SSC CGL 2025 Tier-II · Paper-I, 19 January 2026 · General Awareness · Question 23 of 150

We transcribed this text from the pictures of a candidate's response sheet for this paper; the answer is the key SSC marked with a green tick on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 11 September 2026.

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Which of the following statements regarding 'Navroz' (Nowruz) is correct?

(a)It is a lunar-based festival celebrated exclusively by the Buddhist community in the Himalayan belt.
(b)It marks the start of the harvest season in Southern India and is dedicated to the Sun God.
(c)It is a monsoon festival commemorating the victory of Good over Evil in the Mughal courts.
(d)It is the Persian New Year celebrated on the Spring Equinox, introduced in India by Ghiyasuddin Balban.

Answer

Why

Correct — D. Navroz (Nowruz) is the Persian New Year, marking the start of spring at the vernal equinox, on 21 March (or 20 March).

For its arrival in India, Delhi Sultanate history credits Ghiyasuddin Balban (r. 1266–1287). He modelled his court on Persian kingship and also brought in the court customs of sijda (prostration) and paibos (kissing the sultan's feet).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
It is a lunar-based festival celebrated exclusively by the Buddhist community in the Himalayan belt. — Navroz is fixed by the spring equinox, a solar event, so it is not a lunar festival. Its roots are Persian and, the UN notes, go back over 3,000 years, not to Himalayan Buddhism.
(b)
It marks the start of the harvest season in Southern India and is dedicated to the Sun God. — That describes a harvest festival dedicated to the Sun God, such as Pongal in Tamil Nadu. Navroz is a new-year festival that marks the arrival of spring.
(c)
It is a monsoon festival commemorating the victory of Good over Evil in the Mughal courts. — Navroz falls at the spring equinox in March, not in the monsoon. Balban of the Delhi Sultanate is credited with introducing it, long before the Mughals, so it did not begin in Mughal courts.

Concept

Nowruz is observed on 21 March (or 20 March), at the vernal equinox, and the UN traces its roots back over 3,000 years. In 2010 the UN General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Nowruz.

In Indian history it is tied to the Delhi Sultanate. Balban is credited with introducing it as part of a Persian-style court, where he took the title Zill-i-Ilahi, the Shadow of God, and required sijda and paibos.

The link to Balban is the standard textbook attribution. India's Parsis, Zoroastrians whose forebears came from Persia, also keep Navroz.

Key facts

Nowruz falls on 21 March (or 20 March), at the vernal equinox.
The UN General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Nowruz in 2010, by resolution A/RES/64/253.
India is among the States Parties to Nowruz's inscription on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Balban (r. 1266–1287) introduced the Persian court customs of sijda and paibos.

Study next

Balban's theory of kingship and his breaking of the Chihalgani (the Forty)Balban's reorganisation of the military department, the Diwan-i-ArzZoroastrian festivals kept by India's Parsi community

Common traps

Linking Navroz to the Mughals because of its Persian character, when the attribution goes to Balban of the Delhi Sultanate.

Here the festival is tested through its season, its origin and the sultan linked to it. Balban's reforms also appear at 10 Sep 2024, 16:00, GA Q.18, which asks which department he reorganised (the Diwan-i-Arz).

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Culture — all 166 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.