The Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) has dropped question no. 95 of the Agricultural Development Officer (ADO) examination held on August 10 after it came under serious censure, with objections raised by the Meitei Heritage Society (MHS) through a written representation to APSC expressing its sentiment that the question maligned the image of the Meitei community.
According to reports, APSC Chairman Debaraj Upadhyaya clarified that there is no political involvement in this regard, and the question for the said exam was set by independent subject experts and remained sealed until the examination day. APSC also informed MHS via email that question no. 95 would be dropped considering the sensitivity of the matter.
It may be mentioned that question no. 95 of the ADO Exam asked:
“Consider the following statements about the recent ethnic violence in Manipur:
(i) The violence primarily involved the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo communities.
(ii) The conflict stemmed from a High Court order favoring the Meiteis.
(iii) Armed groups such as Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun have been accused of committing rights abuses in Manipur.”
Candidates were asked to choose the correct answer using the given codes:
(A) Only (i) and (ii)
(B) Only (ii) and (iii)
(C) Only (i)
(D) All the statements are correct
