With reference to the Indus river system, of the following four rivers, three of them pour into one of them which joins the Indus direct. Among the following, which one is such river that joins the Indus direct?

Answer: D. The SUTLEJ joins the Indus directly; the other three (Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi) merge into the Chenab/Sutlej system before reaching the Indus. The INDUS RIVER SYSTEM consists of the Indus mainstem + 5 major Punjab tributaries: JHELUM, CHENAB, RAVI, BEAS, SUTLEJ. Their confluence pattern works as follows: - JHELUM joins CHENAB at Trimmu. - CHENAB (now carrying Jhelum + Chenab waters) is joined by the RAVI at Ahmadpur Sial. - This combined river then joins the SUTLEJ at PANJNAD near Bahawalpur. (Beas had already joined Sutlej at Harike upstream.) - PANJNAD (the combined Chenab+Jhelum+Ravi+Beas+Sutlej waters) joins the INDUS at Mithankot in Pakistan. The Sutlej is functionally the river that 'collects' all the other tributaries and meets the Indus. The other three options (Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi) DO NOT MEET THE INDUS DIRECTLY — they meet each other or the Sutlej first. So among the four options, only the SUTLEJ joins the Indus 'direct' in the standard textbook diagram of the Indus tributary network. Why others are WRONG: (A) Chenab — meets Sutlej (via Panjnad), NOT Indus directly. (B) Jhelum — meets Chenab at Trimmu, NOT Indus directly. (C) Ravi — meets Chenab, NOT Indus directly. Source: NCERT Class 11 India: Physical Environment 'Drainage System' / Indus Waters Treaty 1960 documentation.