UPSC Prelims 2022 Q25: Namcha Barwa, Nanda Devi, Nokrek — Explained
Consider the following pairs:
Peak : Mountains
1. Namcha Barwa : Garhwal Himalaya
2. Nanda Devi : Kumaon Himalaya
3. Nokrek : Sikkim Himalaya
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
- 1 and 2
- 2 only
- 1 and 3
- 3 only
Answer: (b) 2 only
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: incorrect — Namcha Barwa (Namjagbarwa), about 7,756 m by Britannica's figure, is in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It marks the eastern end of the Himalaya, where the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) makes its sharp bend and cuts a deep gorge before entering India. The Garhwal Himalaya is in Uttarakhand, at the opposite end of India's Himalayan arc, so this pair is wrong.
- 2: correct — Nanda Devi is 7,817 m high and lies in Uttarakhand. Britannica names it the highest peak of the Kumaon (Kumaun) Himalaya, ahead of Kamet (7,756 m). In S. G. Burrard's river-based scheme, the Kumaon Himalaya runs from the Satluj in the west to the Kali in the east, and Nanda Devi falls inside that stretch.
- 3: incorrect — Nokrek is the highest peak of the Garo Hills in Meghalaya. UNESCO's MAB page gives its height as 1,412 m. It sits on the Tura Range, which is part of the Meghalaya Plateau, and that plateau is an extension of the Peninsular block, not part of the Himalaya. It is also the core of the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, which joined UNESCO's world network in 2009.
How to eliminate
You can settle this with one well-known fact plus one sound guess. Most aspirants know Nanda Devi is in Uttarakhand and is the classic Kumaon Himalaya peak, so pair 2 looks right. That leaves the first two options, (a) or (b). Now test Namcha Barwa. It is widely taught as the eastern anchor of the Himalaya, at the Brahmaputra's bend, so it cannot also be a Garhwal peak at the western end of Uttarakhand. Drop pair 1 and you are left with option (b). You do not need to know about Nokrek once pair 1 is gone. Still, it helps to know that the Garo Hills are in Meghalaya, far south of Sikkim and outside the Himalaya, because that rules out options (c) and (d) on their own. The facts to remember are the two end-points of the Himalaya (Nanga Parbat in the west, Namcha Barwa in the east) and that Nokrek is the highest point of the Garo Hills.
Know more
How the Himalaya is divided along its length
NCERT follows S. G. Burrard's scheme. It splits the main Himalaya from west to east by the rivers that cut across it.
| Division | Between rivers | Example peaks |
|---|---|---|
| Punjab Himalaya | Indus – Satluj | Nanga Parbat (western end of the Himalaya) |
| Kumaon Himalaya | Satluj – Kali | Nanda Devi (7,817 m), Kamet (7,756 m) |
| Nepal Himalaya | Kali – Tista | Everest, Kanchenjunga (on the Nepal–Sikkim border) |
| Assam Himalaya | Tista – Dihang (Brahmaputra) | Ends near Namcha Barwa (eastern end) |
NCERT also uses a regional scheme: Kashmir Himalaya, Himachal and Uttarakhand Himalaya, Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalaya, Arunachal Himalaya, and the Eastern Hills. Uttarakhand people use "Garhwal" and "Kumaon" for the state's two administrative divisions. In Burrard's scheme, though, the whole Satluj–Kali stretch is the Kumaon Himalaya. Nanda Devi is in Chamoli district, and the textbook pairing is Nanda Devi with the Kumaon Himalaya.
The two ends of the arc. The Himalaya runs about 2,400 km between two "syntaxial" bends. In the west it bends around Nanga Parbat, where the Indus cuts through. In the east it bends around Namcha Barwa, where the Yarlung Tsangpo turns south through a gorge to become the Siang/Brahmaputra.
Hills that are not Himalayan. The Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills form the Meghalaya Plateau. Geologically, this plateau belongs to the Peninsular block, cut off from the Chota Nagpur plateau by the Malda gap. The Purvachal (Patkai, Naga, Mizo hills) is different: it is the Himalayan system bending south. UNESCO-listed biosphere reserves often show up in these questions. Nanda Devi and Nokrek are both on the list.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Namcha Barwa: Pair 1 depends on where Namcha Barwa actually stands along the Himalayan arc.
- Greater Himalaya: Nanda Devi and Namcha Barwa are high Himadri peaks. Knowing this range helps you place both.
- Himalayas: Pair 3 makes you ask whether a north-eastern hill belongs to the Himalayan fold system at all.
- Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve: The biosphere reserve around Nanda Devi fixes the peak's state, which you need to test pair 2.