Sunita is a researcher studying a hilly, forested district in central India. Her records show that, over many generations, families from the plains have settled in its villages as traders and farmers. At the same time, many young people from the district's tribal communities have left to work on tea plantations, in coal mines and in factories in distant towns. Sunita now compares the settler and tribal households in the district on income, land, schooling and health, for a report on the district.
Movements like these mean that, barring one region, India has no areas inhabited exclusively by tribal people. Which region is the exception?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → The North-Eastern states
Option (1) The hill areas of Western India — Incorrect. The hill areas of Western India have tribal districts, but other groups live there too. So they are only areas of tribal concentration.
Option (2) The Himalayan hill states — Incorrect. The Himalayan hill states also have mixed populations. Movement of people means tribes there live alongside others.
Option (3) The North-Eastern states — Correct. Movement of populations has mixed tribal and non-tribal people almost everywhere. The North-Eastern states are the one exception still inhabited exclusively by tribal people; elsewhere there are only areas of tribal concentration.
Option (4) The forest tracts of Andhra Pradesh — Incorrect. The forest tracts of Andhra Pradesh are home to many adivasis, such as those displaced by the Polavaram dam. Other groups live there too, so these are also only areas of tribal concentration.
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