Consider the following facts of the rivers of the Indus system : 1. The Satluj originates in Tibet where it is known as Langchen Khambab 2. The Satluj is a classic example of an antecedent river 3. The Jhelum is the largest tributary of the Indus System Select the answer using the code given below :
- (a)2 only
- (b)3 only
- (c)1 and 2
- (d)2 and 3
Correct — C, '1 and 2'. Statement 1 is true: the Satluj (Sutlej) rises in Tibet near Lake Rakshastal and Manasarovar at the foot of Mount Kailash, where it is called Langchen Khambab ('Elephant Mouth'). Statement 2 is true: the Satluj is a classic antecedent river — it already existed before the Himalayas were uplifted and cut down through them as they rose, carving deep gorges. Statement 3 is false: the largest tributary of the Indus system is the Chenab, not the Jhelum. Hence only 1 and 2 are correct.
- (a)2 only — Statement 2 is true, but so is statement 1 (the Satluj's Tibetan source and name Langchen Khambab), so '2 only' is incomplete.
- (b)3 only — Statement 3 is the false one — the Chenab, not the Jhelum, is the largest tributary of the Indus — and statements 1 and 2 are both true, so this is doubly wrong.
- (d)2 and 3 — Statement 2 is true but statement 3 is false (Chenab is the largest tributary), so this pairing includes an incorrect statement.
The Indus system rises largely on the Tibetan plateau. The Satluj (Sutlej) is one of its five great Punjab tributaries (Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Satluj), which unite as the Panjnad before joining the Indus. Several of these Himalayan rivers are 'antecedent' — older than the mountains, they kept their courses and cut gorges as the Himalayas were uplifted.
The trap is statement 3: the Jhelum is famous (Srinagar, Wular lake), so students assume it is the biggest tributary — but by water volume the Chenab is the largest tributary of the Indus. Statement 1 can also make students doubt, but the Satluj's Tibetan name (Langchen Khambab) and Manasarovar-region source are standard facts.
- Satluj/Sutlej rises in Tibet as Langchen Khambab, near Rakshastal-Manasarovar (Mount Kailash region).
- It is an antecedent river — predates the Himalayas and cut through them as they rose.
- The five Punjab rivers (Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Satluj) join to form the Panjnad, which meets the Indus.
- The Chenab is the largest tributary of the Indus; under the Indus Waters Treaty the Satluj, Ravi and Beas are the 'eastern rivers' allotted to India.
- Assuming the Jhelum is the largest Indus tributary — it is the Chenab.
- Forgetting that the Satluj rises in Tibet, not in India.
Statement-based questions on a river's source, Tibetan name or antecedent character; matching rivers to their source names.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under the Indus Waters Treaty (1960), which of the following is an 'eastern river' allocated to India?
- (a)Jhelum
- (b)Chenab
- (c)Satluj
- (d)Indus
Answer(c) Satluj — the eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Satluj) were allotted to India; the western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to Pakistan.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following is the largest tributary of the Indus river?
- (a)Jhelum
- (b)Chenab
- (c)Ravi
- (d)Beas
Answer(b) Chenab — it is the largest tributary of the Indus system by water volume.