Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 12: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has drawn flak over a question in the CDS-I examination held today, which omitted Jammu and Kashmir as an option for the origin of the world-famous Basohli paintings.
The question asked candidates to associate the “bold and intense” Basohli miniature painting with a specific region, but the options were limited to Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh.
The exclusion of J&K has caused uproar among aspirants and art historians since town of Basohli is located in Kathua district and the style of painting is also associated with the region only.
Experts pointed out that the art form holds a Geographical Indication (GI) tag specifically for Kathua, J&K.
While the style historically influenced the “Pahari” schools of Himachal, locals argued that credit for its origin belongs to Jammu.
Many have now taken to social media, calling the oversight a “distortion of cultural facts” and urged the UPSC to rectify the error in its official answer key.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
