INDIAN ENGLISH LITERATURE: 50 IMPORTANT MCQs for UGC NET ENGLISH PAPER 2

 

50 MCQs on Indian English Literature (Moderate to Hard)

1. Who is considered the pioneer of Indian English novel?

A. R.K. Narayan
B. Mulk Raj Anand
C. Raja Rao
D. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee

Answer: C. Raja Rao

2. The novel *Kanthapura* by Raja Rao is set in which Indian state?

A. Tamil Nadu
B. Karnataka
C. Kerala
D. Andhra Pradesh

Answer: B. Karnataka

3. Which Indian English poet is known for the poem "Enterprise"?

A. Nissim Ezekiel
B. Dom Moraes
C. Jayanta Mahapatra
D. A.K. Ramanujan

Answer: A. Nissim Ezekiel

4. Anita Desai’s *Clear Light of Day* is set in which city?

A. Mumbai
B. Delhi
C. Kolkata
D. Shimla

Answer: B. Delhi

5. Who is the author of *The Shadow Lines*?

A. Amitav Ghosh
B. Salman Rushdie
C. Arundhati Roy
D. Vikram Seth

Answer: A. Amitav Ghosh

6. *The Guide* by R.K. Narayan won which prestigious award?

A. Booker Prize
B. Sahitya Akademi Award
C. Jnanpith Award
D. Padma Bhushan

Answer: B. Sahitya Akademi Award

7. Who wrote the poem *A River*?

A. R. Parthasarathy
B. A.K. Ramanujan
C. Arun Kolatkar
D. Kamala Das

Answer: B. A.K. Ramanujan

8. Which of these is NOT a novel by Arundhati Roy?

A. The God of Small Things
B. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
C. The White Tiger
D. Azadi

Answer: C. The White Tiger

9. Which Indian poet is known for the poem *Obituary*?

A. Nissim Ezekiel
B. Kamala Das
C. A.K. Ramanujan
D. Meena Alexander

Answer: C. A.K. Ramanujan

10. *Midnight’s Children* allegorically represents the history of:

A. Colonial India
B. Partition of India
C. Post-independence India
D. Emergency India

Answer: C. Post-independence India

11. Who translated the Tamil classic *Silappadikaram* into English?

A. A.K. Ramanujan
B. R. Parthasarathy
C. George Hart
D. U.R. Ananthamurthy

Answer: A. A.K. Ramanujan

12. *Coolie* by Mulk Raj Anand focuses on:

A. Industrial workers
B. Social injustice
C. Untouchability
D. Colonial army

Answer: B. Social injustice

13. The character Bakha is central to which novel?

A. Coolie
B. The Untouchable
C. The Big Heart
D. The Sword and the Sickle

Answer: B. The Untouchable

14. Which Indian English novel won the Booker Prize in 2008?

A. The God of Small Things
B. Midnight’s Children
C. The White Tiger
D. The Inheritance of Loss

Answer: C. The White Tiger

15. Which of these authors is associated with magic realism?

A. Arvind Adiga
B. Salman Rushdie
C. Anita Desai
D. Chetan Bhagat

Answer: B. Salman Rushdie

16. Dom Moraes is best known as a:

A. Novelist
B. Critic
C. Poet
D. Playwright

Answer: C. Poet

17. *A Suitable Boy* is a novel by:

A. Kiran Desai
B. Vikram Seth
C. Rohinton Mistry
D. Ruskin Bond

Answer: B. Vikram Seth

18. The poem *An Introduction* is by:

A. Imtiaz Dharker
B. Kamala Das
C. Meena Kandasamy
D. Eunice D’Souza

Answer: B. Kamala Das

19. *Sea of Poppies* is part of which trilogy?

A. The Ibis Trilogy
B. The Ganga Trilogy
C. Opium Wars Trilogy
D. Bengal Saga

Answer: A. The Ibis Trilogy

20. Who is the author of *The Inheritance of Loss*?

A. Jhumpa Lahiri
B. Kiran Desai
C. Arundhati Roy
D. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Answer: B. Kiran Desai

21. Which of the following Indian English poets was also a diplomat?

A. Jayanta Mahapatra
B. Dom Moraes
C. A.K. Ramanujan
D. Vikram Seth

Answer: D. Vikram Seth

22. Who wrote the poem collection *Jejuri*?

A. Arun Kolatkar
B. Nissim Ezekiel
C. Agha Shahid Ali
D. R. Parthasarathy

Answer: A. Arun Kolatkar

23. *The Serpent and the Rope* explores themes of:

A. Urbanization
B. Partition
C. Philosophy and identity
D. Social injustice

Answer: C. Philosophy and identity

24. Who is the first Indian woman to win the Booker Prize?

A. Kamala Das
B. Anita Desai
C. Arundhati Roy
D. Kiran Desai

Answer: C. Arundhati Roy

25. Which novel by Salman Rushdie was banned in several countries?

A. Midnight’s Children
B. Shame
C. The Moor’s Last Sigh
D. The Satanic Verses

Answer: D. The Satanic Verses

26. *The Hungry Tide* deals primarily with which ecological zone?

A. Western Ghats
B. Sundarbans
C. Himalayas
D. Rann of Kutch

Answer: B. Sundarbans

27. Meena Alexander's poetry is deeply shaped by:

A. Urban alienation
B. Exile and memory
C. Nationalism
D. Colonial trauma

Answer: B. Exile and memory

28. R. Parthasarathy is best known for which work?

A. Rough Passage
B. Relationship
C. Jejuri
D. The Descendants

Answer: A. Rough Passage

29. Who authored *Such a Long Journey*?

A. Rohinton Mistry
B. Vikram Seth
C. Amit Chaudhuri
D. Salman Rushdie

Answer: A. Rohinton Mistry

30. In *The God of Small Things*, who is Ammu?

A. A servant
B. The narrator
C. Mother of Estha and Rahel
D. A schoolteacher

Answer: C. Mother of Estha and Rahel

31. *Fire on the Mountain* is written by:

A. Kamala Markandaya
B. Anita Desai
C. Nayantara Sahgal
D. Shashi Deshpande

Answer: B. Anita Desai

32. Which author wrote *Fasting, Feasting*?

A. Arundhati Roy
B. Anita Desai
C. Kiran Desai
D. Kamala Das

Answer: B. Anita Desai

33. Kamala Das’s autobiography is titled:

A. My Days
B. My Story
C. My Life
D. My World

Answer: B. My Story

34. Which of these is a work by Jayanta Mahapatra?

A. The Lie of the Land
B. Relationship
C. A Time to Change
D. Summer in Calcutta

Answer: B. Relationship

35. Which Indian writer in English was a recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature?

A. Salman Rushdie
B. V.S. Naipaul
C. Rabindranath Tagore
D. Amitav Ghosh

Answer: C. Rabindranath Tagore

36. Which novel by Kiran Nagarkar explores Bombay’s underworld?

A. Cuckold
B. Ravan and Eddie
C. The Extras
D. The Guide

Answer: B. Ravan and Eddie

37. *Voices in the City* is a novel by:

A. Nayantara Sahgal
B. Anita Desai
C. Arundhati Roy
D. Shashi Deshpande

Answer: B. Anita Desai

38. The poem *Summer in Calcutta* was written by:

A. Kamala Das
B. R. Parthasarathy
C. Eunice D’Souza
D. A.K. Ramanujan

Answer: A. Kamala Das

39. Who is the author of *Red Earth and Pouring Rain*?

A. Amitav Ghosh
B. Vikram Chandra
C. Chetan Bhagat
D. Arvind Adiga

Answer: B. Vikram Chandra

40. Which play by Mahesh Dattani addresses issues of gender and child abuse?

A. Final Solutions
B. Dance Like a Man
C. Bravely Fought the Queen
D. Thirty Days in September

Answer: D. Thirty Days in September

41. Who is the author of *The Palace of Illusions*?

A. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
B. Kiran Desai
C. Jhumpa Lahiri
D. Meena Alexander

Answer: A. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

42. Who wrote *Interpreter of Maladies*?

A. Kiran Desai
B. Anita Desai
C. Jhumpa Lahiri
D. Arundhati Roy

Answer: C. Jhumpa Lahiri

43. Which work of literature begins with the line “To call woman the weaker sex is a libel”?

A. The Discovery of India
B. Letters from a Father to His Daughter
C. The Renaissance in India
D. None of the above

Answer: B. Letters from a Father to His Daughter

44. What is the central theme of Shashi Deshpande’s novels?

A. War and Peace
B. Feminine identity and domestic life
C. Political corruption
D. Mythological retellings

Answer: B. Feminine identity and domestic life

45. Which novel by Manju Kapur won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize?

A. Difficult Daughters
B. The Immigrant
C. Home
D. Custody

Answer: A. Difficult Daughters

46. Who wrote *No Presents Please*, winner of the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature?

A. Cyrus Mistry
B. Jayant Kaikini
C. Manu Joseph
D. Perumal Murugan

Answer: B. Jayant Kaikini

47. Who among the following was NOT a Sahitya Akademi awardee in Indian English poetry?

A. Jayanta Mahapatra
B. Kamala Das
C. R. Parthasarathy
D. A.K. Mehrotra

Answer: B. Kamala Das

48. Which novel explores the life of a eunuch in Delhi?

A. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
B. The White Tiger
C. Delhi: A Novel
D. The Suitable Boy

Answer: A. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

49. Eunice D’Souza is best known for her:

A. Magic realism
B. Travelogues
C. Stark feminist poetry
D. Political satire

Answer: C. Stark feminist poetry

50. *River of Fire* (Aag ka Dariya) was originally written in:

A. Hindi
B. Urdu
C. Bengali
D. English

Answer: B. Urdu

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