1. Which novel by Salman Rushdie marked a turning point in South Asian postcolonial literature?
a) Shame
b) The Satanic Verses
c) Midnight's Children
d) Grimus
Answer: c) Midnight's Children
Explanation: The novel, which won the Booker Prize, blends magic realism with Indian history and is a landmark in postcolonial fiction.
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2. Who is the author of Ice-Candy-Man, a Partition novel set in Lahore?
a) Kamila Shamsie
b) Bapsi Sidhwa
c) Jhumpa Lahiri
d) Anita Desai
Answer: b) Bapsi Sidhwa
Explanation: The novel, narrated by a child, explores the trauma of Partition from the perspective of the Parsi community.
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3. Which Sri Lankan author wrote Reef, a novel shortlisted for the Booker Prize?
a) Michael Ondaatje
b) Romesh Gunesekera
c) Shyam Selvadurai
d) Jean Arasanayagam
Answer: b) Romesh Gunesekera
Explanation: Reef is a coming-of-age tale that also critiques political unrest in Sri Lanka.
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4. In which work does Jhumpa Lahiri explore diasporic identity and generational conflict?
a) The Namesake
b) Interpreter of Maladies
c) The Lowland
d) Unaccustomed Earth
Answer: a) The Namesake
Explanation: The novel follows an Indian-American protagonist navigating cultural duality and personal identity.
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5. Which Bangladeshi writer authored the novel A Golden Age, set during the 1971 Liberation War?
a) Monica Ali
b) Tahmima Anam
c) Mahmud Rahman
d) K. Anis Ahmed
Answer: b) Tahmima Anam
Explanation: A Golden Age captures the human cost of war through the story of a widow and her children.
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6. Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness focuses on which key South Asian issue?
a) Indo-Pak border disputes
b) Tribal displacement
c) Gender and social marginalization
d) Urban poverty
Answer: c) Gender and social marginalization
Explanation: The novel gives voice to transgender people, Dalits, and Kashmiris within a fragmented nation.
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7. Which Pakistani writer’s novel Moth Smoke explores class disparity and corruption in Lahore?
a) Mohsin Hamid
b) Daniyal Mueenuddin
c) Nadeem Aslam
d) Hanif Kureishi
Answer: a) Mohsin Hamid
Explanation: Moth Smoke critiques the elitism and moral decay of Pakistan’s upper class.
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8. What is the central theme of Shyam Selvadurai’s novel Funny Boy?
a) Religious identity
b) Gender and sexual identity
c) Political violence
d) Cultural assimilation
Answer: b) Gender and sexual identity
Explanation: The novel explores a young Tamil boy’s awakening to his homosexuality amid Sri Lanka’s ethnic tensions.
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9. Which language is the novel Six Acres and a Third originally written in before its English translation?
a) Hindi
b) Urdu
c) Bengali
d) Odia
Answer: d) Odia
Explanation: Fakir Mohan Senapati’s novel critiques colonial land systems and was later translated into English.
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10. Which genre best describes Kamila Shamsie’s Home Fire, inspired by Sophocles’ Antigone?
a) Historical romance
b) Postmodern satire
c) Political thriller
d) Epic fantasy
Answer: c) Political thriller
Explanation: The novel deals with themes of radicalization, family, and state surveillance in a contemporary South Asian context.
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South Asian Literature
Postcolonial Literature
Partition Fiction
Diaspora and Identity
UGC NET English Preparation
South Asian Fiction in English
Gender and Identity in South Asian Writing
Partition and Postcolonial Narratives
Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi Writers
Diasporic South Asian Voices
Modern Pakistani Literature
UGC NET English Literature MCQs
Booker Prize and South Asian Authors
Comparative South Asian Literatures
South Asian Political and Social Themes
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