. The Sun provides the light and heat that makes life on Earth possible. Orbiting the Sun are 8 planets (in order from the Sun): Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. A simple way to remember them: "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles." Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only planet known to support life. Mars, the fourth planet, is called the Red Planet because its surface is covered with reddish iron oxide (rust). Jupiter is the largest planet — so large that all other planets could fit inside it. Saturn is famous for its beautiful rings made of ice and rock. Neptune is the farthest planet from the Sun. There are also dwarf planets (like Pluto, which was reclassified from a planet in 2006), asteroids, comets, and moons orbiting many of the planets. Key fact: The Sun accounts for about 99.86% of the total mass of the entire solar system. Everything else — all the planets, moons, asteroids, and comets — makes up just 0.14%.