Zulfikar Ghose

Zulfikar Ghose study question

The Murder of Aziz
The Native
The Beautiful Empire
Figures of Enchantment

The Murder of Aziz MCQs

The Murder of Aziz Khan MCQs

1. What is the Shah company’s immediate problem?

A. Profit stagnation
B. Low production
C. Tax increase
D. Electrical fault

A. Profit stagnation.
The economist reports that despite reaching full production capacity, the business profits show no clear increase.

2. Where did Ayub learn about brutality?

A. Schoolyard fights
B. Lahore street incident
C. British army
D. Bombay riots

B. Lahore street incident.
Ayub remembers an incident in Lahore 30 years ago where British soldiers made Indians crawl publicly.

3. What does Ayub want to start immediately?

A. Night shift
B. New accounting
C. Farm production
D. Soap business

A. Night shift.
Ayub suggests recruiting more labourers and starting the mills’ night shift as soon as possible.

4. Why does Akram reject the night shift?

A. Costs too much
B. Labour shortage
C. Power shortage
D. Artificial boom

C. Power shortage.
Akram says the night shift would make too heavy a demand on electricity, which is currently in short supply.
5. What is mentioned as the source of the Shahs’ “headache”?

A. Aziz Khan’s property
B. Economist’s report
C. Low export sales
D. Tax relief issues

A. Aziz Khan’s property.
The economist mentions Aziz Khan’s property, immediately making the brothers feel it is an aspirin they need.

6. What industry do the Shahs plan to enter?

A. Steel production
B. Soap industry
C. Arms manufacture
D. Tea trading

B. Soap industry.
Ayub mentions that the Shahs are planning to enter the soap industry in East Pakistan immediately.

7. How many acres does Aziz Khan own?

A. Seventy acres
B. Thousands total
C. Five hundred
D. Ten big plots

A. Seventy acres.
Afaq wonders why his brothers want only the seventy acres which stick in their throat like a fishbone.

8. Who is Afaq destined to marry?

A. Faridah’s cousin
B. Razia’s sister
C. His cousin Zarina
D. Mansur’s daughter

C. His cousin Zarina.
Afaq is aware that he is destined to be married to his frail, orphaned cousin, Zarina, when she is older.

9. What does Razia do when Afaq sees her?

A. Brushes her hair
B. Reads a book
C. Waters the garden
D. Waves her hand

A. Brushes her hair.
Afaq sees Razia standing at the window, tilting her head back while brushing her long black hair.
10. What vehicle does Afaq drive?

A. A blue car
B. His sports bike
C. His jeep
D. Ayub’s sedan

C. His jeep.
Afaq decides to drive away and jumps into his jeep, feeling that driving is soothing to him.

11. What is Afaq’s job description?

A. Floor manager
B. Head accountant
C. Personnel control
D. Research director

C. Personnel control.
Afaq’s job in the mills is control of personnel, meaning he primarily handles the hiring of workers.

12. What did Afaq cynically order at the club?

A. Warm whisky
B. Fruit juice
C. Plain water
D. Cheap brandy

B. Fruit juice.
Afaq feels that ordering fruit juice is a cynical defiance of Ayub’s attempt to show off his wealth.

13. What game did the Shahs leave to play at Mansur’s?

A. Blackjack
B. Poker
C. Bridge
D. Rummy

C. Bridge.
Ayub invites Akram and the women to leave the club and go to Mansur’s house for a game of bridge.

14. Who is Aziz Khan’s eldest daughter?

A. Zarina
B. Zakia
C. Zuleikha
D. Faridah

C. Zuleikha.
Zuleikha, who lives in Karachi and is having her second child, is one of Aziz Khan’s daughters.
15. What does Aziz Khan plan to grow more of?

A. Wheat
B. Cotton
C. Vegetables
D. Fruit trees

C. Vegetables.
Aziz Khan decides it would be wiser to use part of his land for growing more vegetables for sustenance.

16. What does Zakia want to write to Zuleikha about?

A. Selling the land
B. Finding Rafiq a wife
C. Family finances
D. Her back pain

B. Finding Rafiq a wife.
Zakia decides to write to Zuleikha about trying to find a suitable match for her son, Rafiq, in Karachi.

17. What is the amount of the broker’s new commission?

A. Seven per cent
B. Ten per cent
C. Twelve per cent
D. Five hundred rupees

C. Twelve per cent.
Rafiq reports that Hussain, the broker, now wants a commission of twelve per cent to cover his costs.

18. What do Rafiq and Javed sneak off to do?

A. Gamble
B. Drink liquor
C. Smoke cigarettes
D. Talk to peasants

C. Smoke cigarettes.
The brothers sit on the stream bank and bring out a packet of cigarettes since they do not smoke at home.

19. What physical attribute does Zarina lack?

A. A past
B. A dowry
C. A friend
D. An education

A. A past.
Zarina feels suspended in emptiness because she has no past and no image of her real parents.
20. What does Ayub reveal about Akram?

A. He’s adopted
B. He has a daughter
C. He lacks money
D. He’s a Communist

B. He has a daughter.
Akram confesses to Ayub that Zarina is his illegitimate daughter, not his cousin, forcing the relationship.

21. What did Faridah reveal about Akram’s condition?

A. He was poor
B. He was impotent
C. He had VD
D. He married her

C. He had VD.
Akram told Faridah the horrible truth that his private parts had been ravaged by venereal disease.

22. What does Afaq use to justify his behaviour?

A. God’s will
B. His independence
C. His big dreams
D. Brother’s violence

B. His independence.
Afaq tells Rafiq that making one’s own decisions and being independent is the only use of living.

23. What did Afaq threaten to withhold from Rafiq?

A. The jeep ride
B. The money
C. His friendship
D. His silence

B. The money.
Afaq uses the two thousand rupees as leverage, forcing Rafiq to drink the country liquor immediately.

24. What did Javed find in Rafiq’s pocket?

A. A letter
B. A broken knife
C. Two thousand rupees
D. A map

C. Two thousand rupees.
Javed finds twenty hundred-rupee notes that Afaq had stuffed into Rafiq’s shirt pocket while he slept.
25. What function does the swimming pool mainly serve?

A. Daily exercise
B. Decoration
C. Children’s fun
D. Cleaning labour

B. Decoration.
The swimming pool is rarely used for swimming and is mostly maintained as an impressive decoration for guests.

26. What does Razia want to prevent Afaq from having?

A. Sons
B. A dowry
C. Freedom
D. Bad habits

A. Sons.
Razia fears Afaq having sons because it would diminish her own children’s future importance in the family.

27. Who is the head of the Kalapur district police?

A. Akram Shah
B. Chief Superintendent Elahi
C. Dr. Butt
D. Mr. Pareira

B. Chief Superintendent Elahi.
Chief Superintendent Fazal Elahi, head of the Punjab Police in Kalapur, visits the Shahs about the murder.

28. What does Fazal Elahi intend to do immediately?

A. Interview Aziz Khan
B. Arrest Rafiq and Javed
C. Find Afaq
D. Examine the jeep

B. Arrest Rafiq and Javed.
Elahi says it is obvious they will arrest the two unmarried sons of Aziz Khan, based on the location of the corpse.

29. Where do the Shah brothers send Afaq?

A. New York
B. Karachi
C. East Pakistan
D. England

D. England.
Akram and Ayub decide to send Afaq to England for “higher studies” to cover up his crime.
30. What was Afaq’s newspaper job title?

A. Personnel Officer
B. Merchandising Director
C. Chief Executive
D. Youngest Brother

B. Merchandising Director.
Afaq is surprised to see his newspaper caption falsely labels him the Merchandising Director of Shah Enterprises Ltd.

31. What did Afaq’s guilt lead him to wish for?

A. Ayub’s whip
B. Jail time
C. More money
D. A new car

A. Ayub’s whip.
Afaq thinks that Ayub’s whip would have been a merciful act, expunging the guilt from his mind.

32. What condition did the white dentist use?

A. No painkiller
B. Half Novocain
C. Cheap tools
D. Slow work

B. Half Novocain.
The white dentist believes Indians feel less pain than others, so he reduces the Novocain dose.

33. What object did Razvi use to determine tablet weight?

A. Biscuit tin
B. Copper pot
C. Glass jar
D. Wooden box

A. Biscuit tin.
Razvi uses an old biscuit tin labelled “Carlisle, England” to shake the tablets and determine their weight.

34. What did Dr. Butt prescribe for Zakia?

A. Surgery immediately
B. Bed rest, soup
C. Aspirin only
D. More neem oil

B. Bed rest, soup.
Dr. Butt prescribes bed rest and a strictly strained thin vegetable soup for Zakia’s kidneys and diabetes.
35. Who confirmed Afaq’s knowledge of petrified wood?

A. Mr. Dodge
B. Penelope
C. Gordy the genius
D. The coach

C. Gordy the genius.
Gordy, the class genius, confirms that Arnold was correct about the geological process of petrified wood.

36. Who was the most articulate communist in the sources?

A. Javed
B. Salim
C. Riaz
D. Ayub

C. Riaz.
Riaz spent a year reading the works of political economists like Karl Marx and frequently spoke about the injustices of capitalism.

37. What was the name of the mill workers’ union?

A. Kalapur Steel
B. Kalapur Textile
C. The Workers’ Guild
D. Shah’s Employees

B. Kalapur Textile.
Salim and Riaz proudly established the new labour organisation as the Kalapur Textile Workers’ Union.

38. What was Salim’s penalty for forming the union?

A. Lost his finger
B. Demoted severely
C. Arrested swiftly
D. Beaten publicly

A. Lost his finger.
Salim lost an index finger in a supposed industrial accident and was then informed his services were not needed.

39. What did Ayub want to buy Javed out of?

A. His land
B. The union
C. His job
D. The army

B. The union.
Ayub hints that Javed could receive promotions and money if he chose better companions than Riaz and Salim.
40. What did Akram call Zakia during dinner?

A. Old woman
B. Stùpid fool
C. Illiterate peasant
D. Poor mother

C. Illiterate peasant.
Akram sternly calls Zakia an “ignorant, illiterate peasant” who deserves no consideration because she lacks sense.

41. What did Razia falsely accuse Afaq of?

A. Stealing money
B. Committing assault
C. Planning murder
D. Running away

B. Committing assault.
Razia tells Ayub that Afaq assaulted her in his flat, biting her neck and falling on her.

42. How much did Ayub bribe the police to save Afaq?

A. Ten thousand
B. Five hundred
C. One hundred thousand
D. Two thousand

C. One hundred thousand.
Ayub angrily tells Razia he paid out one hundred thousand rupees in bribes to save Afaq’s skin.

43. Who was the humped dwarf gravedigger?

A. Jumila Bano
B. Bakshi
C. Ghulam Din
D. Razvi

B. Bakshi.
Aziz Khan sees Bakshi, the humped, bow-legged idiot gravedigger, outside the cemetery gate after the funeral.

44. What happens to Aziz Khan’s land eventually?

A. Sold cheaply
B. Given to the poor
C. Settled with creditors
D. Returned to him

C. Settled with creditors.
A man serves Aziz Khan a court order stating that the land has been settled on his creditors, the Shahs.
45. What does Ayub threaten to use to hang Afaq?

A. A gun
B. His documents
C. His brother’s knife
D. Razia’s testimony

B. His documents.
Ayub threatens Akram by saying he has enough documents in his safe deposit to hang Afaq and jail Akram.

46. What does Razia realise about her pregnancy?

A. It’s a boy
B. It’s Afaq’s
C. It’s too early
D. Ayub is happy

B. It’s Afaq’s.
Razia performs a quick calculation and realises that the child she is carrying is likely Afaq’s, not Ayub’s.

47. What does Razia buy for Faridah in London?

A. Gold chain
B. Silk blouse
C. Shocking pink georgette
D. New shoes

C. Shocking pink georgette.
Razia buys six yards of the most “shocking pink georgette” she could find, specifically for Faridah.

48. What does Aziz Khan remember about his first trip?

A. Lahore was huge
B. Punjab was infinity
C. Train was fast
D. Uncle was rich

B. Punjab was infinity.
As a boy, Aziz Khan felt that the Punjab in which he travelled was an infinity where he was a speck.

49. What does the police officer in Lahore tell Aziz Khan?

A. Shahs are criminals
B. They will help
C. Kalapur must handle it
D. Go to court

C. Kalapur must handle it.
The police officer refuses to take the case because the Shahs are respectable and the matter is within Kalapur’s jurisdiction.
50. What physically happens to Aziz Khan’s land?

A. Bulldozers destroy it
B. It turns green
C. Peasants cultivate it
D. Fire burns plants

A. Bulldozers destroy it.
Aziz Khan returns to find his land is fenced with barbed wire, and three bulldozers are tearing up the roots.

Brief Overview

The Murder of Aziz Khan is a novel by Zulfikar Ghose, published in 1967. It functions as a powerful social critique of postcolonial Pakistan, examining the destructive conflict between traditional, agrarian values and aggressive industrial capitalism.

The central conflict is between the wealthy Shah brothers, who own a large, expanding industrial business, and Aziz Khan, a small landowner. The brothers want to buy Aziz Khan’s seventy acres of land to further their business profits, but Aziz Khan refuses to sell his traditional property.

The brothers are characterized by distinct motivations: Akram seeks wealth, Ayub seeks raw power and force, and Afaq, the youngest, is confused by their ruthless greed.

Ayub, showing violent instincts rooted in his memory of British rule, hits Afaq for staying out late. Later, Afaq commits a terrible crime: he rapes and murders a young peasant girl, Jumila Bano, near Aziz Khan’s land.

The Shah brothers use their wealth to pay the police to frame Aziz Khan’s son, Rafiq, for the murder. Rafiq is found guilty and sentenced to death. Afaq is secretly sent to England to avoid prosecution. Aziz Khan’s wife, Zakia, becomes very sick and is sent to a nursing home.

The remaining son, Javed, tries to sell the land but is mocked by the Shahs. Javed borrows money to pay his mother’s medical bills, using his father’s land as security. Ayub secretly sets up the loan to legally seize the land.

Javed is murdered and robbed, and Aziz Khan’s land is taken by the Shah Industrial Enterprises using a legal trick. Aziz Khan leaves his ruined land to seek justice in Lahore, but the police refuse to help him.

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