Which of the following is not a difference between forest movements of the South and those of the North?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Wilderness campaigns were initiated in the South. In contrast, in the North there are no such campaigns.
Option (1) The forests in the South are still peopled while the forest in the North is more or less devoid of human habitat. A difference (Incorrect). This is what distinguishes the forest movements of the South from those of the North.
Option (2) The North believes in the notion of 'wilderness' as a wild place. No such idea is prevailing in the South. A difference (Incorrect). Because the northern forests are empty of people, the notion of wilderness as a ‘wild place’ where people do not live prevails in the North.
Option (3) Wilderness campaigns were initiated in the South. In contrast, in the North there are no such campaigns. Not a difference (Correct). The statement turns the facts upside down. The idea of wilderness, and of protecting the environment from humans through parks and reserves, belongs to the North; in the South, environmental issues start from the assumption that people live in the forests.
Option (4) For the North, 'environment' is perceived as something that should be protected from humans. However, environmental issues in the South are based on the assumption that people live in the forests. A difference (Incorrect). In the North the environment is seen as something to be protected from humans; in the South, people are part of the forest.
NCERT (2026-27): “Environmental Movements: One or Many? … What distinguishes the forest movements of the South from those of the North is that the forests of the former are still peopled, whilst the forests of the latter are more or less devoid of human habitat or, at least, are perceived as thus. This explains to some extent the prevailing notion of wilderness in the North as a ‘wild place’ where people do not live. In this perspective, humans are not seen as part of nature. In other words, ‘environment’ is perceived as ‘somewhere out there’, as something that should be protected from humans through the creation of parks and reserves. On the other hand, most environmental issues in the South are based on the assumption that people live in the forests.…” |