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

Question

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

1. A. It is a lunar-based festival celebrated exclusively by the Buddhist community in the Himalayan belt.
2. B. It is the Persian New Year celebrated on the Spring Equinox, introduced in India by Ghiyasuddin Balban. (Correct answer)
3. C. It is a monsoon festival commemorating the victory of Good over Evil in the Mughal courts.
4. D. It marks the start of the harvest season in Southern India and is dedicated to the Sun God.

Correct Answer

Option B — It is the Persian New Year celebrated on the Spring Equinox, introduced in India by Ghiyasuddin Balban.

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is It is the Persian New Year.

Key Points

• Navroz, or Nowruz, literally means "new day" and marks the Persian New Year.
• It falls on the spring equinox, around 21 March, when day and night are of equal length — making it solar, not lunar, which is where option A fails.
• It is neither a monsoon festival nor a harvest festival in the sense the other options describe.

Additional Information

• In India it is celebrated chiefly by the Parsi community, and also observed in Kashmir and among Ismaili communities.
• UNESCO inscribed Nowruz on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and the UN recognises 21 March as International Nowruz Day.
• The Parsi community follows the Shahenshahi calendar, under which Navroz is observed in August, while Jamshedi Navroz is kept at the spring equinox — a distinction that explains conflicting dates.
• Other Parsi observances worth knowing: Pateti, the day of repentance preceding Navroz, and Khordad Sal, the birth anniversary of Zoroaster.