Chennai: Hold exams, withhold results

CHENNAI / MADURAI: In a dramatic turn to the row over exclusion of regional languages option including Tamil in a paper for the competitive exam to recruit staff for about 1,000 'Group D' posts in the Central department of Posts, under the Union Communication Ministry, impairing prospects of applicants from the state, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High court late on Saturday evening said the exam slated for Sunday (July 14) could go on, but the results vis-à-vis Tamil Nadu should be withheld until the petition challenging the changed exam model is disposed of.

Hearing an urgently moved PIL by one Mr Aseervatham of Madurai, a division bench comprising Justice Ravichandra Babu and Mahadevan said that it was too late to stop the exam from being conducted on Sunday.

But the results of the exam, as far as Tamil Nadu was concerned, should be withheld until this petition was disposed of, the Bench ruled.

A huge controversy, with emotive overtones as it involves a language issue, was sparked off early on Saturday after media reports that the Postal department has  modified the exam pattern at the eleventh hour for the competitive exam for filling 'Group D' posts - Postman, multi-tasking staff, mail guard, postal assistant and sorting assistant- from Tamil Nadu slated for July 14, by dropping the regional language option for applicants in one of the papers.

This sudden development has taken Tamil Nadu by storm. Even as political party leaders condemned the move as yet another instance of deprivation for those from non-Hindi speaking states, Mr. Aseervatham of Madurai in his PIL pleaded for issue of a 'writ of mandamus' to the Central government and the Postal department to restore the earlier notification and issue an 'interim injunction' to forebear the respondents from holding the exam in the State on Sunday.

The problem arose as the examination pattern for 'Paper-I' having been modified by the Department of Posts through a letter dated July 11, barely three days before the scheduled date of July 14, to all the Post Masters and other authorities on revision of syllabus and exam pattern for the above competitive exam.  

While as per the earlier May 16, 2019 notification, the existing provision for Paper-I to be taken by the candidates allowed for Hindi, English and the local language of the state concerned, the modified pattern for Paper-I, as communicated on July 11, has restricted the language option to Hindi and English only, cutting off the regional language of the state.

The PIL said this last minute change in the exam pattern would affect thousands of applicants, particularly in the rural areas, "who will be denied employment opportunity by changing the language medium of the question paper." The CBI was already looking into irregularities in direct recruitment of Postmen in 2016 in other States, the PIL said, adding, applicants who do not know either Hindi or English will be severely affected.

Mr J Ramamoorthy of All India Postal Employees Union termed the change in exam pattern as "unfair" as the vacancies in Tamil Nadu were primarily in rural areas where employees should be able to converse in Tamil as English or Hindi in those places will not help.

Political parties condemn Centre’s move

Even before the dust raised over attempts to impose Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states through the recent draft new Educational policy is to settle down, yet another move by the Central government that competitive exams for recruitment of a host of 'Group-D' posts by the Postal department will be conducted only in English and Hindi, has sparked an outrage among all political parties in Tamil Nadu.

Strongly condemning the reported change in the exam procedure, barely two days before the applicants for posts such as postmen, assistant postmen, sorting assistants, multi-tasking staff, mail guards and the like, are to sit for their exams on July 14, the Opposition DMK president M K Stalin on Saturday the move was a "ploy" to keep out South Indians, particularly Tamil-speaking people and other non-Hindi speaking people from entering the Postal department.  

Decrying the exclusion of regional languages in writing the competitive exam, Mr. Stalin said so far the applicants had the option of taking the exam in English, Hindi or the regional language.

Charging the BJP government at the Centre with "pressuring" the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu to amend the rules for recruitment in the State power utility Tangedco (Tamil Nadu Electricity Generation and Distribution Company), in a bid to enable "North Indians" get jobs in the TNEB, Mr Stalin said a similar attempt was being made in recent of all-India services also. This smacked of a prejudice to keep out Tamil-speaking youth get into the Central services, the DMK leader charged. He said several lakh educated unemployed Tamil youth were not getting employment in Central government departments.

Mr Stalin recalled that in 2015, in recruitment in the Bihar Postal Circle, massive irregularity was reported but the Central government took no action to remedy the situation. This has put a question mark over the Centre's "integrity" and it was against the Indian constitution, he said.

Urging the Central government to withdraw this circular immediately, Mr. Stalin said the DMK will otherwise be forced to move the court against the postal department exam.  

Coming down heavily on the new circular, TNCC president Mr K S Azhagiri, said normally the postal exam question paper will be in three languages and this system has been changed suddenly. "It is a severe attack against the Non-Hindi speaking people, against the Constitution and against Nehru's assurance on the language issue," he said.

The Central government should withdraw the circular immediately, Azhagiri said and warned against the Centre's bid to undermine the Federal set-up by frequently tinkering with an emotive issue like language that is bound to invite the people's wrath.

The MDMK general secretary, Vaiko said the new system will only embolden 'Hindi hegemony" in the country. Postal and Information services will be severely affected by stoking a language issue, warned Vaiko. Question papers should be set in all the languages mentioned in the Eighth schedule of the Constitution, he urged.

The PMK founder-leader Dr S Ramadoss, when the exams were to be held on July 14, the new circular coming to light suddenly will severely affect the prospects of the applicants. It is a gross injustice to the aspirants to postal jobs and PMK will move the court on behalf of the affected candidates.

The Vidhuthalai Chirutahikal Katchi (VCK) leader Thol Thirumavalavan, referring to the exams being held for 1,000 posts in Tamil Nadu, urged the Centre to withdraw the new circular and allow candidates to take the exams as usual by giving them the option to take it in Tamil also. Otherwise, there will be a massive agitation in the State, he said.

Postal network still rock solid in rural areas

Contrary to popular perception that the Post office and the Postman is already a relic of the past with the dominance of the Internet and abundant social media networks that are based on Internet technology, the postal network in India, particularly in the rural areas, still retains its rock solid relevance.

In most parts of rural Tamil Nadu for instance and the country in general, the local Postman is seen as virtually a member of the family for the familiarity and trust that he enjoys - from delivering letters, appointment orders, legal notices, the occasional money orders to that rare parcel of love a close kin may send from his/her workplace outside the State.

This makes it all the more imperative that the Postman should be conversant in the local language- in this State Tamil-, to be able to perform his duty. There are still senders who ride the address in Tamil, and write letters in their mother tongue which only a Tamil-knowing Postman would be able to deliver correctly and at times even read out the letters to the recipient who may not be that literate.

Considering this pivotal role of the Postman, who is essential a local 'Dak Sevak', it is strange that the Postal department should modify the recruitment exam pattern to exclude the regional language of the state concerned, an issue that is on the boil in Tamil Nadu now.