After objections from Sur, CAPF constable exam will be held in 15 languages

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the move as an “innovative decision that will give wings to the aspirations of our youth.” “This is part of our various efforts to ensure that language is not seen as a barrier to fulfilling one’s dreams,” he tweeted.

The MHA announcement comes days after political leaders in southern states, including Karnataka, objected to only Hindi and English as the language options for the conscription test.

Last week, Tamil Nadu Prime Minister MK Stalin sent a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah, saying the exclusion of Tamil from the CAPF exam was “discriminatory” and “one-sided”. He, too, had sought a revised notice for the test, with the state language option included.

As per a statement from the MHA, apart from Hindi and English, the quiz for the CAPF exam will also be set in Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Urdu, Punjabi, Manipuri and Konkani. .

Calling it “historic”, the MHA said the decision to take the CAPF test in regional languages ​​will lead to an increase in the number of applicants and also improve their selection prospects as they will take the test in their native language.

“The MHA and the Personnel Selection Commission would sign an addendum to the existing MoU to facilitate the conduct of the exam in multiple Indian languages,” the statement said.

Stalin, who welcomed the MHA’s decision, called it the result of his letter to Shah. “I wholeheartedly welcome this decision and reiterate our demand to provide quizzes in Tamil and other state languages ​​in all Union government exams,” he said.

The CAPFs comprise the CRPF, the Border Security Force (BSF), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the National Security Guard (NSG). ).

The sheriff (general duty) exam will take place beginning January 1, 2024. The test, MHA added, is one of the major exams conducted by the Personnel Selection Commission and attracts thousands of candidates from around the world. country.

Of late, reigniting the debate over the imposition of Hindi in Karnataka ahead of the May 10 elections, the Congress party had also been demanding that the CAPF test be conducted in the regional languages.

Earlier this week, Congress leader Siddaramaiah said that in many cases, although candidates “who studied in the middle of Kannada are smart, they cannot pass the exams due to language barrier.” “This is an injustice to our youth,” he tweeted.

JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy had also condemned the earlier policy of using only Hindi and English in CAPF tests. “The CRPF recruitment exams should be retaken and candidates should be allowed to write in all languages, including Kannada,” he said.