BJSM tells SEBA and APSC to withdraw 'discriminative' notification

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KOKRAJHAR: Bodoland Janajati Suraksha Mancha (BJSM) on Thursday expressed its strong resentment over the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA) and Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) for issuing notifications making learning of Assamese language compulsory in the State and asking Bengali speakers to leave and speak in their State.

The president of the BJSM, Janaklal Basumatary said for learning a language other than his/her medium of instruction could be provided as rapid reader subject but not as compulsory language subject in academic curriculum like the SEBA introduced recently, restricting to study science subject in higher class those who do not take Assamese language as optional subject in Class V to Class VIII. He said the SEBA could not discriminate the study of science on linguistic basis. "Not taking Assamese as an optional subject in academic curriculum does not mean that he is not willing to learn the Assamese language. So the SEBA notification for language optional subject is unconstitutional," he said, adding that the head of the education department, Government of Assam should disapprove this unlawful notification and cause it to be withdrawn by SEBA.

Basumatary said the Director of Higher Education or officer was not correct to ask those Bengali speakers who do not speak Assamese to leave Assam and speak Bengali in their State. He said that he had no power to dictate people to leave Assam if they do not speak Assamese. "As Assamese is medium of public communication, so also Bengali and Bodo or other tribal languages or even Hindi in Assam are languages of public communication. So for public communication it is not necessary only to speak Assamese in Assam," he said.

"There is similar notification for State Civil Service Examination ruled by APSC recently making Assamese a compulsory qualifying subject for State Civil Service Screen test. Only those who score qualifying marks in Assamese language will get their other subject papers examined," he said. "That means non-Assamese speaking candidates will be eliminated on the basis of knowledge on Assamese language," he said. He also said that this was discrimination of selection for service on language basis which was unconstitutional and therefore, the education department of the Government of Assam should disapprove this notification and ask APSC to withdraw this unconstitutional and discriminative notification.

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