Somri belongs to a tribal community in a hilly district. Her grandparents gathered fuel, fruit and medicinal plants from dense woods around the village and farmed fields that the whole village held together. Today the woods have thinned to a few patches. When records were drawn up, plots were registered in the names of individual owners, and many households had no papers for fields they had used for generations. In recent years traders, contractors and labourers from other states have settled in growing numbers in the district, and Somri's community feels its way of life is under pressure.
Settlement of outsiders, as in Somri's district, has hit some states hardest. In which state was the tribal share of the population halved within a single decade?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Tripura
Option (1) Chhattisgarh — Incorrect. Chhattisgarh comes up as a state won after a long tribal struggle. No halving of its tribal share is reported.
Option (2) Tripura — Correct. In-migration of non-tribals hit the North-East most dramatically. Tripura had the tribal share of its population halved within a single decade, which made tribals a minority there.
Option (3) Jharkhand — Incorrect. The industrial areas of Jharkhand suffered a dilution of the tribal share of population. That is a fall, but not a halving within a decade.
Option (4) Arunachal Pradesh — Incorrect. Arunachal Pradesh is feeling similar pressure from in-migration. The halving within one decade is the case of Tripura.
NCERT (2026-27): “Tribe – The Career of a Concept … |