Sardhana Christian Fair is held in which of the following states?

Correct — B. Sardhana is a town in Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh, and the fair takes its name from the town. It is held at the town's church, the Basilica of Our Lady of Graces.

That church was built in the early nineteenth century at the expense of Begum Samru, the ruler of Sardhana, who had converted to Catholicism. It was later raised to the rank of a minor basilica.

Fix the fair to its town and the town to its state, and the question answers itself.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Haryana — Haryana has no town called Sardhana. Its own best-known fair is the Surajkund Mela at Faridabad, a crafts fair rather than a Christian one.
• (c)
  Madhya Pradesh — Madhya Pradesh does not contain Sardhana. Its largest religious gathering is the Simhastha Kumbh at Ujjain, held once every twelve years.
• (d)
  West Bengal — West Bengal is not where Sardhana lies. Its well-known winter fair is the Poush Mela at Santiniketan.

Sardhana was the seat of Begum Samru, who inherited the command of a European-trained mercenary force from her husband Walter Reinhardt and went on to rule the principality of Sardhana into the nineteenth century.

Her conversion to Catholicism is why a large basilica stands in a small town of western Uttar Pradesh. The annual fair grew around that church.

Fairs questions are geography questions in disguise: what is actually being tested is where the place is.

Key facts

• Sardhana is a town in Meerut district, Uttar Pradesh.
• The Basilica of Our Lady of Graces at Sardhana was built at the expense of Begum Samru.
• Begum Samru ruled the principality of Sardhana and converted to Catholicism.
• The annual Sardhana Christian Fair is held at this basilica.

Common traps

• Guessing from the word Christian and drifting towards Goa or Kerala instead of reading the place name.
• Assuming a fair named after a town must sit in the state you first associate with the religion.

No directly related past PYQ was found.