Which of the following do NOT practise transhumance?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Meenas
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) Gaddis — Practise transhumance. Gaddis take their animals up to the Himalayan pastures in summer.
Option (2) Bhotiyas — Practise transhumance. Bhotiyas also move between the plains and the high pastures.
Option (3) Gujjars — Practise transhumance. Gujjars move to the mountains in summer and back to the plains in winter.
Option (4) Meenas — Do not practise transhumance. The Meenas are not among the Himalayan herders who move with the seasons.
Note: The given answer is as per the official NTA Answer Key. The book does not say in clear words that the Meenas do not practise transhumance. It gives the Gujjars, Bakarwals, Gaddis and Bhotiyas as the groups that move between the plains and the Himalayan pastures, and the Meenas are not among them.
NCERT (2026-27): “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.” |