Identify the river of the Indian sub-continent on the basis of the following information:
- 1.It has an antecedent drainage system.
- 2.It flows through three countries.
- 3.It originates in the Tibetan Plateau and is an important river for irrigation.
- 4.It does not form distributaries.
Select the answer from the following:
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) Sutlej
The Sutlej (Satluj) rises near Mansarovar in Tibet, cuts across the Himalaya at Shipki La as an antecedent river, and feeds the Bhakra Nangal canals. It flows through China, India and Pakistan and ends as a tributary, merging into the Panjnad that joins the Indus, so it forms no delta or distributaries of its own.
- ✓ (c) All four clues fit: antecedent gorge across the Himalaya, three countries (China, India, Pakistan), a Tibetan source with major irrigation use, and a tributary that ends in another river rather than building distributaries.
- ✗ (b) The Indus is also antecedent and Tibetan, but it ends in a large delta on the Arabian Sea with several distributaries.
- ✗ (a) The Brahmaputra flows through China, India and Bangladesh but splits into many channels in the Ganga–Brahmaputra delta.
Remember · Satluj: rises at Rakas Tal near Mansarovar (Langchen Khambab), crosses Shipki La, antecedent; feeds Bhakra Nangal; joins the Indus via the Panjnad.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 11 · India: Physical Environment, Chapter 3 “The Satluj originates in the 'Raksas tal' near Mansarovar at an altitude of 4,555 m in Tibet where it is known as Langchen Khambab.”
- NCERT Class 11 · India: Physical Environment, Chapter 3 “It is an antecedent river. It is a very important tributary as it feeds the canal system of the Bhakra Nangal project.”
- NCERT Class 11 · India: Physical Environment, Chapter 3 “The Panjnad is the name given to the five rivers of Punjab, namely the Satluj, the Beas, the Ravi, the Chenab and the Jhelum.”
Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·