Among India neighbouring countries, which one has the smallest land area?

Introduction / Context:
This question tests your understanding of the basic political and physical geography of South Asia. India shares land or maritime borders with several countries, and knowing their relative sizes is useful for general knowledge exams. Here, you are asked to identify which of the neighbouring countries has the smallest land area.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The options list Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
• All options are recognised neighbours of India either by land border or close maritime proximity.
• The question asks specifically about smallest land area, not about population.
• We rely on broadly accepted figures from atlases and standard geography texts.

Concept / Approach:
To solve this, you should recall approximate land areas of India neighbours. Pakistan and Bangladesh have large land areas and are clearly bigger than the small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. Nepal and Sri Lanka are medium sized in comparison. Bhutan is a small, landlocked Himalayan country with an area significantly smaller than that of Nepal, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh. Therefore, among the given options, Bhutan is the smallest in land area.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: List in your mind the approximate sizes of the neighbouring countries given. Step 2: Recognise that Pakistan has a large territory and cannot be the smallest. Step 3: Note that Bangladesh is also quite large in area compared to Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Step 4: Compare Bhutan with Nepal and Sri Lanka, remembering that Bhutan area is considerably smaller than both. Step 5: Conclude that Bhutan is the smallest in land area among the listed neighbours and select it as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
Verification can be done quickly using an atlas or a reliable world facts list that includes land area data. Such sources show Bhutan with a land area of around a few tens of thousands of square kilometres, while Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh all have larger areas. Pakistan is far larger again. Even without remembering precise numbers, visual inspection of a political map of South Asia confirms that Bhutan occupies the smallest area among these options.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Nepal stretches along the Himalayan range and is significantly larger than Bhutan in land area. Sri Lanka, although an island country, has a land area greater than that of Bhutan. Bangladesh has a dense population and also a larger land area than Bhutan. Pakistan is one of the largest countries in the region and clearly not the smallest. Thus none of these options matches the requirement of minimal land area when compared with Bhutan.

Common Pitfalls:
Students may sometimes confuse population with land area, for example thinking that a densely populated country such as Bangladesh must be small in every sense. Another pitfall is to assume that an island country like Sri Lanka must be smaller in area than a landlocked country, which is not always true. To avoid such mistakes, concentrate on land area values or at least on rough visual comparison of territory sizes on a map, rather than on population or shape alone.

Final Answer:
Bhutan