Rajpriya Bharti, a BBA student from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh won the first edition of the India Fact Quiz Championship 2020, which is the country's first-ever digitally gamified quiz on data and facts about India and is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Rajpriya, 21, won after beating over half a million participants across the country to become India's first 'Fact Champion'.
The quiz was conceptualised last year with the objective of challenging and correcting the biases of the youth in India. For this, an edu-tech format was created with digitally gamified quizzing championship that appeals to the millennials, between the age of 17-25 years. The important social topics that were the focus area of the quiz include gender biases, population, climate change, health, animal welfare, government policies and even COVID-19. The idea was not just to quiz the youngsters on their general knowledge, but more so to understand the inherent biases they carry on India and how they may be wrong about these notions, by providing them with actual data and facts on these topics.
We spoke to Rajpriya to find out more about her experience.
Excerpts:
What motivated you to participate in the India Fact Quiz (IFQ) Championship 2020?
I wanted to check out my preconceptions, biases and wanted to gather more knowledge about my nation that was unknown. Participating in quizzes transformed my perspective and now I feel more aware. I came across India Fact Quiz on DD News and then I began practising their quizzes. It made me aware of facts and figures and helped boost my morale.
Do you truly feel that these questions truly challenged your inherent biases about India? If so, can you share any such question where you were proved wrong about your notion of India?
Yes, absolutely. The questions were critical and made us think. For instance, I thought more types of tree species exist in the dense forests in the states like Madhya Pradesh or Karnataka, but it’s actually Goa and Jharkhand (that have the most). This really surprised me. Another fact was about the Maternal Mortality Ratio, which has decreased drastically as India has transformed a lot.
Do you feel that with such data and facts about the country, citizens can benefit in the long-term?
Data and facts play a vital role in development across the world. They help economists and policymakers in making new changes, applying new laws and regulations for a better tomorrow. Moreover, an aware citizen can contribute more to the upliftment of the economy.
As the first fact champion, according to you, what can the youth of India do to improve the quality of public dialogues around health, education, climate, gender, and more such topics?
Being factually aware and knowing about the happenings around us can make the youth in our country more empowered. We can then contribute significantly to the nation with our energy, skills, innovation, creative thinking and newer ideas for the betterment of the nation.
Now that you’re officially a Fact Champion of the first edition of IFQ, what tips and tricks to learn data and facts on India better would you like to give the next batch of IFQ aspirants?
By observing things around us and verifying the information from a reliable source, one can gain more knowledge and thus learn a lot of new things. We should share this knowledge with friends, family, relatives, and look at their reaction to know more about their opinions that will ultimately help us excavate the facts.
