Which of the following states/union territories of India does not share its border with China?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Mizoram
Note: The given answer is as per the official NTA Answer Key. However, the question has two possible answers, i.e. both Option (2) and Option (4), as explained below.
India’s boundary with China runs along the Himalaya in the north, past Ladakh (until 2019 a part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir), Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Mizoram lies in the far south of the north-east, between Myanmar and Bangladesh, with which it shares its international borders; it does not touch China.
Jammu and Kashmir has been a union territory since 31 October 2019, when Ladakh became a separate union territory. India’s whole boundary with China in the north-west now lies in Ladakh, so the present union territory of Jammu and Kashmir does not touch China either. The answer given by NTA takes Jammu and Kashmir in its older sense, the former state that included Ladakh.
Tip for students: When a question has two possible answers, mark the one you worked out yourself. If NTA’s answer key gives a different answer, challenge it when NTA opens the window for challenges.