SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 17 September 2025, Shift 2 · General Awareness · Question 2 of 99

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 13 September 2026.

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SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. From 2025 the candidate response sheet prints every question and option as a picture, so the text here is transcribed from those pictures for this shift and checked against them independently; where the layout carries meaning, the picture is shown as well. Each answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. SSC released a tentative key for challenge and later its final one, both only to candidates behind a login, and the sheet does not say which of the two it carries. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Which of the following best captures the cultural and historical essence of Uttarakhand's Bissu Mela?

(a)A three-day martial arts event by Gorkha settlers in Garhwal to worship Lord Kartikeya as the harvest god.
(b)A week-long Jaunsari tribal fair in Chakrata, thanking for harvest and honoring Santoora Devi, a Durga form.
(c)A pilgrimage where Pandavas are worshipped at stone altars through Himachali Brahmin rituals.
(d)A fasting-based fair restricting women from dancing due to ancestral customs.

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The Ministry of Tourism's Utsav portal describes Bissu Mela as a fair of the Jaunsari tribe, held in the Chakrata block of Dehradun.

It lasts over a week, in thanks for a good harvest, and villagers gather to honour Santoora Devi, an incarnation of Goddess Durga. Community, place, harvest and deity all match → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
A three-day martial arts event by Gorkha settlers in Garhwal to worship Lord Kartikeya as the harvest god. — The fair belongs to the Jaunsari tribe, not to Gorkha settlers, and the deity it honours is Santoora Devi, not Kartikeya.
(c)
A pilgrimage where Pandavas are worshipped at stone altars through Himachali Brahmin rituals. — Bissu Mela is a harvest fair for Santoora Devi, not a pilgrimage to the Pandavas. The Pandavas enter only through the Jaunsari tribe's origin story.
(d)
A fasting-based fair restricting women from dancing due to ancestral customs. — The Utsav portal describes folk music, with men and women in bright traditional dress. It mentions no fast and no restriction on women.

Concept

Bissu Mela is a harvest fair of the Jaunsari tribe, held in the Chakrata block of Dehradun district, Uttarakhand.

The Utsav portal says it runs for over a week. Villagers come from all over to honour Santoora Devi, and men and women turn out in vivid traditional dress for the folk music.

The same portal says the Jaunsari tribe traces its origins to the Pandavas. Option (c) borrows that detail, but the fair itself is for Santoora Devi.

Key facts

Bissu Mela is held in the Chakrata block of Dehradun district, Uttarakhand.
It is a fair of the Jaunsari tribe.
It lasts over a week and gives thanks for a good harvest.
Its deity is Santoora Devi, described as an incarnation of Goddess Durga.

Study next

The Jaunsari tribe of Dehradun districtPhuldei and other seasonal festivals of UttarakhandScheduled Tribes of Uttarakhand

Common traps

Picking option (c) because the Jaunsaris trace their origins to the Pandavas. The fair is for Santoora Devi.
Being drawn by option (a)'s harvest god. Bissu gives thanks for the harvest, but its people are the Jaunsaris and its deity Santoora Devi.

Here a regional fair is tested through a four-part description: community, place, purpose and deity. Uttarakhand's festivals also appear at 23 Sep 2025, 16:00, GA Q.2, which keys Uttarakhand for Phuldei.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Culture — all 246 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.