Consider the following pairs: Tribe — State

Answer: (a) 1 and 3 only

Limbu–Sikkim ✓ and Dongaria Kondh–Odisha ✓.

Statement by statement

1. ✓ CORRECT The Limbu live in Sikkim and eastern Nepal; they are a Scheduled Tribe in Sikkim.

2. ✗ WRONG — Assam The Karbi live in the Karbi Anglong hills of Assam.

3. ✓ CORRECT The Dongaria Kondh of the Niyamgiri hills won the 2013 gram-sabha vote against bauxite mining on their sacred mountain.

4. ✗ WRONG — Odisha The Bonda, a particularly vulnerable tribal group, live in the hills of Malkangiri, Odisha.

The idea

A tribe–State pair is a location test, not a test of how the name sounds. Anchor each community to a hill range, district or valley. A community can also live across a State or international border, so a correct pair need not describe its only home.

Why the others are wrong

(b) Picks the swapped pairs: the Karbi belong to Assam’s Karbi Anglong, the Bonda to Odisha’s Malkangiri.

(c) The Bonda are in Odisha, not Tamil Nadu.

(d) Accepts all four. Two tribes have been moved: Karbi (Assam) to HP and Bonda (Odisha) to Tamil Nadu.

The trap

The Bonda and the Dongaria Kondh are BOTH Odisha tribes, so if you know one, you may not question the other’s state.

Elimination technique

Karbi Anglong fixes the Karbi in Assam, eliminating (b) and (d). Knowing that Bonda belong to Odisha removes (c), leaving (a).

Also know

Lepcha and Bhutia are other communities of Sikkim. Assam also has Mising and Bodo communities; Meghalaya has Khasi, Garo and Jaintia communities. Odisha’s tribal neighbours include Juang and Saura. Dongria Kondh and Bonda are distinct particularly vulnerable tribal groups, not two names for one people.