Which one of the following is garrison cantonment town ? (A) Kandala (B) Saharanpur (C) Jharia (D) Mhow

Question

Q. Which one of the following is garrison cantonment town ? (A) Kandala (B) Saharanpur (C) Jharia (D) Mhow

CBSECBSE Class XII Board 2023MCQ· 1mImportance★★★★★

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Concept understanding — Garrison Towns Function

Garrison Towns Function — A First Look

Imagine a large military base. Soldiers live there with their families. The base has its own shops, schools, hospitals, and entertainment facilities. Now, think about the small villages and towns that surround this base. What happens to them?

The soldiers buy vegetables from nearby farmers. Their children attend local schools. The base hires local workers for construction and maintenance. Over time, the surrounding area grows — new shops open, more houses are built, roads improve. The military base acts like an engine that drives the local economy.

That engine is what we call the garrison town function.

The Precise Meaning

In the context of urban geography and settlement studies — which you will encounter in your NCERT textbook — a garrison town is a settlement that originates and grows primarily because of a military establishment. Its function is to serve as a centre for military administration, training, and defence.

But the term "Garrison Towns Function" refers to the role such a town plays in the regional economy and settlement hierarchy. It is not just about soldiers living there. It is about how the presence of a permanent military base transforms a place into a town that provides services, generates employment, and attracts population from surrounding areas.

Note

In NCERT Class 12 Geography (India: People and Economy), garrison towns are discussed under the types of towns based on their functions. The textbook mentions that these towns come into existence because of defence needs — for example, Ambala, Jalandhar, and Mhow are given as examples.

Why It Matters

A garrison town is not a natural market town or an industrial centre. It exists because of a strategic decision. Yet, once established, it performs several critical functions:

Economic anchor: The steady income of military personnel creates demand for goods and services. Local farmers, traders, and small businesses thrive.
Employment generator: Besides soldiers, the town needs civilian staff — clerks, drivers, cooks, cleaners, engineers, teachers in army schools, nurses in military hospitals.
Infrastructure hub: Good roads, reliable electricity, water supply, and communication networks are built for the base, and these benefit the entire region.
Social and cultural mixing: People from different parts of the country live together in a garrison town, fostering national integration — a point NCERT often highlights.

Key Characteristics (as per NCERT)

Origin: Planned and deliberate, not organic. The government decides to locate a cantonment or military station here.
Population composition: A high proportion of males in the working-age group (soldiers), plus their families. Many residents are temporary — they get transferred every few years. …

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A garrison cantonment town is a permanent military settlement, and among the given options, Mhow is the correct answer.

The term "garrison cantonment town" refers to a settlement that was originally established or developed as a permanent military base, where soldiers and their supporting staff lived. These towns were created by colonial powers, especially the British in India, to station troops, store arms, and maintain control over strategic regions. Unlike ordinary towns that grew organically around trade or agriculture, cantonments were planned with barracks, parade grounds, hospitals, and administrative offices.

Among the four options you have:

Kandala is a port town in Gujarat, known for its maritime trade and industrial activity — not a military settlement.
Saharanpur is a city in Uttar Pradesh famous for wood carving and agriculture; it has no history as a garrison cantonment.
Jharia is a coal-mining town in Jharkhand, central to India's mining industry, not a military base. …

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Same / Similar Concept — real previous-year questions on the same or a closely similar concept, not this exact question.

CBSE 2023Set 64/2/11 markMCQ
$Q. Choose the correct pair of the following types of towns : (Types of Town) - (Town) (A) Industrial - Itarsi (B) Mining - Singrauli (C) Garrisson - Satna (D) Administrative - Ankleshwar$
›Reveal solutionSolution
Towns are classified by their dominant economic function. Singrauli is a major coal-mining and power-generation hub in Madhya Pradesh, making (B) Mining – Singrauli the correct pair.

Urban settlements in India develop around specific economic activities that shape their character and growth. When we classify towns functionally, we look at what drives their economy and employment: manufacturing (industrial), resource extraction (mining), military presence (garrison), or government offices (administrative). The key is to match each town with its primary, defining activity.

Let's examine each option against what these towns actually are:

Option (A): Industrial – Itarsi

Itarsi is a railway junction town in Madhya Pradesh, strategically located where the Mumbai–Howrah and Delhi–Chennai lines intersect. Its economy revolves around railway operations, maintenance workshops, and transit services. While it has some ancillary industries, it is fundamentally a transport town, not an industrial center in the sense of manufacturing hubs like Jamshedpur or Coimbatore.

Option (B): Mining – Singrauli

Singrauli, straddling Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, sits atop one of India's richest coalfields. The region is dominated by coal mining operations and thermal power plants that use this coal. The entire urban economy—employment, infrastructure, migration patterns—is built around extracting and converting this mineral resource. This is a textbook mining town.

Option (C): Garrison – Satna …
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CBSE 2023Set 64/2/11 markMCQ
$Q. Which one of the following is garrison cantonment town ? (A) Kandala (B) Saharanpur (C) Jharia (D) Mhow$
›Reveal solutionSolution
A garrison cantonment town is a permanent military settlement, and among the given options, Mhow is the correct answer.

The term "garrison cantonment town" refers to a settlement that was originally established or developed as a permanent military base, where soldiers and their supporting staff lived. These towns were created by colonial powers, especially the British in India, to station troops, store arms, and maintain control over strategic regions. Unlike ordinary towns that grew organically around trade or agriculture, cantonments were planned with barracks, parade grounds, hospitals, and administrative offices.

Among the four options you have:

Kandala is a port town in Gujarat, known for its maritime trade and industrial activity — not a military settlement.

Saharanpur is a city in Uttar Pradesh famous for wood carving and agriculture; it has no history as a garrison cantonment.

Jharia is a coal-mining town in Jharkhand, central to India's mining industry, not a military base. …
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Q.Which one of the following is garrison cantonment town ? (A) Kandala (B) Saharanpur (C) Jharia (D) Mhow

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