Class | Subject | Book | Chapter | Session | Questions covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
XII | English | Vistas (NCERT) | 2 – The Tiger King | 2026-27 | 5 of 5 |
Chapter at a glance
Aspect | Key point |
|---|---|
Author | Kalki (R. Krishnamurthy) |
Hero | The Maharaja of Pratibandapuram, Sir Jilani Jung Jung Bahadur — “the Tiger King” |
Prophecy | Born in the hour of the Bull, he would die because of a tiger — the hundredth tiger |
Hunt | Bans tiger hunting for others; bribes the British officer’s wife with diamond rings worth three lakh; marries into a state with many tigers to complete ninety-nine |
Hundredth tiger | An old tiger from the People’s Park in Madras, planted by the dewan; the Maharaja misses, a hunter kills it secretly |
Death | A sliver from a cheap wooden toy tiger (bought for ₹300) pierces his hand; infection; “The operation was successful. The Maharaja is dead.” |
Style | Satire on the conceit of those in power; dramatic irony and humour |
Reading with insight
Question R1
The story is a satire on the conceit of those in power. How does the author employ the literary device of dramatic irony in the story?
Answer
Dramatic irony arises when the reader knows or senses what the characters do not, or when events turn out opposite to what a character expects.
- The Maharaja believes that by killing a hundred tigers he will escape the prophecy; he proudly feels his vow is fulfilled. But the reader learns that he missed the hundredth tiger — it only fainted, and a hunter killed it secretly.
- The Maharaja, who killed ninety-nine real tigers and fought tigers bare-handed, is finally killed by a wooden toy tiger — a harmless object he chose as a gift for his son.
- The title “Tiger King” and his long list of grand titles contrast with his ridiculous death from a tiny sliver.
- The surgeons’ announcement — “The operation was successful. The Maharaja is dead.” — is ironic.
- The infant’s boast, “Let tigers beware!”, and his contempt for the astrologers’ prediction are ironically reversed: “the hundredth tiger took its final revenge upon the Tiger King.”
Through such irony, the author satirises the arrogance and folly of rulers who think they can defy fate and abuse power.
The Maharaja believes he has killed the hundredth tiger and defeated fate, but he actually missed; and he, who killed ninety-nine tigers, dies from a sliver of a cheap wooden toy tiger — “The operation was successful. The Maharaja is dead.” These ironic reversals mock the conceit of the powerful.
Question R2
What is the author’s indirect comment on subjecting innocent animals to the willfulness of human beings?
Answer
The author indirectly criticises the senseless cruelty to animals for human vanity and whims: 1. The Maharaja killed tigers not in self-defence but to fulfil a superstitious vow; he wiped out the tiger population of his state and of his father-in-law’s state. 2. The British officer wanted to hunt tigers merely to be photographed with them. 3. The last tiger, an old animal from the People’s Park, was dragged into a car and pushed out in the forest — “stood as if in humble supplication” — and killed. 4. The ironic ending — the toy tiger’s revenge — suggests poetic justice: nature avenges cruelty.
The author thus suggests that wildlife is being destroyed for human egoism, endangering ecological balance.
Through irony and humour, the author condemns the killing of innocent animals for vanity, superstition and sport — the Maharaja wipes out tigers to fulfil a vow — and the toy tiger’s “revenge” suggests that nature punishes such cruelty.
Question R3
How would you describe the behaviour of the Maharaja’s minions towards him? Do you find them truly sincere towards him or are they driven by fear when they obey him? Do we find a similarity in today’s political order?
Answer
The Maharaja’s minions are servile and driven by fear, not sincere: 1. The dewan shudders at the sight of the gun (“Your Majesty! I am not a tiger!”), arranges the tiger from the People’s Park and pushes it into the forest to save his job and the state. 2. The hunters conceal the fact that the Maharaja missed the tiger and shoot it themselves, because they could lose their jobs. 3. The shopkeeper charges ₹300 for a toy worth two annas and a quarter, fearing punishment if he quotes a low price. 4. The astrologer flatters while hedging his predictions. Officers lose their jobs at the king’s anger.
Similarity today: Many politicians and powerful people are surrounded by sycophants and yes-men who flatter them and hide the truth out of fear or self-interest. Officials often obey unreasonable orders to keep their posts, which leads to poor governance.
They are fearful, servile flatterers — the dewan, the hunters who hide his miss, the shopkeeper overpricing the toy — obeying out of fear and self-interest, not sincerity. Similar sycophancy and fear-driven obedience are seen around powerful leaders today.
Question R4
Can you relate instances of game-hunting among the rich and the powerful in the present times that illustrate the callousness of human beings towards wildlife?
Answer
- Blackbuck poaching case (1998) — a famous Bollywood actor and others were accused of hunting endangered blackbucks in Rajasthan; the Bishnoi community protested strongly.
- Cecil the lion (2015) — an American dentist killed Cecil, a famous lion in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, through trophy hunting, causing worldwide outrage.
- Trophy hunting in parts of Africa, where rich tourists pay large sums to kill elephants, lions, rhinos and leopards and pose with their carcasses.
- Poaching of tigers, rhinos and elephants for skins, horns and ivory, often backed by rich buyers.
These show that animals are still killed for pleasure, status and profit, pushing many species towards extinction.
E.g. the blackbuck poaching case involving a film star (1998), the killing of Cecil the lion by a trophy-hunting dentist (2015), paid trophy hunting of elephants and lions in Africa, and poaching for skins, ivory and horns — all show callousness towards wildlife.
Question R5
We need a new system for the age of ecology — a system which is embedded in the care of all people and also in the care of the Earth and all life upon it. Discuss.
Answer
- Human greed and unchecked development have caused deforestation, pollution, climate change and the extinction of species — as the Maharaja wiped out tigers.
- A new ecological system would recognise that humans are part of nature, not its masters; every species has a right to live.
- It should combine social justice (care of all people — fair access to resources, livelihood, health) with environmental care (protecting forests, wildlife, water and air).
- Measures: sustainable development, renewable energy, conservation of wildlife (e.g. Project Tiger), strict anti-poaching laws, responsible consumption, community participation (Chipko movement, Bishnois), environmental education.
- Indian tradition — reverence for nature, vasudhaiva kutumbakam — supports this idea.
Such a system is essential for the survival of the planet and future generations.
Greed and careless development threaten the Earth; we need a sustainable system that values all life — protecting forests and wildlife (e.g. Project Tiger), using renewable resources, enforcing anti-poaching laws, and ensuring fair resources for all people, guided by respect for nature and community participation.
Topic checklist
- ☒ Satire and dramatic irony (R1)
- ☒ Cruelty to animals (R2)
- ☒ Sycophantic minions and today’s politics (R3)
- ☒ Present-day hunting; an ecological system (R4–R5)