Indian Geography and State Routes

Kohima is the capital of Nagaland (Northeast India) and Kottayam is in Kerala (South India). Traveling by road from northeast to south requires crossing multiple states. The minimum route would likely involve: Nagaland (starting point) → Assam → Meghalaya or Tripura → Mizoram or Manipur → Assam/Meghalaya → Eastern states → Odisha → Andhra Pradesh/Telangana → Karnataka → Tamil Nadu → Kerala. The most efficient path considering road networks generally requires passing through approximately 8 states to connect the far northeast to the far south of India due to geographical distances and road infrastructure. This includes both the starting state (Nagaland) and destination state (Kerala), plus intermediate states necessary to maintain a continuous road route. The exact route depends on specific highways chosen, but the minimum remains around 8 states given India's size and the non-contiguous nature of some state boundaries. > Key insight: Traveling from India's northeast to extreme south requires traversing multiple state boundaries; the minimum count of states from Kohima to Kottayam is approximately 8. Answer: (c).