Question

Gayatri: Maharana Pratap was courageous no doubt, but his forces lost to the forces of Emperor Akbar the Great in the Battle of Haldighati. The king of a region such as Mewar and the Emperor of most of the Indian sub-continent at the time cannot both be eligible for the title, ‘the Great’, given the historical context.

Ranjini: Pratap never surrendered to Akbar in his lifetime despite Akbar sending several envoys to his great rival with the offer of making him a Mughal ally. Pratap’s defiance gave other Rajput rulers the courage to refuse alliance with Akbar. The victory in the Battle of Haldighati was a hollow victory for Akbar at best. Pratap’s forces were outnumbered by Akbar’s by far in the battle, but Pratap escaped with his life and subsequently recovered much of the territory lost in the battle. Maharana Pratap the Great received recognition of his greatness from none other than Emperor Akbar the Great. The latter is known to have wept on hearing the news of his rival’s death.

Which of the following is the main conclusion of Ranjini’s statements? 

Options

• Pratap is also deserving of the title, ‘the Great’

• Akbar does not deserve the title, ‘the Great’.

• Akbar had no rival greater than Pratap

• Pratap did not care about the outcome of the Battle of Haldighati

Answer 1

Pratap is also deserving of the title, ‘the Great’

Explanation:

The correct answer is – Rana Pratap is also deserving of the title, ‘the Great’. As is evident from Ranjini’s statements, she feels that Maharana Pratap deserves the title ‘the Great’ and offers several premises in support of this argument. Finally, in referring to Maharana Pratap as ‘the Great’ she makes her argument very clear. There is nothing in the passage to support the conclusion that she feels that Akbar does not deserve the title and therefore, 'Akbar does not deserve the title, ‘the Great’'  is incorrect. The passage does not provide sufficient basis to support the inference in 'Akbar had no rival greater than Pratap ' or 'Pratap did not care about the outcome of the Battle of Haldighati' and, therefore, they are both incorrect as well.