Mandwara festival is celebrated by the:

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — A, Gond. The official key attributes the Mandwara festival to the Gond community — Madhya Pradesh's (and India's) largest Scheduled Tribe, concentrated in districts such as Mandla, Dindori, Chhindwara, Seoni, Betul and Balaghat. The Gond observe a rich calendar of seasonal and agricultural festivals — including Madai and the month-long sapling-planting festival Hari Jiroti (celebrated jointly with the Korku) — and Mandwara is a further such Gond festival named in the official key.

Why the other options are wrong — (b) A distinct Madhya Pradesh PVTG (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group), concentrated around the Dindori-Mandla-Balaghat belt ('Baiga Chak') — a separate community from the Gond, though sharing the same broader tribal region.  (c) A PVTG confined mainly to the Patalkot valley of Chhindwara district; the Bharia consider themselves 'younger brothers' of the Gond but are a much smaller, separate community — not credited with this festival in the official key.  (d) A PVTG found mainly in the Gwalior-Chambal belt of Madhya Pradesh (and in Rajasthan) — geographically and culturally distinct from the central-MP Gond heartland.

Concept: The Gond are Madhya Pradesh's largest tribal (Scheduled Tribe) community and one of India's largest, having historically ruled Gondwana kingdoms (e.g. Garha-Mandla, Deogarh) before Mughal and British expansion. Their homeland spans Mandla, Dindori, Chhindwara, Seoni, Betul, Balaghat and other central-MP districts, and MPPSC frequently tests Gond festivals as a state-GK item.

State PCS 2024 Q22 — Madhya Pradesh GK PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2024 Q22 — Madhya Pradesh GK PYQ with Answer