The British had set up art schools in Calcutta, Lahore, Bombay and Madras. Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): In 1896, E. B. Havell and Abanindranath Tagore saw a need to Indianise art education in the country.
Reason (R): Unlike the art schools of Lahore, Bombay and Madras, which focused on crafts, the art school in Calcutta was more inclined towards fine arts.
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): In 1896, E. B. Havell and Abanindranath Tagore saw a need to Indianise art education in the country. — True. The year 1896 was important for Indian art, as Havell and Abanindranath then saw this need.
Reason (R): Unlike the art schools of Lahore, Bombay and Madras, which focused on crafts, the art school in Calcutta was more inclined towards fine arts. — True. The other schools mainly taught crafts like metalwork, furniture and curios, while the Calcutta school leaned towards fine arts.
Why R does not explain A? R only compares what the art schools of four cities taught. It does not say why the need to Indianise art education was felt. The correct reason for A: Havell and Abanindranath were critical of colonial Art Schools and of European taste being imposed on Indians. They wanted painting that was Indian in subject matter and in style.
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.…” “The Bengal School …Both Abanindranath and Havell were critical of colonial Art Schools and the manner in which European taste in art was being imposed on Indians. They firmly believed in creating a new type of painting that was Indian not only in subject matter but also in style.…” |