Consider the following statements about the depiction of massacre of Cwanpore (Kanpur) in the newspaper ‘Punch’:
(A) An allegorical female figure of Justice is depicted.
(B) She bears a sword and shield in her hands.
(C) Her posture is of peace and tranquillity.
(D) The female figure is shown trampling sepoys under her feet.
(E) The female figure is carrying guns in her hands.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below :
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → (A), (B), (D) only
The image is ‘Justice’, printed in Punch on 12 September 1857, after the news of the massacre at Cawnpore (Kanpur). It belongs to the pictures in the British press that demanded revenge for the revolt.
(A) An allegorical female figure of Justice is depicted. Correct. The image shows an allegorical female figure of justice.
(B) She bears a sword and shield in her hands. Correct. She holds a sword in one hand and a shield in the other.
(C) Her posture is of peace and tranquillity. Incorrect. Her posture is aggressive; her face expresses rage and the desire for revenge.
(D) The female figure is shown trampling sepoys under her feet. Correct. She is trampling sepoys under her feet while a mass of Indian women with children cower with fear.
(E) The female figure is carrying guns in her hands. Incorrect. She carries a sword and a shield, not guns, as the picture shows.
NCERT (2026-27): “5.3 Vengeance and retribution … As waves of anger and shock spread in Britain, demands for retribution grew louder. Visual representations and news about the revolt created a milieu in which violent repression and vengeance were seen as both necessary and just. It was as if justice demanded that the challenge to British honour and power be met ruthlessly. Threatened by the rebellion, the British felt that they had to demonstrate their invincibility. In one such image (Fig. 10.13) we see an allegorical female figure of justice with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. Her posture is aggressive; her face expresses rage and the desire for revenge. She is trampling sepoys under her feet while a mass of Indian women with children cower with fear. There were innumerable other pictures and cartoons in the British press that sanctioned brutal repression and violent reprisal.”
|
