The Nine Degree Channel separates which two of the following?

The correct answer is B, Kavaratti. Kavaratti is the capital and administrative headquarters of Lakshadweep, the seat of the Administrator appointed by the President, and the island where the naval base INS Dweeprakshak was commissioned in 2012. It is one of the ten inhabited islands of the territory.

Option A, Andrott, is the largest island of Lakshadweep by area, about 4.9 square kilometres, and the one nearest the mainland, but it is not the capital. Option C, Minicoy, is the southernmost island, separated from the rest of the group by the Nine Degree Channel, and the only island where Mahl is spoken; it is a favourite distractor because it is the best known island after the capital. Option D, Agatti, has the only airport of the territory, which again makes it sound like a headquarters. Keep the three apart as capital, largest island and airport.

The correct answer is C, Andrott. Andrott, spread over about 4.9 square kilometres, is the largest island of Lakshadweep and also the closest to the Kerala coast. It is the only island of the group whose length runs east to west, while the others lie north to south, and it is historically important as the island from which Islam is said to have spread through the group.

Option A, Kavaratti, is the capital and the seat of administration, but smaller in area. Option B, Minicoy, is the second largest island and the southernmost, separated by the Nine Degree Channel and distinct in language and culture, which is why many candidates mark it. Option D, Kadmat, is a long, narrow island known for its lagoon and tourism. The whole territory covers only thirty-two square kilometres, so these are all very small islands; the examiner simply wants the ranking.

The correct answer is B, Minicoy. Minicoy, the southernmost island of Lakshadweep, stands apart in language and culture from the rest of the territory. Its people speak Mahl, which is the Dhivehi language of the Maldives, and write it in the Thaana script, while the rest of Lakshadweep speaks Malayalam and its local dialect, called Jeseri or Dweep Bhasha.

Options A, C and D, Amini, Kiltan and Chetlat, all belong to the northern Amindivi group, where Malayalam is spoken; none of them uses Mahl or the Thaana script. The reason for Minicoy's difference is geography: the Eight Degree Channel is all that lies between it and the Maldives, while the Nine Degree Channel cuts it off from the rest of Lakshadweep. The island is also known for masmin, its smoked tuna, and for its seafaring tradition.

The correct answer is B, 10. Lakshadweep is made up of thirty-six islands, reefs and submerged banks, of which ten are inhabited: Kavaratti, Agatti, Amini, Kadmat, Kiltan, Chetlat, Bitra, Andrott, Kalpeni and Minicoy. Bitra is the smallest of the inhabited islands, and the remaining islands, such as Bangaram, Thinnakara and Pitti, carry only resorts, coconut groves or nesting birds.

Option D, thirty-six, is the total number of islands, reefs and banks in the territory and is the commonest wrong choice, because candidates remember the number but not what it counts. Option A, four, and Option C, seventeen, match nothing in this chapter. Hold the pair of numbers together with the area: thirty-six islands in all, ten inhabited, thirty-two square kilometres of land, the smallest area of any state or union territory of India.

The correct answer is C, Lakshadweep. The thirty-six islands, reefs and banks of Lakshadweep together have a land area of only thirty-two square kilometres, the smallest of any state or union territory of India. The territory also has the smallest population: the Census of 2011 counted 64,473 people, and its literacy rate in that census was 91.85 per cent.

Option A, Puducherry, covers about 490 square kilometres in four scattered districts. Option B, Chandigarh, covers about 114 square kilometres and is the most densely populated union territory, which makes candidates think of it as the smallest. Option D, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, formed by merger in 2020, is larger than both. Note the contrast examiners like: Lakshadweep is the smallest in area and population, while Ladakh and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are the largest union territories by area.