Read the following statements and choose the correct option: Assertion (A):…

In an Assertion–Reason question, first judge Assertion (A) and Reason (R) as independently true or false against established facts. Only if both are true do you then ask a second, separate question: does R state the actual cause of A, or is R merely another true fact that happens to sit alongside A without explaining it?

Assertion (A): NCF 2005 replaced 'Civics' with 'Political Science' in the school curriculum specifically to shift the subject away from a narrow, prescriptive study of government structures and civic duties, and towards an analytical engagement with democracy and contemporary Indian political issues. This is documented in NCERT's National Focus Group Position Paper on the Teaching of Social Sciences, so (A) is true.

Reason (R): 'Civics' entered the Indian school curriculum during the colonial period, introduced by the British administration partly to instil loyalty and obedience among Indian students against a backdrop of rising nationalist disloyalty toward British rule. This colonial-era origin is documented in the same NCERT position paper, so (R) is true.

Explanatory link: The NCERT position paper presents these as one connected account rather than two unrelated facts. It traces Civics' colonial role in producing obedient subjects, then explains that NCF 2005 deliberately replaced it with Political Science precisely to move away from that inherited, loyalty-instilling design and to enable an analytical, questioning study of present-day Indian politics. So (R) is not just a true side-fact; it is the reason the rename described in (A) was undertaken — (R) correctly explains (A).

• "(A) is true, but (R) is false" fails because Civics' colonial-era introduction against a background of rising disloyalty toward British rule is itself a documented fact, not a false claim.

• "Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)" fails because the source material explicitly links (R)'s colonial background to the motive behind the NCF 2005 rename described in (A), rather than treating them as two unconnected facts.

• "(A) is false, but (R) is true" fails because the NCF 2005 rationale for renaming Civics to Political Science — refocusing on contemporary Indian issues — is itself a documented fact, not a false claim.

Cross-checking against the CTET official final answer key for this item confirms the same reading. Since both (A) and (R) are true and (R) correctly explains (A), the correct option is: Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).