Authentic Classroom Explanation by IAS Monk

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📍 The Question

Consider the following pairs:

Region often mentioned in the news	Country
1. Anatolia	Turkey
2. Amhara	Ethiopia
3. Cabo Delgado	Spain
4. Catalonia	Italy

How many pairs given above are correctly matched?

(a) Only one pair
(b) Only two pairs
(c) Only three pairs
(d) All four pairs

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✅ Correct Answer: (b) Only two pairs

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🎯 Theme of the Question

World Geography | Political Regions | Current Affairs | Conflict & Autonomy

This is a region–country matching question, commonly asked where current affairs overlap with political geography.

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🧠 Classroom Explanation

Let us verify each pair carefully.

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🔹 Pair 1: Anatolia — Turkey ✅

Anatolia is the Asian peninsula of Turkey, forming the bulk of the country’s landmass.

• Strategic crossroads between Europe and Asia
• Historically significant for migrations, empires, and trade

✔️ Pair 1 is correctly matched.

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🔹 Pair 2: Amhara — Ethiopia ✅

Amhara Region lies in northwestern Ethiopia.

• Homeland of the Amhara people
• Contains Lake Tana (source of the Blue Nile)
• Frequently in news due to ethnic and political conflicts involving Amhara, Oromo, and Tigrayan groups

✔️ Pair 2 is correctly matched.

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🔹 Pair 3: Cabo Delgado — Spain ❌

Cabo Delgado is not in Spain.

• It is the northernmost province of Mozambique
• In news due to insurgency by extremist groups since 2017

✔️ Pair 3 is incorrectly matched.

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🔹 Pair 4: Catalonia — Italy ❌

Catalonia is not in Italy.

• Located in northeastern Spain
• Known for strong separatist movement
• Borders France, Andorra, and the Mediterranean Sea

✔️ Pair 4 is incorrectly matched.

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📊 Final Assessment

Pair	Status
Anatolia – Turkey	✅
Amhara – Ethiopia	✅
Cabo Delgado – Spain	❌
Catalonia – Italy	❌

👉 Correctly matched pairs = 2

👉 Answer: (b)

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🧩 Memory Hook

“Anatolia is Turkish, Amhara Ethiopian — Cabo Delgado is African, Catalonia Spanish.”

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🧠 Prelims Strategy Insight

For regions-in-news questions:

• Always ask:
  • Is it a province, peninsula, or autonomous region?
  • Which continent does it belong to?
• UPSC often swaps European regions with African conflict zones to test map sense.

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🧭 IAS Monk Whisper

Names travel faster than borders —
maps keep them honest.