Amid protests, compulsory Bengali dropped from test for forest assistant

Other components mentioned in the July 30 notification such as the ability to read English or Hindi (10 marks), general knowledge oral test (20), and personality fitness for forestry works (10) remained unchanged. "We wish to give chance to people speaking in any officially recognised language in West Bengal.

The West Bengal government clarified that skill in any of the recognised languages would be sufficient for applying for the post of forest assistant in the state amid protests by several organisations, a week after it made the ability to read and write Bengal compulsory. The state government is hiring 2,000 "bana sahayaks" or forest assistants on a contractual basis to protect wildlife and prevent man-animal conflict.

The Forest Department issued a notification on July 30, specifying that 60 marks will be allotted for evaluating Bengali reading and writing skills of the applicant who shall have to appear for an evaluationcuminterview and personality test. Several organisations such as the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and Greater Coochbehar People's Association protested against the criteria.

In a corrigendum issued on Friday, the department mentioned as criteria, "Ability to write Bengali or any officially recognized language of the state as applicable in the said district under the West Bengal Official Language Act of 1961 as amended from time to time." Thirty marks were allotted for writing and another 30 for reading. Other components mentioned in the July 30 notification such as the ability to read English or Hindi (10 marks), general knowledge oral test (20), and personality fitness for forestry works (10) remained unchanged.

"We wish to give chance to people speaking in any officially recognised language in West Bengal. We want to broaden the ambit and not confine it within the Bengali- speaking population only. Bengal believes in inclusiveness," Forest Minister Rajib Banerjee told PTI on Saturday. He, however, refused to comment on the July 30 notice and said the changes were made after careful consideration of all aspects.

A senior minister of the state government said there are several officially recognised languages in the state other than Bengali that are spoken in particular regions -- such as Alchiki in the Jangalmahal belt of south Bengal, Nepali in the Darjeeling hills and Dooars region, and Kamtapuri in certain areas of north Bengal. "So, deploying people with knowledge of these languages in such areas is favorable," he said.