Imphal, August19: The Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) has decided to drop a controversial question from the Agricultural Development Officer Examination following a representation submitted by the Meitei Heritage Society.
The Society had earlier written to the Chairman of the APSC expressing deep concern over the question, which was part of the August 8, 2025 examination. In its representation, the Society alleged that the question made a mischievous reference to the Manipur crisis and selectively maligned the Meitei community by portraying them as perpetrators of rights abuses, while ignoring the grave atrocities and displacements suffered by Meiteis at the hands of Chin-Kuki militants and their civil society organisations.
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“This one-sided portrayal is unbecoming of a Public Service Commission, whose mandate is to recruit public servants committed to fairness, impartiality and service to the nation without prejudice,” the Society said in its letter. It further stressed that the ongoing violence in Manipur had claimed lives across both Meitei and Chin-Kuki communities, displacing more than 60,000 people. To single out Meitei groups in an official examination, while overlooking documented atrocities by armed Chin-Kuki militants, reflected bias and created a misleading narrative for aspirants preparing for public service, the Society argued.
The representation also drew attention to public records and reports by national agencies such as the NIA and the CBI, which have arrested and prosecuted Chin-Kuki militants in connection with killings, abductions and attacks on security forces. The Society questioned why these groups were not listed in the exam question, despite being named by the country’s top investigative agencies, while Meitei groups were singled out.
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It also referred to the findings of the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Geeta Mittal Committee, which had named Chin-Kuki organisations for threatening families and preventing them from claiming the bodies of deceased victims. Even the former Chief Justice of India, the Society recalled, had rebuked such actions, remarking that “you cannot keep the pot boiling.”
The letter further highlighted the Union Home Minister’s statement in Parliament about illegal immigration from Myanmar and widespread poppy cultivation in Manipur’s hill areas, pointing out that the President of the Zomi Revolutionary Army was himself a former Member of Parliament in Myanmar. The Society questioned why such context was omitted from the examination, asking whether APSC would ever frame a question on Assam’s own history of communal conflicts and selectively target one community.
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“This misrepresentation not only tarnishes the image of a community but also undermines the credibility of the Commission,” the letter stated. The Society, however, added that it believed the lapse may have been inadvertent and not reflective of the Commission’s standing. It requested the APSC to acknowledge the biased nature of the question and to declare it null and void, ensuring it would not be used for evaluation.
Following the submission, the APSC informed the Society that the matter was under evaluation by its Examination Committee. On Monday, the Commission formally conveyed its decision: “This is to inform you that the Assam Public Service Commission has decided to drop/delete/cancel question no. 95.”
Welcoming the move, the Meitei Heritage Society stated: “We appreciate the APSC’s action and hope that no such instance that hurt the sentiments of a community is repeated.”