With reference to India, the terms ‘Halbi, Ho and Kui’ pertain to
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2021 Prelims]
(a) Dance forms of Northwest India
(b) Musical instruments
(c) Pre-historic cave paintings
(d) Tribal languages
Answer: (d)
Explanation:
- The Ho language, belonging to the Austro-Asiatic language family, is spoken by a population of over a million individuals primarily within the Ho tribes. The language is predominantly spoken in the Singhbhum district of Jharkhand and the Mayurbhanj and Koenjhar districts of Odisha, as well as in parts of West Bengal and Bangladesh. Notable dialects of Ho include Lohara and Chaibasa-Thakurmunda. In Bihar, the language is written using the Devanagari script, while in Odisha, it is written in the Odia script.
- Halbi, an Indo-Aryan language, is spoken in certain regions of Madhya Pradesh (specifically the Bastar district), Maharashtra, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh. Various dialects of Halbi include Adkuri, Bastari, Chandari, Gachikolo, Mehari, Muri, and Sundi.
- Kui, on the other hand, is a South-Eastern Dravidian language spoken by the Kandhas. It is primarily spoken in Odisha and is written using the Odia script.
Therefore. Option (d) is the correct answer.
