Given below is a case study. Read the same and answer the following question given after the case study carefully. (Q-3)
Density of population, is expressed as number of persons per unit area. It helps in getting a better understanding of the spatial distribution of population in relation to land. The density of population in India (2011) is 382 persons per sq km. There has been a steady increase of more than 200 persons per sq km over the last 50 years as the density of population increased from 117 persons/ sq km in 1951 to 382 persons/sq km in 2011.
The spatial variation of population densities in the country which ranges from as low as 17 persons per sq km in Arunachal Pradesh to 11,297 persons in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Among the northern Indian States, Bihar (1102), West Bengal (1029) and and Uttar Pradesh (828) have higher densities, while Kerala (859) and Tamil Nadu (555) have higher densities among the peninsular Indian states. States like Assam, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha have moderate densities. The hill states of the Himalayan region and North eastern states of India (excluding Assam) have relatively low densities while the Union Territories (excluding Andaman and Nicobar islands) have very high densities of population.
The density of population, as discussed in the earlier paragraph, is a crude measure of human and land relationship. To get a better insight into the human-land ratio in terms of pressure of population on total cultivable land, the physiological and the agricultural densities should be found out which are significant for a country like India having a large agricultural population.

Assertion:. There is an uneven spatial distribution of population in India which suggests a close relationship between population and physical, socio economic and historical factors
Reasoning: The share of population in the entire population is very small in case of states like Jammu & Kashmir (1.04%), Arunachal Pradesh (0.11%) and Uttarkhand (0.84%) in spite of theses states having fairly large geographical area.

Both Assertion (A) and reasoning (R) are correct and but R is not the correct explanation of A.

Option 2: Both Assertion (A) and reasoning (R) are correct, but R is not the correct explanation of A.

Assertion (A) is true: India's population distribution is uneven. Some states, like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, are densely populated, while others, like Jammu and Kashmir, have a much lower population density.

Reason (R) is also true, but it's not an explanation of A:  The low population share of Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand compared to their large areas highlights the unevenness.


While these states have a low population density, the reasoning focuses solely on geographical area. The statement does not explain the reasons for uneven population distribution in India.

The factors influencing population distribution in India are:

Physical factors:Climate (favorable vs. harsh), availability of water resources, fertile land for agriculture.
Socio-economic factors:Job opportunities, infrastructure (transportation, communication), access to education and healthcare.
Historical factors: Past trade routes, location of old kingdoms and empires, migration patterns.

So, the uneven distribution is due to a combination of factors.