RAS question
The Chambal River ravines in southeastern Rajasthan were historically known for:
Correct answer: (C) Providing refuge to dacoits and outlaws.
The Chambal River ravines in southeastern Rajasthan were historically known for providing refuge to dacoits and outlaws.
Explanation
The Chambal ravines were not known for economic activities such as pearl fishing, rice cultivation or diamond mining; their historical reputation arose from the terrain. In southeastern Rajasthan, the Chambal River's deep, hidden ravines provided natural shelter to dacoits and outlaws because the difficult ground hindered administrative control. Encyclopaedia Britannica's Chambal Valley entry describes the gullied badlands around the river as an area once famous for harbouring dacoits in its many concealed ravines. The answer therefore depends on how this badland topography shaped the region's law-and-order history.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Pearl fishing does not match Encyclopaedia Britannica's description of the Chambal ravines as badland terrain that sheltered dacoits.
- (B) Rice cultivation is not the historical feature identified here; the difficult ravine terrain helped outlaws evade administrative control.
- (D) Diamond mining is ruled out because the Chambal ravines were known for sheltering dacoits, not for diamonds.
Concept
This tests the RAS Rajasthan history and geography interface: how Chambal badland topography affected settlement, policing and regional historical memory. It recurs because RAS often frames Rajasthan's physical regions through their social and administrative consequences.