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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did Musa arrive at nighttime in the begining of Chapter 12?

2. What does the narrator say that Jainab and Saddam had turned the graveyard into in Chapter 10 (405)?

3. Who read Musa a poem when he arrived in Chapter 12?

4. Whose most extensive of the testimonies regarding Jalib Qadri's death claimed to have witnessed his execution in Chapter 9?

5. Alongside how many others was Miss Jebeen and her mother buried?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where were Musa's recoveries stored? Why?

2. What did Biplab Dasgupta ask Musa about Amrik Singh in Chapter 11? How did Musa reply?

3. How is the encounter between Biplab Dasgupta and Musa described in Chapter 11?

4. Who or what is Guih Kom and what is signficiant about his/her appearance in Chapter 12?

5. How is Tilo's mother described? How did Tilo feel about her mother?

6. How is Tilo's encounter at the zoo described in Chapter 8? What do you think this encounter symbolizes?

7. Why did Tilo flee in Chapter 8? Who did she enlist to help her?

8. How has Biplab Dasgupta's outlook on Indian politics changed by Chapter 11?

9. What does ACP Pinky do to Tilo in Chapter 9? Why?

10. How were Tilo and the baby greeted at the Jannat Guest House in Chapter 8?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the historical context of the novel. What time periods are covered in the course of the narrative? What major events in India and globally are discussed? What statements do you think the author is making about these historical events and circumstances?

Essay Topic 2

Identify and discuss examples of irony in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. What are examples of verbal irony in the work? What are examples of situational irony? What are examples of dramatic irony?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the character of Biplab Dasgupta. Why do you think that this is the only character who has a first-person narrative? How does Biplab Dasgupta further the plot of the novel? What becomes of him by the end of the story?

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