Which of the following is NOT correctly matched? (Tribe) ; (Place)

The answer is D. The Khirghiz (Kyrgyz) are a Turkic people of Central Asia, living mainly in Kyrgyzstan, with communities in Tajikistan, Afghanistan's Wakhan and Pamir areas, and Xinjiang in China. They have no link with Sudan, which lies in north-east Africa, so this pairing is wrong.

The other three are correctly matched:

• Pygmy, Congo basin: Groups such as the Mbuti and Aka are forest hunter-gatherers of the Congo basin.
• Angami, Nagaland: The Angami are one of the major Naga tribes, concentrated in Kohima district.
• Ainu, Japan: The Ainu are indigenous to Hokkaido and parts of northern Japan. Japan gave them formal indigenous status through the Ainu Promotion Act of 2019.

The core concept is tribal distribution and ethnography, which belongs to GS-I world and Indian geography and links to Mains answers on indigenous rights and tribal identity. Learn each tribe with its homeland, not just with a country name.

Trap: Candidates who do not place the Kyrgyz in Central Asia may pick Sudan by guessing. Also note the older spelling 'Khirghiz' used in many texts.