EVR Controversy: TNPSC regrets mentioning of 'caste' after outcry
After committing a series of errors in the question paper for Agricultural Officers recently, the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) has once again landed in a controversy by identifying rationalist leader and Dravidian movement icon E V Ramasamy Periyar with his caste name in the Group II exam paper.
By : migrator
Update: 2018-11-12 23:19 GMT
Chennai
More than six lakh candidates appeared for the exam conducted by the TNPSC on Sunday.
The controversial question, which was carried in both English and Tamil, asked who the founder of the Tiruchengode Ashram was. The candidates were given four options, including 'E V Ramasamy Naicker'. The suffix 'Naicker' is a caste in Tamil Nadu.
Speaking to DT Next, S Natraja Subramanian, a trainer of TNPSC exams, said the initial of Periyar in Tamil was also printed wrongly in the question paper.
"He (Periyar) is one of the greatest leaders in Tamil Nadu. Putting a caste tag on him is unacceptable," he said.
When contacted, TNPSC Secretary and Controller of Exams (in-charge) Nandakumar expressed regret for the mistake, which he said had taken place despite the questions being prepared by experts and professors.
Stating that necessary action would be taken against those responsible for it, Nandakumar said steps would be taken to prevent such incidents in future.
Meanwhile, DMK president M K Stalin demanded a public apology from the State government for the "communal portrayal of social reformer Periyar" in the question paper.
Questioning the English proficiency and knowledge about Tamil Nadu of those who framed, proof-read and supervised the question, Stalin said: “I was deeply shocked to see the casteist mindset of the people who had prepared the questionnaire for the TNPSC exam.”
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