CAPF AC 2022 Q86: Geography – Indian Agriculture & Land Use
- (a) Manipur
- (b) Assam
- (c) Sikkim
- (d) Mizoram
Answer: (d) Mizoram
Explanation
Jhum cultivation
How to think: Jhum is the north-eastern name for shifting (slash and burn) cultivation.
It is practised on hill slopes by tribal communities.
The state most dependent on it is Mizoram, a land of steep hills with very little flat land.
| State | Position |
|---|---|
| Mizoram | Jhum is the main form of farming; most cultivated land is under it |
| Manipur | Jhum on the hills, but the Imphal valley has settled rice farming |
| Assam | Mostly settled farming in the Brahmaputra valley |
| Sikkim | Terrace farming; a fully organic state |
How jhum works: a patch of forest is cut and burnt, crops are grown for a year or two, and then the land is left to recover.
Names in other regions: Podu (Andhra Pradesh), Bewar or Dahiya (Madhya Pradesh), Kumari (Western Ghats), Milpa (Mexico), Ladang (Indonesia).
Answer: (d) Mizoram.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Incorrect. Manipur has jhum on its hills but large valley farming too.
- (b) Incorrect. Assam is mainly a state of settled valley agriculture.
- (c) Incorrect. Sikkim practises terrace farming, not widespread jhum.
- (d) CORRECT. In Mizoram jhum is the dominant form of cultivation.
Key point
Shifting cultivation: Jhum (north-east), Podu (Andhra Pradesh, Odisha), Bewar and Dahiya (Madhya Pradesh), Kumari (Western Ghats), Kuruwa (Jharkhand). Mizoram's New Land Use Policy aims to wean farmers off jhum.
Remember
Jhum = shifting cultivation; strongest in Mizoram.
Common mistakes
- Marking Assam as the biggest state of the north-east.
- Mixing up jhum with terrace farming, which is permanent.
- Thinking Sikkim, being hilly, must depend on shifting cultivation.
Exam tip
Educated guess: pick the state that is almost entirely hills with a tribal majority and no big river valley. That is Mizoram.
Sources
- NCERT Class X Geography — Contemporary India II, Chapter 4: Agriculture (primitive subsistence farming)
- NITI Aayog — Report of the Working Group on Shifting Cultivation: Towards a Transformational Approach (2018)