CDS (II) 2021 General Knowledge · Question 40 of 120

Correct — B, J. J is from Assam, and at the 2011 Census Assam's population density was 398 persons per square kilometre — not merely the highest of the four, but higher than the other three put together. Meghalaya stood at 132, Nagaland at 119 and Arunachal Pradesh at 17, the lowest figure for any State in India. The reason is physical. Assam holds the broad alluvial floodplains of the Brahmaputra and the Barak, land that can be cropped intensively and settled densely, while Meghalaya sits on a plateau and Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh are steep, forested hill States where cultivable flat land is scarce. Assam is also much the most populous of the four, with over 31 million people in 2011 against about 3 million in Meghalaya, under 2 million in Nagaland and under 1.4 million in Arunachal Pradesh.

• (a)M — M is from Arunachal Pradesh, which at 17 persons per square kilometre had the lowest density of any State in the country in 2011 — the exact opposite of the claim. It is also the largest of the north-eastern States by area, which pushes the figure down further.
• (c)N — N is from Meghalaya, at 132 persons per square kilometre. That is second among these four but only a third of Assam's figure; the Khasi, Garo and Jaintia hills leave little of the plateau available for dense settlement.
• (d)S — S is from Nagaland, at 119 persons per square kilometre, and Nagaland was in fact the only State in India to record a fall in population between 2001 and 2011.

Density is population divided by area, so it is driven as much by the denominator as by the numerator. In the North-East the pattern is almost entirely relief-driven: the Brahmaputra and Barak valleys of Assam carry a plains density, and the surrounding hill States carry a mountain density. India as a whole stood at 382 persons per square kilometre in 2011.

Scenario items of this kind are just a comparison in costume, and the comparison here is easy once the physical geography is in place. A candidate who cannot recall the four figures can still reason that only one of the four States has a large river plain. Two anchors are worth memorising for the whole North-East: Assam near 400, and Arunachal Pradesh at 17, the national minimum. Anchored to the exam, all of this is 2011 data, which remains the latest Census figure — the decennial count due in 2021 was postponed, and the next Census has been announced with a reference date of 1 March 2027, so these densities are still the ones in use.

• Census 2011 densities: Assam 398, Meghalaya 132, Nagaland 119, Arunachal Pradesh 17 persons per sq km.
• Arunachal Pradesh has the lowest density of any Indian State; Mizoram at 52 is next.
• Tripura at 350 is the only other north-eastern State approaching Assam's figure.
• India's overall density in 2011 was 382 persons per sq km; Bihar was the densest State at 1,102.
• Assam's population in 2011 was over 31 million, far more than the other three States in this item combined.

• Assuming a hilly State with a small population must still be dense because it is small; area matters as much as population.
• Confusing highest density with largest population, though in this item Assam happens to lead on both.
• Quoting these as current figures without noting that they come from 2011, the latest completed Census.

As a scenario or a straight comparison asking which State has the highest or lowest density in a given Census.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  According to the 2011 Census, which State of India recorded the lowest population density?

  • (a)Mizoram
  • (b)Sikkim
  • (c)Arunachal Pradesh
  • (d)Nagaland

  Answer(c) Arunachal Pradesh — 17 persons per sq km, the lowest for any State; Mizoram at 52 is next.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which one of the following States recorded a decline in population between the 2001 and 2011 Censuses?

  • (a)Sikkim
  • (b)Nagaland
  • (c)Goa
  • (d)Manipur

  Answer(b) Nagaland — it was the only State in the country to record negative decadal growth in that Census.