Question

Sacred groves are found in
(a) Meghalaya
(b) Punjab
(c) Jammu and Kashmir
(d) Bihar

Answer 1

Hint: A hilly station located in the Northeastern part of India. It was also named as the Scotland of India, during the reign of Britishers and is one of the seven sisters from the northeast state of India having a huge land covered with forest.

Complete step by step answer:
Sacred groves are the places in the forests which are protected by the community as they hold the religious and cultural value since ancient times. In India, most of the sacred groves are found in the Meghalaya state of northeastern India.
Additional information
- Sacred groves are the areas that are of various shapes and sizes and they hold important cultural and religious beliefs of a community for long.
- The practice of hunting and logging in these parts of the forests is strictly prohibited while the activities including honey collection and the collection of the deadwood in which the survival of the peoples depends are permitted.
- They come under the community reserves which were introduced under the Wild Life Amendment Act in 2002 for the protection of the sacred groves.
- These sacred groves may include the shrines, old temples, monasteries, etc from which the sentiments of the peoples are attached.
- It is mostly related to Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism religion and is mentioned in their religious books.
- Although a large number of sacred groves are found in Meghalaya and also they are spread all over the country and the world.

So, the correct answer is ‘Meghalaya’.

Note: The sacred groves were first reported in different parts of the country and in 2001 this study was published by the researchers Kailash C. Malhotra and his colleagues. They reported around 13.720 sacred groves in various parts of India. The first sacred grove was established in the Malabar Coast of Kerala in South India which was given a traditional name called Kavu. These Kavus are famous for the ancient dance ritual called Theyyam that takes place there.