Previous Year Question
In Uttar Pradesh, which one of the following districts has the largest population of Scheduled Tribes?
Sonebhadra
Mirzapur
Kheri
Bijnore
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
According to Census 2001, the total Scheduled Tribe population of Uttar Pradesh was 107,963, and only 5 notified Scheduled Tribes were recorded in the State at that time.
According to the official Census 2001 Data Highlights: The Scheduled Tribes, Uttar Pradesh, the district-wise distribution showed Kheri having the highest proportion of ST population at 1.2%. It was followed by Balrampur at 1.1% and Shrawasti and Bahraich at 0.4% each. Tharu was the largest ST in Uttar Pradesh at that time and was primarily concentrated in Kheri, Balrampur and Bahraich. Therefore, the answer to this question is Kheri.
This question is particularly important because the ST list of Uttar Pradesh was expanded in 2003, meaning that the tribal composition captured by Census 2001 was different from that of the subsequent Census.
Updated position — Census 2011: After the inclusion of the new tribal groups, the situation changed. Census 2011 recorded 385,018 Scheduled Tribe persons in Sonbhadra, constituting 20.7% of its population, whereas Kheri had an ST population of 53,375, constituting 1.3%.