The Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) has decided to delete a question on the Manipur conflict from the general studies paper of the Agricultural Development Officer (ADO) recruitment examination held on August 8.

The decision, conveyed to the Imphal-based organisation Meitei Heritage Society (MHS) on Tuesday, follows a representation submitted by the group on August 17 seeking a clarification on what it described as a “maliciously framed question.” The MHS said the question portrays the Meitei community as perpetrators in the ongoing ethnic strife while “ignoring” the role of the Kuki-Zos in the violence that erupted on May 3, 2023.

The society announced that the commission “has decided to drop/delete/cancel question No. 95” on the Manipur conflict. An APSC official confirmed the move, telling The Telegraph that the matter was discussed in a threadbare manner during a
meeting before the final call was taken.

The APSC, an autonomous body, is mandated to conduct examinations for government departments, select suitable candidates for civil services and advise the state government on recruitment.

In its representation, the MHS flagged its concern over the “disturbing and misleading question” in the ADO paper. It said: “Question No. 95 of Series A … refers to the ongoing violence in Manipur. It selectively maligns the Meitei community by
portraying Meitei groups (Option iii) as perpetrators of rights abuses, while ignoring the grave atrocities, killings, and displacements suffered by Meiteis at the hands of Chin-Kuki militants and their CSOs.”

The society argued that such framing was “unbecoming of a Public Service Commission, whose mandate is to recruit public servants committed to fairness, impartiality and service to the nation without prejudice.”

It requested the APSC, “in the interest of fairness and institutional integrity,” to issue a clarification acknowledging the “biased nature of the question” and to declare it “null and void, ensuring it is not used for evaluation purposes.” The MHS added: “We place our faith in your wisdom and impartiality, and trust that you will take corrective action to prevent such incidents from recurring.”

The controversial question had asked candidates to consider three statements on the Manipur violence: “(i) The violence primarily involved the Meitei and the Kuki communities; (ii) The conflict stemmed from a High Court order favouring the Meiteis; and (iii) Armed groups such as Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun have been accused of committing rights abuses in Manipur.”

The APSC official clarified that cancelling the question would not disadvantage any candidate. “It is a one-mark question in the
general studies paper, which had 100 questions in total. Question papers are set by independent subject experts and opened only on the day of the examination. We have no role in setting question papers,” the official said.

The MHS has welcomed the commission’s move.

The ethnic conflict in Manipur between the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zos, which began on May 3, 2023, has left at least 260 people dead and displaced around 60,000 from both communities. The state remains under President’s rule.