Which of the following festivals observed in Assam is majorly celebrated by Vaishnavites?

Correct — D. Doljatra, the Assamese Doul Utsav, is the spring festival of Krishna and belongs to the Vaishnavite calendar. It is kept in the satras, the monasteries of Assam's neo-Vaishnavite tradition, and Barpeta's observance is the best known of them.

The remaining three are agrarian or Shakta in character rather than Vaishnavite. The stem asks for sectarian affiliation, not for the biggest festival, and that points to option (d).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Bihu — Bihu is Assam's principal festival but an agrarian one, marking the turns of the farming year. It is kept across the State's communities and is not tied to a devotional sect.
• (b)
  Ambuchi Mela — Ambuchi Mela, as the paper spells it, is the Kamakhya temple's observance at Guwahati and is Shakta — centred on the goddess, not on Krishna.
• (c)
  Rongker — Rongker is a village festival of the Karbi people, held to propitiate local deities for a good harvest. It belongs to Karbi tradition rather than to the satra.

Assam's neo-Vaishnavism was founded by Srimanta Sankardeva in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as Ek Sarana Naam Dharma — devotion to one god, Krishna, through chanting of the name.

Its institutions are the satra, a monastery, and the namghar, the village prayer house. Its art forms are the Borgeet devotional songs, the Ankiya Naat one-act plays and Sattriya dance.

Doljatra, the Assamese form of Holi, sits inside that tradition because it is a Krishna festival. Bihu, by contrast, marks the agricultural year and belongs to no sect.

Key facts

• Doljatra, also called Doul Utsav in Assam, is the Krishna festival kept by Vaishnavites, and Barpeta's celebration is the best known.
• Srimanta Sankardeva founded Assam's neo-Vaishnavite movement, Ek Sarana Naam Dharma.
• A satra is a Vaishnavite monastery in Assam and a namghar is the village prayer house.
• Sattriya, which grew inside the satras, was recognised as a classical dance form by the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2000.

Common traps

• Answering Bihu because it is the festival Assam is best known for.
• Reading the Ambubachi Mela as Vaishnavite when it is a Shakta observance at the Kamakhya temple.
• Assuming every festival kept in Assam belongs to the same religious tradition.

No directly related past PYQ was found.