CBSE Class 12 English Elective Question Paper 2016 Delhi

CBSE Class 12 English Elective Question Paper 2016 Students can download the last year question papers using the link below. Free download of examination question papers with solutions. Last 10 year question papers should be practised to get better marks in examinations.

English

1. (A) Read the passage given below and complete the statements that follow :

(1) After Rana Sanga, his sons Ratna Singh and Vikramjeet sat on the throne one after the other. Before Uday Singh occupied the throne, Banveer who was enthroned as well as dethorned by the nobles of the kingdom ruled Mewar. All three of them brought about such a mess that the fall of Chittor seemed imminent. The reigns of all the three kings were quite eventful but devoid of any glory. By the time Uday Singh sat on the throne, the distinction that Chittor had of being an invincible fort no longer held water.

2) Pratap was about 12 years old when Uday Singh after a difficult struggle liberated Chittor from Banveer who had occupied the throne unlawfully. But at that time, Mewar was neither prosperous nor secure. The entire kingdom was fear-stricken. The whole system was in disarray. Sher Shah proceeded towards Chittor within four years of the coronation of Uday Singh. The situation was not such as to enable the kingdom for a direct confrontation. When Sher Shah reached Jahajpur, Uday Singh handed over the keys of Chittor fort to him. The ploy worked well. Chittor was not attacked and the sway of Uday Singh over his kingdom remained intact. Sher Shah’s representative in Chittor also did not interfere much. After the death of Sher Shah, he was driven away from there. But now Chittor had stooped down to such an extent that even the king had to rethink. He brought about certain fundamental changes in his policies.

3) Till then, the entire Mewar had to be put at stake for the protection of a fort at an open place. The policy was altered. A new capital was developed at Udaipur, which was surrounded by mountains and was more secure than Chittor. People from insecure places were brought to settle down in the vicinity of Udaipur. New construction work was undertaken and once again, an effort was made to bring back the glory of Mewar. Even if he did nothing for Mewar, Uday Singh tried his best to bring laurels of peace and security to his kingdom.

4) However, soon Akbar turned all the initiatives of Mewar upside down. He could not tolerate its rising influence. Without defeating it, Akbar would not be able to expand his empire in the manner he wanted to. Besides, he wanted to teach a lesson to other Rajput kings by capturing Mewar. Till then, Amer had joined hands with the Mughal emperor but Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaisalmer etc. were still outside his sphere of influence.

5) Akbar attacked Chittor in 1567. However, Uday Singh had already left Chittor with his family and important nobles before the aggression. Akbar sent his men to arrest the king but Rana could not be traced. It seemed difficult to capture Chittor. When Akbar failed to compel Chittor to surrender even after two months of siege, he got the weaker parts of the fort demolished by cannons. Yet he could not get hold over the fort. Suddenly, one day Jaimal, a guard of the fort was shot dead with a gun. This incident changed the fortune of Mewar. A decisive battle was fought under the leadership of Patta. A great number of women and children sacrificed their lives by following the tradition of Jauhar. The siege had commenced on 23rd October. The army of Mewar itself ended the siege by opening the gates of the fort. A fierce battle ensued. The brave sons of Mewar threw themselves into the battle like their mothers and sisters. Akbar was victorious. But such a lengthy siege angered him so much that in utter disgust, he ordered his army to kill 30,000 innocent civilians of Chittor. There was no rationale for a genocide of this sort after victory. Hence this incident remains as a blot on the otherwise distinguished character of Akbar.

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