Scholar Anand Coomaraswamy coined the term ‘Rajput Paintings’ in 1916…

Scholar Anand Coomaraswamy coined the term ‘Rajput Paintings’ in 1916. Given below are two statements:

Assertion (A): Today the term ‘Rajput Schools’ is obsolete, and specific categories, such as Rajasthani and Pahari, are employed instead.

Reason (R): For Coomaraswamy, the term represented the indigenous tradition of painting prevalent in the mainland before the conquest by the Mughals.

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Assertion (A): Today the term ‘Rajput Schools’ is obsolete, and specific categories, such as Rajasthani and Pahari, are employed instead. — True. The old term is no longer used; Rajasthani and Pahari are used in its place.

Reason (R): For Coomaraswamy, the term represented the indigenous tradition of painting prevalent in the mainland before the conquest by the Mughals. — True. To Coomaraswamy, the name stood for the indigenous painting of the mainland before the Mughals came.

Why R does not explain A? R tells what the name meant to Coomaraswamy. It does not say why the term went out of use.

The correct reason for A: studies in Indian paintings have come a long way since 1916, so the old term is obsolete.

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): “The Rajasthani Schools of Painting …Scholar Anand Coomaraswamy in 1916 coined the term ‘Rajput Paintings’ to refer to these as most rulers and patrons of these kingdoms were Rajputs.… For Coomaraswamy, the nomenclature represented the indigenous tradition of painting prevalent in the mainland before the conquest by the Mughals. Studies in Indian paintings have come a long way since then and the term ‘Rajput Schools’ is obsolete. Instead, specific categories, such as Rajasthani and Pahari are employed.”