How did the British view fine arts in colonial India?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → As European, with Indians lacking the training and sensibility for it
Option (1) As rooted in Mughal and Pahari miniatures and Ajanta frescoes — Incorrect. These were the sources the Bengal School drew inspiration from, not the British view.
Option (2) As a means of swadeshi and cultural nationalism — Incorrect. Swadeshi in art was an idea held by art historians like Ananda Coomaraswamy, part of cultural nationalism.
Option (3) As European, with Indians lacking the training and sensibility for it — Correct. The British saw fine arts as European and felt Indians lacked training and sensibility for it.
Option (4) As best expressed through crafts based on European taste — Incorrect. This describes the Indian crafts that received support, not how the British saw fine arts.
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): “Introduction to Modernism in India Fine arts was seen as European by the British. They felt that Indians lacked training and sensibility to be able to create and appreciate fine arts. …Even the Indian crafts, which received support, were the ones based on European taste and on the demands made by its market.” |