In February, Netflix crime thriller 'Ghooskhor Pandat' stirred a row. Now, a "Pandit" option for a question on opportunists in a UP police recruitment examination has kicked up another storm.
As the row escalated, the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board (UPPRPB) ordered an inquiry into the matter.
The question, which appeared in the Hindi section of the written examination conducted on March 14 for the recruitment of sub-inspectors, asked candidates to choose a one-word answer for a person who changes according to opportunity.
The options included "Pandit", "Opportunist", "Innocent" and "Virtuous".
The issue triggered a political row after Uttar Pradesh BJP secretary Abhijat Mishra wrote to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seeking action against those responsible for framing the question, saying the inclusion of "Pandit" among the options hurt the sentiments of the Brahmin community.
"The correct meaning of a person who changes according to the opportunity is 'opportunist', but including 'Pandit' among the options hurts the sentiments of a particular community," Mishra said, adding the term "Pandit" is associated with knowledge and religious respect.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued directives to the Chairpersons of all recruitment boards, asking them to refrain from making any undignified remarks regarding the dignity or religious sentiments of any individual, caste, creed, or community.
"Taking cognizance of this, similar instructions must be issued to all paper setters as well. Habitual offenders must be immediately debarred. This matter should also be incorporated as a part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the paper setters," the Chief Minister said.
In a post late Saturday, the Recruitment Board clarified that the question paper was not set by them.
"The Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board wishes to inform that the question papers are not set by the Police Recruitment Board itself at the local level. Rather, this task is carried out by highly confidential institutions in such a manner that the confidentiality of the question papers remains intact prior to the examination. To maintain this confidentiality, even at the Board level, no officer or employee is allowed to view the confidential material, i.e., the question papers," the Board said.
The Board said the question was from the first shift of the written examination conducted on March 14 for recruitment to the posts of Sub-Inspector (Civil Police) and equivalent positions.
The sealed packets of question papers, the Board said, are opened for the first time in the examination halls at the examination centers in the presence of two candidates and then distributed.
Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said the government has taken serious note of the matter and ordered an immediate investigation.
In a post on X, Pathak said it was "absolutely unacceptable" for any question to hurt the dignity of any society or class and asserted that strict action would be taken against those responsible after the probe.
The controversy comes days after opposition parties accused the BJP government in UP of being "anti-Brahmin" following the alleged mistreatment of Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati during the Magh Mela in Prayagraj.
Earlier in February, the film "Ghooskhor Pandat", directed by Neeraj Pandey and starring Manoj Bajpayee, sparked a major political and social row after many on social media claimed the title 'defames' the Brahmin community.
The Supreme Court directed the filmmaker's to change the films' title, terming it as denigrative of a particular community.
"It will be violative of the Constitution to target a community on basis of religion, language, caste, or region, by whosoever he or she may be," the top court had said.
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