UPSC Prelims 2021 Q95: Halbi, Ho and Kui — Explained
With reference to India, the terms 'Halbi, Ho and Kui' pertain to
- dance forms of Northwest India
- musical instruments
- pre-historic cave paintings
- tribal languages
Answer: (d) tribal languages
Statement-wise explanation
- a: incorrect — Halbi, Ho and Kui are not dance forms, and none of them belongs to Northwest India. All three are spoken in the tribal belt of central and eastern India: Halbi in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, Ho in Jharkhand and Odisha, and Kui in Odisha. The well-known dances of Northwest India have different names, such as Ghoomar and Kalbelia (Rajasthan) and Rauf (Kashmir).
- b: incorrect — These are not musical instruments. Each name refers to a speech form used by a tribal community. Ho is spoken by the Ho people of the Kolhan region (Singhbhum) in Jharkhand, and Kui by the Kandha (Kondh) people of Kandhamal in Odisha.
- c: incorrect — Prehistoric rock-art sites in India are known by place names, such as Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh. None of these three terms is a rock-shelter site or a painting tradition. They are living languages with lakhs of speakers today.
- d: correct — All three are tribal languages, and each comes from a different language family. Halbi is an Indo-Aryan language of the Bastar region, used as a link language among tribes there. Ho is a Munda language in the Austroasiatic family and has its own script, Warang Citi. Kui is a South-Central Dravidian language spoken by the Kandhas of Odisha.
How to eliminate
You need to recognise at least one of the three names to solve this; option logic alone will not get you there. Two partial clues help. First, many aspirants know 'Ho' as a tribe of Jharkhand and Odisha, and in India a tribe and its language usually share a name: Santhal and Santali, Bhil and Bhili, Gond and Gondi. Second, 'Kui' sounds like 'Kuvi' and 'Kondh' from Odisha. Either clue places the terms in the eastern tribal belt, which rules out 'Northwest India'. Rock-art sites are named after places such as Bhimbetka, not after communities, which makes the cave-painting option unlikely. The fact to remember is that Halbi (Chhattisgarh), Ho (Jharkhand/Odisha) and Kui (Odisha) are tribal languages, and none of them is in the Eighth Schedule.
Know more
Tribal languages and India's language families
India's languages fall into four main families: Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Austric (Austroasiatic) and Sino-Tibetan. Tribal languages come from all four. That is why three tribal languages in one question can belong to three different families.
| Language | Family | Main area | Community / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halbi | Indo-Aryan | Bastar region, Chhattisgarh (also Odisha, Maharashtra) | Halba tribe; link language of Bastar |
| Ho | Austric (Munda branch) | Kolhan/Singhbhum, Jharkhand; Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar, Odisha | Ho tribe; Warang Citi script |
| Kui | Dravidian (South-Central) | Kandhamal and nearby districts, Odisha | Kandha (Kondh); usually written in Odia script |
| Santali | Austric (Munda branch) | Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha | Ol Chiki script (1925); in the Eighth Schedule |
| Bodo | Sino-Tibetan | Assam | In the Eighth Schedule |
| Gondi | Dravidian | Central India | Gond tribe; not in the Eighth Schedule |
Points for Prelims
- The Eighth Schedule lists 22 languages. Santali and Bodo were added by the 92nd Amendment Act, 2003, and they are the only two languages of tribal origin on the list. Halbi, Ho and Kui are not scheduled. Odisha and Jharkhand have repeatedly asked for Ho to be included.
- There are no fixed criteria for adding a language to the Eighth Schedule. The government has said this in Parliament.
- The Ministry of Tribal Affairs funds bilingual primers and dictionaries for tribal languages through Tribal Research Institutes, so that children can begin school in their mother tongue. NEP 2020 also stresses teaching in the mother tongue.
- A common Prelims trap is to give a list of names and ask what they are. Train yourself to link tribe names to their languages: Bhil–Bhili, Gond–Gondi, Oraon–Kurukh, Munda–Mundari, Kandha–Kui.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Language families of India: Placing Halbi, Ho and Kui is easier once you know India's four language families and how tribes spread across them.
- Austric language family: The Munda branch of the Austric family covers the speech of Jharkhand's Ho, Munda and Santhal communities.
- Dravidian language family: The Dravidian family reaches beyond South India into Odisha's Kandha community.
- Scheduled languages: Whether names like Halbi, Ho and Kui appear among the 22 scheduled languages is a common follow-up trap.