Question

_____________ herder’s villages are in the Rann of Kutch.
A] Gadadhari
B] Namakhari
C] Ranndhari
D] Maldhari

Answer 1

Hint: The Rann of Kutch is one of the biggest salt marshes which spreads across Pakistan and India. a large area of this is located in Gujarat (Kutch district). The Rann of Kutch spread over thousands of square kilometers in total. The biggest part of Rann is known as The Great Rann of Kutch extending on both east and west towards the Thar Desert and on the north side, the low hills of Kutch to the south and The Indus River Delta is present on the west side, situated in Pakistan. The Little Rann of Kutch lies southeast of the Great Rann and extends southwards to the Gulf of Kutch. People living here consist of tribal herdsmen and tribal herdsmen, who were nomads, settled in the Junagadh district.

Complete Answer:
According to historians, people used to stay in the marshes of Kutch during the age of the Indus civilization around \ 3500\ BCE. During the excavations done in the Indus, the city of Dholavira was discovered in the Rann of Kutch and is known as the biggest site of Indus Excavation. The area also contained Khirasara, one of the warehouses in the Indus Valley civilization. During the rule of Mughals and following kingdoms, a certain descendant of nomads from Pakistan called Maldharis arrived in Rajasthan and other parts of Gujarat then got settled in the Banni grasslands within the area of Rann of Kutch. These herders used to spend about eight months of the year traveling through pasturelands with their livestock including sheep, goats, cows, buffalo, and camels. During the monsoon season, the Maldhari generally return to their home villages as more new grass grows closer to home during the rains. Their main source of income is livestock and milk from the cows and selling their produce.
So, the correct answer is Option D.

Note: The Maldharis belong to various castes in various regions. Around \ 8400 Maldharis are located in the Gir Forest National Park. Most of the Maldharis in Gir belong to the castes of Charan, Bharvad, Rayaka, and Rabari. Koli, Kathi, Bawa, Meghwal, and Makranis are among the minority castes. Since \ 1956\, the Maldharis of Gir, Alech, and Barda have been included among the Scheduled Tribes, while these castes outside the forest areas are not listed as Scheduled Tribes.