CDS Geography · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport
Tribes and Languages
Where India's Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes are most numerous and most concentrated, a few tribes and communities by region, and the four language families with their branches.
Why this matters
Eight CDS questions from 2016 to 2023, three of them in 2018. The tribe questions hinge on one distinction: the State with the most tribal people is not the State where they form the highest share. The language questions ask which family or branch a language belongs to.
Concept 1 of 2: Tribes and scheduled populations
Definition
From the 2011 Census:
- Scheduled Tribes are about 8.6 per cent of India's people, and Scheduled Castes about 16.6 per cent.
- Largest ST population: Madhya Pradesh (about 1.5 crore), then Maharashtra.
- Highest ST share among States: Mizoram (about 94 per cent), then Nagaland (about 86) and Meghalaya (about 86). Arunachal Pradesh is lower, at about 69.
- Highest SC share: Punjab, about 32 per cent.
- A few tribes and communities by home region: Todas of the Nilgiris (the Blue Mountains) in Tamil Nadu; Gonds of central India; Bhils of western India; Jarawas of the Andaman Islands; Adi of Arunachal Pradesh; and the Ahoms, a Tai people who ruled the Brahmaputra valley of Assam for six centuries.
| Question | Answer (Census 2011) |
|---|---|
| Largest ST population | Madhya Pradesh, then MaharashtraQ CDS 2016 (II): the second largest is Maharashtra, not Chhattisgarh; the second highest share is Nagaland, not Arunachal. |
| Highest ST share of a State | Mizoram, about 94 per cent |
| Highest SC share of a State | Punjab, about 32 per centQ |
| Tribe of the Blue Mountains (Nilgiris) | TodasQ CDS 2017 (II): the Todas, not the Lambadas, Gonds or Jarawas. |
| Ethnic community of Assam | AhomsQ CDS 2023 (I): the Ahoms, against the Bhils, Gonds and Adi. |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 1 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Tribes and Languages
Number versus share
Second place is Nagaland
Concept 2 of 2: Language families
Definition
The four families (NCERT Class 12, India: People and Economy):
- Indo-European (Indo-Aryan branch): about 73 per cent of Indians, the largest group. Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu, Kashmiri.
- Dravidian: about 20 per cent. Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Gondi.
- Austric (Austro-Asiatic): about 1.4 per cent. Two branches: Munda (Santhali, Ho, Mundari) and Mon-Khmer (Khasi, Nicobarese).
- Sino-Tibetan (Tibeto-Burman): under 1 per cent. Ladakhi, Bodo, Naga languages, Mizo, Manipuri, Monpa (Arunachal Pradesh).
- The main languages of Jammu and Kashmir include Kashmiri (Koshur), Urdu, Dogri and Gojri.
| Family | Branch and examples |
|---|---|
| Indo-European | Indo-Aryan: Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Kashmiri, Urdu; about 73 per cent of Indians |
| Dravidian | Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam; about 20 per cent |
| Austric | Munda: Santhali, Ho, Mundari. Mon-Khmer: Khasi, NicobareseQ CDS 2018 (II): Khasi belongs to the Mon-Khmer branch of Austro-Asiatic. |
| Sino-Tibetan | Tibeto-Burman: Ladakhi, Bodo, Mizo, Manipuri, MonpaQ CDS 2020 (I): Monpa, an Arunachal language, is not a principal language of Jammu and Kashmir. |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 2 · Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport · Tribes and Languages
Khasi is Mon-Khmer, not Munda
Monpa belongs to Arunachal
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (2)
Tribes and scheduled populations5 rows
| Question | Answer (Census 2011) |
|---|---|
| Largest ST population | Madhya Pradesh, then MaharashtraQ CDS 2016 (II): the second largest is Maharashtra, not Chhattisgarh; the second highest share is Nagaland, not Arunachal. |
| Highest ST share of a State | Mizoram, about 94 per cent |
| Highest SC share of a State | Punjab, about 32 per centQ |
| Tribe of the Blue Mountains (Nilgiris) | TodasQ CDS 2017 (II): the Todas, not the Lambadas, Gonds or Jarawas. |
| Ethnic community of Assam | AhomsQ CDS 2023 (I): the Ahoms, against the Bhils, Gonds and Adi. |
Language families4 rows
| Family | Branch and examples |
|---|---|
| Indo-European | Indo-Aryan: Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Kashmiri, Urdu; about 73 per cent of Indians |
| Dravidian | Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam; about 20 per cent |
| Austric | Munda: Santhali, Ho, Mundari. Mon-Khmer: Khasi, NicobareseQ CDS 2018 (II): Khasi belongs to the Mon-Khmer branch of Austro-Asiatic. |
| Sino-Tibetan | Tibeto-Burman: Ladakhi, Bodo, Mizo, Manipuri, MonpaQ CDS 2020 (I): Monpa, an Arunachal language, is not a principal language of Jammu and Kashmir. |
Watch out for (4)
- Number versus share→ Tribes and scheduled populations
- Second place is Nagaland→ Tribes and scheduled populations
- Khasi is Mon-Khmer, not Munda→ Language families
- Monpa belongs to Arunachal→ Language families
Test yourself on Indian Geography — Economy, Resources and Transport
20 past CDS questions from this chapter, timed at 20 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.