UPPSC 2020 Prelims GS Paper-I · Question 50 of 150

Correct — B, Rengma. The Rengma are a Naga tribe of mainland India, found mainly in Nagaland (and parts of Assam), not in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. So among the options the Rengma are the one that is NOT native to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The recognised indigenous groups of the islands are the Negrito peoples (Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa, Sentinelese) and the Mongoloid peoples (Nicobarese and Shompen).

• (a)Halchu — Not the intended exclusion — 'Halchu' is not an established Andaman & Nicobar tribe; the non-native name in this question is Rengma (a Naga tribe of the mainland).
• (c)Onge — The Onge ARE native to the islands — a Negrito people of Little Andaman and a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG). So they are not the exception.
• (d)Shompen — The Shompen ARE native — a tribe of Great Nicobar Island (a PVTG). So they are not the exception either.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are home to six recognised indigenous tribes, split by anthropological stock: the Negrito peoples of the Andamans — Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa and the isolated Sentinelese — and the Mongoloid peoples of the Nicobars — the Nicobarese and the forest-dwelling Shompen. Several of these (Onge, Shompen, Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Sentinelese) are classified as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). The Rengma, by contrast, are a Naga tribe of the northeastern mainland (Nagaland/Assam).

This is an 'odd-one-out' item: three options belong to the islands and one does not. The reliable elimination is that the Rengma are a well-documented Naga (mainland) tribe, which cannot be an island tribe — so it is the answer regardless of how familiar the other names are. Onge (Little Andaman) and Shompen (Great Nicobar) are textbook A&N tribes.

• A&N indigenous tribes: Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa, Sentinelese (Negrito); Nicobarese, Shompen (Mongoloid)
• Onge — Negrito people of Little Andaman; a PVTG
• Shompen — tribe of Great Nicobar Island; a PVTG
• Rengma — a Naga tribe of Nagaland/Assam on the mainland, NOT an Andaman & Nicobar tribe

• Being distracted by an unfamiliar name (Halchu) and overlooking the clearly mainland Rengma
• Confusing Naga tribes (Rengma, Ao, Angami) with island tribes

UPPSC/UPSC ask tribe-to-region matches or 'which is not native' items — anchor the Andaman-Nicobar set (Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa, Sentinelese, Nicobarese, Shompen) and keep Naga tribes like the Rengma firmly on the mainland.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Shompen tribe is native to which of the following?

  • (a)Great Nicobar Island
  • (b)Lakshadweep
  • (c)Nilgiri Hills
  • (d)Bastar region

  Answer(a) Great Nicobar Island — the Shompen are a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group of Great Nicobar.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which of the following is a Naga tribe of Nagaland?

  • (a)Onge
  • (b)Rengma
  • (c)Jarawa
  • (d)Sentinelese

  Answer(b) Rengma — a Naga tribe of Nagaland/Assam; the others are Andaman & Nicobar island tribes.