The practice of the Bakarwals and other tribes of moving with their animals to the mountains in summer and plains in winter is called __________.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Transhumance
Transhumance is the seasonal movement of herders with their animals: up to the mountain pastures in summer and down to the plains in winter.
Option (1) Commercial livestock rearing — Incorrect. This is organised and capital intensive rearing of animals on permanent ranches.
Option (2) Jhuming — Incorrect. Jhuming is the name of shifting cultivation in the north-eastern states of India. It is a type of farming, not of herding.
Option (3) Transhumance — Correct. The Bakarwals, Gujjars, Gaddis and Bhotiyas of the Himalayas move to the mountains in summers and back to the plains in winters.
Option (4) Hunting and gathering — Incorrect. This is the oldest way of getting food from nature by hunting animals and collecting plants.
Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2023 on 18-06-2023 (Slot 3), 10-06-2023 (Slot 2), 30-05-2023 (Slot 1) and 25-05-2023 (Slot 2), and in CUET (UG) 2022 on 30-08-2022 (Slot 1).
NCERT (2026-27): “Movement in search of pastures is undertaken either over vast horizontal distances or vertically from one elevation to another in the mountainous regions. The process of migration from plain areas to pastures on mountains during summers and again from mountain pastures to plain areas during winters is known as transhumance. In mountain regions, such as Himalayas, Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis and Bhotiyas migrate from plains to the mountains in summers and to the plains from the high altitude pastures in winters.” |