Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Maharaja Sanajaoba Leisemba has welcomed the decision to open a Union Public Service Commission Civil Services (Main) Examination centre in Imphal, while noting that his request to allow the use of both Meetei Mayek and Bengali scripts in the examination has not been accepted under the existing rules.
In a response to the Member of Parliament’s D.O. Letter No. 0621Misc/MP(RS) Manipur dated August 10, 2022 addressed to the Prime Minister, Puspendra Rajput, Additional Secretary, Union Public Service Commission, stated that the issue of operating Imphal as a centre for the Civil Services (Main) Examination had earlier been considered by the Department of Personnel and Training. A reply in this regard had already been conveyed through a letter dated May 28, 2021.
Regarding the request to permit aspirants to use both Meetei Mayek and Bengali scripts for the Civil Services (Main) and other similar examinations, the Additional Secretary clarified that the Commission conducts the examination strictly in accordance with the rules framed and notified by the Department of Personnel and Training. These rules contain specific provisions relating to the language medium for question papers and the writing of answers in the Civil Services (Main) Examination.
As per the existing examination rules, candidates may write their answers in English or in any one of the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India, which includes Manipuri language in Bengali script. The communication indicates that any change in script provisions would require modification of the notified examination rules.
Meanwhile, Maharaja Sanajaoba Leisemba has expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the inclusion of Imphal as a centre for the Civil Services (Main) Examination for the first time. In a statement shared on social media, he recalled raising the matter in Parliament in March 2021 through a Special Mention and subsequently writing to the Prime Minister in August 2022, highlighting the financial and logistical hardships faced by aspirants from Manipur who were compelled to travel to other cities to appear for the examination.
He also raised concerns in Parliament on February 8, 2023, seeking permission for candidates opting for Manipuri language and literature to write their optional paper in both Meetei Mayek and Bengali scripts. Following his intervention, candidates were allowed to write answers in either script. However, he recently reiterated during the Budget Session of Parliament that the question papers of the Manipuri optional subject continue to be printed only in Bengali script, which poses difficulties for candidates educated exclusively in Meetei Mayek.
The opening of the UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination centre in Imphal is expected to provide substantial relief to aspirants in Manipur by eliminating the need to travel outside the state, even as the issue of script usage in question papers remains pending under the current examination framework.