Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): E. B. Havell and Abanindranath Tagore designed a curriculum to include and encourage technique and themes in Indian art traditions.
Reason (R): The art schools of Lahore, Bombay and Madras had their primary focus on crafts like metalwork, furniture and curios.
In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is NOT the correct explanation of (A).
Assertion (A): E. B. Havell and Abanindranath Tagore designed a curriculum to include and encourage technique and themes in Indian art traditions. — True. The two men worked to Indianise art education. Their curriculum brought Indian techniques and themes into the Calcutta school.
Reason (R): The art schools of Lahore, Bombay and Madras had their primary focus on crafts like metalwork, furniture and curios. — True. These schools were set up like the one in Calcutta. They worked mainly on crafts, while Calcutta leaned towards fine arts.
Why R does not explain A? R only tells us what other schools taught. It does not say why Havell and Abanindranath wanted Indian themes in their curriculum.
The correct reason for A: they saw a need to Indianise art education in the country. For them, Mughal and Pahari miniatures mattered more than the academic style of the colonial Art Schools.
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): “Abanindranath Tagore and E. B. Havell The year 1896 was important in the Indian history of visual arts. E. B. Havell and Abanindranath Tagore saw a need to Indianise art education in the country. This began in the Government Art School, Calcutta, now, Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata. Similar art schools were established in Lahore, Bombay and Madras but their primary focus was on crafts like metalwork, furniture and curios. However, the one in Calcutta was more inclined towards fine arts. Havell and Abanindranath Tagore designed a curriculum to include and encourage technique and themes in Indian art traditions.” |