Permanent traits in tribes do not include:

The correct answer is Option (3) → Religion

Option (1) Region — A permanent trait (Incorrect). Tribes are classified by their ‘permanent’ and ‘acquired’ traits, and region is the first of the permanent traits: about 85% of the tribal population lives in ‘middle India’, and the North-eastern states have the highest concentrations.

Option (2) Language — A permanent trait (Incorrect). Language is named among the permanent traits; tribes are grouped into language families such as Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Austric and Tibeto-Burman.

Option (3) Religion — Not a permanent trait (Correct). The permanent traits are region, language, physical characteristics and ecological habitat; religion is not one of them. The acquired traits, too, are mode of livelihood and extent of incorporation into Hindu society, not religion as such.

Option (4) Ecological habitat — A permanent trait (Incorrect). Ecological habitat, the natural surroundings in which a tribe lives, such as hills, forests, rural plains and urban industrial areas, is the last of the permanent traits named.