Observe the image and answer the following question.
The zebra in the painting was from Ethiopia, brought by Turks, and presented to Mughal emperor Jahangir by his nobleman Mir Ja’far, who had acquired it. Jahangir wrote on the painting in Persian, the court language, that it was: “A mule which the Turks (rumiyan) in the company of Mir Ja’far had brought from Ethiopia [Habesha]”. According to the Jahangirnama, Jahangir examined the zebra carefully. Observe the painting. What did some people think the animal was?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → A horse on which someone had painted stripes
Option (1) A mule on which the Turks had painted stripes — Incorrect. “Mule” is the word Jahangir wrote on the painting, and the Turks only brought the animal from Ethiopia. The doubt was about a horse.
Option (2) A horse on which Mir Ja’far had painted stripes — Incorrect. Mir Ja’far acquired the zebra and presented it to Jahangir. The doubt names no painter of the stripes, only “someone”.
Option (3) A mule from Ethiopia on which someone had painted stripes — Incorrect. The animal did come from Ethiopia, and Jahangir called it a mule. But some thought it was a horse, not a mule.
Option (4) A horse on which someone had painted stripes — Correct. Some people thought it was a horse with painted stripes, so Jahangir examined it carefully.
Note: This topic was not named in the CUET 2026 syllabus, but it was part of the NCERT chapter. In 2025 and 2026, NTA also asked questions on topics in NCERT that the CUET syllabus did not name. So our mocks have questions from every part of the NCERT chapter, to give you enough practice. Read the whole chapter, not only the sub-topics named in the syllabus.
NCERT (2026-27): “Zebra …Jahangir wrote on the painting in Persian, the court language, that it was: “A mule which the Turks (rumiyan) in the company of Mir Ja’far had brought from Ethiopia [Habesha]”. Its likeness was drawn by Nadir ul asr (Wonder of the Age) Ustad Mansur. In Jahangirnama, it is clearly stated that the animal was presented to him during Nowruz or New Year festivities in March 1621. It is also mentioned that Jahangir had carefully examined it as some thought that it was a horse on which someone had painted stripes.”
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