MPPSC 2018 Prelims Q61: Which district of Madhya Pradesh has highest percentage of

Q: What is the answer to MPPSC 2018 Prelims Q61?

C. Correct — C, Alirajpur. As per the 2011 Census, Alirajpur has the highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes of any Madhya Pradesh district — about 89% of its people are tribal, mostly Bhil and Bhilala. Alirajpur was carved out of Jhabua in 2008, and Jhabua (~87%) is a very close second, which is exactly why the two are so easy to mix up.

MPPSC 2018 Prelims Paper-I · Question 61 of 100

Verified against the official question paper. Answer as per the official MPPSC answer key.

Which district of Madhya Pradesh has highest percentage of tribal population?

(a)Jhabua
(b)Barwani
(c)Alirajpur
(d)Dindori

Answer

Why

Correct — C, Alirajpur. As per the 2011 Census, Alirajpur has the highest proportion of Scheduled Tribes of any Madhya Pradesh district — about 89% of its people are tribal, mostly Bhil and Bhilala. Alirajpur was carved out of Jhabua in 2008, and Jhabua (~87%) is a very close second, which is exactly why the two are so easy to mix up.

Why the others are wrong

(a)Jhabua — Extremely tribal (~87%) and often assumed to be the highest, but the district split from it — Alirajpur, at ~89% — edges just ahead in percentage terms.
(b)Barwani — A heavily tribal district of the western Bhil belt, but its ST share (about 69%) is well below Alirajpur's.
(d)Dindori — A tribal-majority district of eastern MP (Gond and Baiga), but its ST proportion (about 64%) is lower than Alirajpur's.

Concept

Scheduled Tribes make up a little over a fifth of Madhya Pradesh's population, and MP has the largest Scheduled Tribe population of any Indian state. Within MP the western Bhil belt (Jhabua–Alirajpur–Barwani) and the eastern Gond–Baiga tracts (Dindori–Mandla) are the most tribal. In percentage terms Alirajpur tops the list; in absolute numbers the biggest tribal populations sit in larger districts.

The trap is Jhabua, historically the face of tribal MP — but the 2008 bifurcation created Alirajpur, which turned out to have the slightly higher ST proportion. Also separate 'highest percentage' (Alirajpur) from 'largest number', which need not be the same district.

Key facts

Alirajpur has the highest ST percentage of any MP district (~89%, 2011 Census).
Jhabua (~87%) is a close second; Alirajpur was carved out of Jhabua in 2008.
Bhil and Bhilala are the dominant tribes of this western MP belt.
Madhya Pradesh has the largest Scheduled Tribe population of any Indian state.

Study next

Major tribes of MP — Bhil, Gond, Baiga, Sahariya, KorkuParticularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of MP — Baiga, Bharia, SahariyaScheduled Areas and the Fifth ScheduleDistrict demography of MP from the 2011 CensusTribal welfare schemes and institutions in MP

Common traps

Choosing Jhabua by reputation instead of Alirajpur
Confusing 'highest percentage' of tribals with 'largest number' of tribals

MPPSC repeatedly asks 'which district has the highest/lowest X' (sex ratio, literacy, tribal %, density) — anchor Alirajpur = highest ST %, Jhabua second.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
Which two tribes dominate the western (Jhabua–Alirajpur) belt of Madhya Pradesh?
- (a)Gond and Baiga
- (b)Bhil and Bhilala
- (c)Sahariya and Korku
- (d)Kol and Bharia
Answer(b) Bhil and Bhilala — the principal tribes of western MP.
practice — not a real PYQ
Madhya Pradesh has the largest ______ of any Indian state.
- (a)urban population
- (b)Scheduled Tribe population
- (c)coastline
- (d)forest revenue per capita
Answer(b) Scheduled Tribe population — MP has the most STs of any state.