Question map
Consider the following pairs: | Regions often mentioned in news | Reason for being in news | | ------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | | 1. North Kivu and Ituri | War between Armenia and Azerbaijan | | 2. Nagorno-Karabakh | Insurgency in Mozambique | | 3. Kherson and Zaporizhzhia | Dispute between Israel and Lebanon | How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
Explanation
The correct answer is Option 4 (None) because all three pairs are incorrectly matched based on contemporary geopolitical conflicts.
- Pair 1: North Kivu and Ituri are provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), known for long-standing internal conflict involving various rebel groups, not the Armenia-Azerbaijan war.
- Pair 2: Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus that was the center of a decades-long ethnic and territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, not related to the insurgency in Mozambique (which primarily affects the Cabo Delgado region).
- Pair 3: Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are strategic regions in Ukraine that have been major focal points of the Russian invasion since 2022. They are not related to the maritime or territorial disputes between Israel and Lebanon.
Since none of the regions are correctly matched with their respective reasons for being in the news, Option 4 is the right choice.
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Full viewThis is a classic 'Column Shuffle' trap. The examiner took the three biggest global conflict headlines of the year (Ukraine, Caucasus, DRC) and simply rotated the descriptions. It is a high-fairness question; missing this implies a lack of basic geographic literacy regarding front-page international news.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
- Statement 1: Were North Kivu and Ituri (Democratic Republic of Congo) mentioned in 2023 news reports as locations of the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan?
- Statement 2: Was Nagorno-Karabakh mentioned in 2023 news reports in connection with an insurgency in Mozambique?
- Statement 3: Were Kherson and Zaporizhzhia (Ukraine) mentioned in 2023 news reports in connection with a dispute between Israel and Lebanon?
- Explicitly names North Kivu and Ituri as provinces affected by an ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- Shows these provinces are referenced in coverage of a DRC conflict (Allied Democratic Forces), not in relation to ArmeniaāAzerbaijan.
- Identifies North Kivu and Ituri as parts of the Kivu/Ituri conflicts in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- Positions these provinces clearly within DRC-related conflicts rather than any ArmeniaāAzerbaijan context.
States that the conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis concerns Nagorno-Karabakh, a province of Azerbaijan, establishing the usual geographic locus of that war.
A student could combine this with a map to note that Nagorno-Karabakh lies in the South Caucasus (not in Africa), making mentions of African provinces in that context less likely.
Lists Azerbaijan as part of the Caucasus region within the former Russian Empire, reinforcing the Caucasus (Eurasia) as the regional setting for Azerbaijan-related conflicts.
Using a basic world map, one could contrast the Caucasus location with the Democratic Republic of Congo's African location to assess plausibility of DRC provinces being reported as sites of an ArmeniaāAzerbaijan war.
Names the Democratic Republic of Congo among countries on or near the equator, confirming DRC's identity and African location.
A student could use this to place North Kivu and Ituri within the DRC in Africa and compare distances to the Caucasus to judge the likelihood of those provinces being battle sites in an ArmeniaāAzerbaijan war.
Includes the Democratic Republic of Congo in a list of nations (demonstrating DRC's distinct geopolitical grouping), which underscores that DRC is part of African regional lists rather than Eurasian/Caucasus groupings.
One could extend this by noting typical regional grouping patterns in news reportingāwars between Armenia and Azerbaijan are normally reported within Caucasus/Eurasian contexts, not African regional lists.
Explicitly cites Nagorno-Karabakh as an example of a secessionist/insurgency-related conflict in the postāSoviet space.
A student could use this as a pattern example of how news reports reference Nagorno-Karabakh when discussing separatist/insurgency conflicts and then check 2023 coverage for crossāregional comparisons or mentions.
Describes insurgency patterns (demand for independence/autonomy) in another regional context (northāeastern India), illustrating the common journalistic framing of local secessionist insurgencies.
One could extend this pattern to anticipate how outlets might frame an unrelated insurgency (e.g., in Mozambique) and then search 2023 reports for any juxtaposition with NagornoāKarabakh.
Discusses how insurgencies are reported and linked to state responses and counterāinsurgency measures (example: Maoist violence), showing typical comparative angles journalists use.
A student could look for 2023 articles that compare insurgencies globally (tactics, causes) to see if NagornoāKarabakh was mentioned alongside Mozambiqueās insurgency.
Mentions Mozambique in an international index/context (Global Climate Risk Index), indicating Mozambique appears in global reporting for nonāconflict reasons as well.
Use this to note that Mozambique is a subject of international coverage; a student could search 2023 international news streams to see whether coverage of Mozambiqueās insurgency was ever crossālinked with NagornoāKarabakh.
Gives a general pattern that interstate disputes in the Middle East (examples: Israel, Syria, Jordan) are typically about regional resources or neighbouring states.
A student could use this rule plus a map to judge that a dispute between Israel and Lebanon is more likely to involve neighbouring territories than distant Ukrainian oblasts.
Explains Lebanon's internal political arrangements and historical context, emphasising Lebanon as a locally rooted actor with regionally-focused conflicts.
Combine this with knowledge of geography to infer that Lebanese disputes usually concern nearby actors/areas, making involvement of Ukrainian regions less likely.
Describes the ArabāIsraeli conflict as historically between Israel and surrounding Arab states, reinforcing the regional nature of such disputes.
A student could extend this with a world map to note the geographical separation between Israel/Lebanon and Kherson/Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine.
Identifies the Black Earth region of Ukraine (part of the Eurasian steppes), providing an anchor that Kherson/Zaporizhzhia lie in a different geographical region.
Use this geographic clue plus a map to show Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are far from the Levant, making direct linking in a bilateral IsraelāLebanon dispute less plausible without extraordinary evidence.
Refers to events in 'various regions of the Ukraine', showing Ukraine-focused historical/political material separate from Middle East topics.
A student could combine this separation of topical focus with a map to argue that Ukraine regions are generally discussed in a different context than IsraelāLebanon disputes.
- [THE VERDICT]: Sitter. These were the defining geopolitical flashpoints of 2022-23. Source: Any major newspaper's International page.
- [THE CONCEPTUAL TRIGGER]: International Relations > Places in News > Major Conflict Zones.
- [THE HORIZONTAL EXPANSION]: Memorize these active conflict provinces: Cabo Delgado (Mozambique), Tigray/Amhara (Ethiopia), Darfur (Sudan), Idlib (Syria), Rakhine/Sagaing (Myanmar), and Donbas (Ukraine).
- [THE STRATEGIC METACOGNITION]: Do not just read 'Ukraine War'. You must mentally pin the specific battleground provinces (Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Bakhmut) to the map. The UPSC tests the *micro-geography* of macro-events.
Nagorno-Karabakh is the named territorial focus where local Armenians want to secede from Azerbaijan, making it the central geographic reference for the ArmeniaāAzerbaijan conflict.
High-yield for UPSC: questions often ask about postāSoviet territorial disputes and their causes. Understanding NagornoāKarabakh links to topics on ethnic selfādetermination, interstate conflict, and regional security in the South Caucasus. It helps answer mapping, foreign policy, and conflict-resolution questions.
- Contemporary World Politics, Textbook in political science for Class XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 1: The End of Bipolarity > Tensions and Conflicts > p. 10
Several former Soviet republics have experienced secessionist movements and internal conflicts, a pattern that frames disputes like ArmeniaāAzerbaijan.
Important for comparative analysis in UPSC: connects Cold War/postāCold War history, internal governance challenges, and external power involvement. Useful for essays and polity/IR questions about state fragility, ethnic conflict, and Russia's regional role.
- Contemporary World Politics, Textbook in political science for Class XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 1: The End of Bipolarity > Tensions and Conflicts > p. 10
- Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 92: World Constitutions > SOVIET CONSTITUTION > p. 687
Democratic Republic of Congo is listed among equatorial African countries, placing North Kivu and Ituri in Central Africaāgeographically distinct from the South Caucasus theater of ArmeniaāAzerbaijan conflict.
Crucial for eliminating geographic confusion in UPSC mains and prelims: distinguishes theatres of conflict by continent and regional actors. Helps tackle mapābased questions, current affairs linking, and comparative conflict case studies.
- Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 12: Major Crops and Cropping Patterns in India > Countries on Equator > p. 79
- Contemporary World Politics, Textbook in political science for Class XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 1: The End of Bipolarity > Tensions and Conflicts > p. 10
Nagorno-Karabakh is identified as a region where local Armenians seek secession from Azerbaijan to join Armenia.
High-yield for geopolitics and international relations: helps answer questions on postāSoviet territorial disputes, ethnic selfādetermination, and interstate tensions. Connects to topics on sovereignty, border disputes, and conflict resolution in GS Paper II/III.
- Contemporary World Politics, Textbook in political science for Class XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 1: The End of Bipolarity > Tensions and Conflicts > p. 10
Indian examples illustrate different insurgency types: ethnic separatism, Maoist ideological insurgency, and regional autonomy movements.
Vital for Internal Security and Polity: enables comparison of insurgency causes, state countermeasures, and humanārights implications. Useful for essay and mains answers that ask to differentiate insurgency forms and policy responses.
- Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 39: After Nehru... > Security > p. 789
- Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 16: IndiaāPolitical Aspects > Terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir > p. 52
- Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 16: IndiaāPolitical Aspects > Mizoram > p. 57
Mozambique appears in a climateārisk context while NagornoāKarabakh appears in a separatism context, so coāoccurrence of place names does not imply related events.
Essential for source analysis and statement verification tasks: trains aspirants to match countries/regions to the exact theme (security, climate, economy) before drawing conclusions. Reduces errors in comprehension and factual claims.
- Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 21: Sustainable Development and Climate Change > BIobal Climate Risk Index and India > p. 602
- Contemporary World Politics, Textbook in political science for Class XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 1: The End of Bipolarity > Tensions and Conflicts > p. 10
The IsraelāLebanon dispute is rooted in the broader ArabāIsraeli conflict that began with the 1947 partition and 1948 war.
High-yield for UPSC because questions often ask historical causes and long-term consequences of Middle East conflicts; links to decolonisation, UN partition, refugee issues and regional alignments; enables answering both static-history and contemporary geopolitics questions.
- History , class XII (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 15: The World after World War II > ArabāIsraeli War > p. 255
- History , class XII (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 15: The World after World War II > IV. Answer the following in detail > p. 262
Since they asked about the Mozambique insurgency (wrongly matched here), the specific province 'Cabo Delgado' is the shadow fact. Also, for Nagorno-Karabakh, the 'Lachin Corridor' (the lifeline road) is the next logical mapping question.
Use the 'Cross-Link Detection' hack. Look at Pair 1's reason ('War between Armenia and Azerbaijan'). Now look at Pair 2's region ('Nagorno-Karabakh'). Does Region 2 belong to Reason 1? YES. When the examiner swaps rows like this, it confirms that *at least* those two pairs are incorrect without needing further analysis.
Link to GS2 (India's Energy Security): The Mozambique insurgency directly affects Indian investments (ONGC Videsh/OIL) in the Rovuma Basin gas fields. The Ukraine regions (Kherson) impact Global Food Security (GS3) via grain corridors.