UPSC Prelims 2022 Q88: Anatolia, Amhara, Cabo Delgado, Catalonia
Consider the following pairs:
Region often mentioned in the news : Country
1. Anatolia : Turkey
2. Amhara : Ethiopia
3. Cabo Delgado : Spain
4. Catalonia : Italy
How many pairs given above are correctly matched?
- Only one pair
- Only two pairs
- Only three pairs
- All four pairs
Answer: (b) Only two pairs
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: correct — Anatolia, also called Asia Minor, is the peninsula that forms the Asian part of modern Turkey. It lies between the Black Sea to the north and the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas to the west and south. Most of it is a high plateau, and Turkey's capital, Ankara, is in Anatolia.
- 2: correct — Amhara is one of Ethiopia's regional states and the home of the Amharic language. It was in the news in 2021, when the Tigray war spread into Amhara and Afar. A rebellion led by Amhara militants known as Fano began there in 2023.
- 3: incorrect — Cabo Delgado is the northernmost province of Mozambique, in south-east Africa, not Spain. Its name is Portuguese, the official language of Mozambique. An Islamist insurgency there since 2017 has displaced over a million people. The province also holds large offshore natural gas reserves in the Rovuma Basin.
- 4: incorrect — Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, with Barcelona as its capital. It is not in Italy. It held a disputed independence referendum on 1 October 2017, and its parliament declared independence on 27 October 2017. Madrid then imposed direct rule under Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution.
How to eliminate
Start with what most people already know. Barcelona is in Catalonia, so pair 4 is wrong. Anatolia is the main landmass of Turkey, so pair 1 is right. That leaves two or three correct pairs, so 'only one pair' and 'all four pairs' are already out. Pair 3 looks like a trap: 'Cabo' sounds Spanish. Spain already appears in the list as Catalonia's real country, and the examiner seems to have swapped the countries between pairs 3 and 4. 'Cabo' is also Portuguese, and Mozambique is a Portuguese-speaking country. Amhara can be linked to Ethiopia through the Amharic language. That gives two correct pairs. To be sure, you need to know one fact: Cabo Delgado is Mozambique's northern province, the scene of an insurgency since 2017.
Know more
Regions in the news: learn the region together with its country and its story
UPSC often pairs a sub-national region with a country. The traps are usually (a) swapping countries between two pairs, and (b) names that sound like they belong to another language or country. Learn each region with three tags: its country, where it is, and why it is in the news.
| Region | Country | Why in news |
|---|---|---|
| Anatolia (Asia Minor) | Turkey | Asian part of Turkey, a plateau between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean; Ankara is here |
| Amhara | Ethiopia | 2021 spill-over of the Tigray war; Fano rebellion since 2023 |
| Tigray | Ethiopia | 2020–22 war, ended by the Pretoria Agreement (2022) |
| Cabo Delgado | Mozambique | Islamist insurgency since 2017; Rovuma Basin gas |
| Catalonia | Spain | 2017 independence referendum; direct rule under Article 155 |
| Basque Country | Spain (and France) | Old separatist movement (ETA) |
Why separatist and ethnic regions keep making news: many states contain regions with their own language, history and identity. Demands range from more autonomy (regionalism) to full independence (separatism). Spain handles Catalonia and the Basque Country through 'autonomous communities'. Ethiopia's constitution is built on ethnic federalism, with regional states such as Amhara, Tigray and Oromia. India uses asymmetric federalism, with special provisions for some states. All three are ways of accommodating such regions. Africa's resource-rich peripheries, such as Cabo Delgado, show a different pattern. Poverty, neglect and a sudden discovery of natural resources can feed armed insurgency.
Map habit: for every region, find it on a map and note its neighbours. For example, Cabo Delgado borders Tanzania along the Rovuma river, and Amhara contains Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile.
In the news
In 2021–22, three of these regions were in international news. The Tigray war spread into Ethiopia's Amhara region in 2021. The insurgency in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado displaced close to a million people, and UN agencies issued repeated warnings. Catalonia's separatist politics continued after the 2017 referendum.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Regionalism: Several regions in this question are in the news because of regional identity movements and demands for more power.
- Nation-state: Linking a region to its country requires knowing which state claims the territory, the core idea of a nation-state.