Identify the river of the Indian sub-continent on the basis of the following information…

- **Correct Answer:** (c) Sutlej
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- **Clue 1: Antecedent Drainage System:** An antecedent river exists before the upliftment of a mountain range and maintains its original course by cutting deep gorges as the land rises. While the Sutlej is a classic example (cutting the massive Shipki La gorge), the Indus and Brahmaputra are also major antecedent rivers.
- **Clue 2: Flows Through Three Countries:** The Sutlej traverses **China (Tibet), India, and Pakistan**. This immediately eliminates the **Teesta**, which only flows through two countries (India and Bangladesh).
- **Clue 3: Tibetan Plateau Origin & Irrigation Value:** The Sutlej originates at Lake Rakshastal on the Tibetan Plateau. Its waters are vital for large-scale agricultural irrigation, feeding monumental engineering systems like the Bhakra-Nangal multipurpose project and the Indira Gandhi Canal.
- **Clue 4: Does Not Form Distributaries (The Ultimate Decisive Eliminator):** Distributaries are branching streams that split away from a main river channel, typically occurring when a river hits flat coastal lowlands and empties into the sea via a delta.
* The **Indus** forms a massive deltaic network of distributaries south of Karachi before reaching the Arabian Sea.
* The **Brahmaputra** splits into an extensive network of distributaries (like the Jamuna) to form the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta.
* The **Sutlej** is a tributary; it ends its independent course inland by merging with the Chenab River to form the Panjnad, which subsequently discharges into the Indus. Because it never reaches the sea on its own, it **does not form an independent delta or a distributary network**.