More representatives of political parties, organisations representing communities and office bearers of development outfits formed by the state in north Bengal have joined political parties of hills to demand other regional languages be included in the merit test-cum-interview to recruit Bana Sahayaks of the state forest department.
The language issue gained currency with the department’s recent notice to hire 2,000 such “sahayaks” (assistants) on contract to monitor forests in the state. The ability of a candidate to read and write in Bengali would be tested, the notice said.
This made two elected representatives (Darjeeling MP and MLA) and Anit Thapa, who is the chairperson of the BoA of the GTA and general secretary of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (Binay Tamang faction) allied with Trinamul, to write to state forest minister Rajib Banerjee, seeking inclusion of Nepali, Santhali and Rajbanshi in the process.
On Sunday, Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad (ABAVP), Greater Cooch Behar Peoples’ Association (GCPA) and Kamtapur Progressive Party (KPP), joined the chorus, saying the Bengali criteria would deprive thousands of youths of north Bengal who could not read or write Bengali from the opportunity.
“The state recognises Rajbanshi language and there is no reason as why this language can’t be an option in the test. We will write to the chief minister and state forest minister on Monday,” said Bangshibadan Burman, the general secretary of GCPA who chairs the Rajbanshi Bhasa Academy constituted by the state.
Birsa Tirkey, state president of ABAVP, echoed him. “Many tribal youths have studied in Hindi medium. Hindi should be given due weightage in the test,” said Tirkey.
Gorkhas on the foothills demanded the inclusion of Nepali. “It is our longstanding demand that recruitment tests for state departments should also be held in Nepali,” said Binod Ghatani, chairman of the Dooars Terai Gorkha Task Force formed by the state.
State forest minister Rajib Banerjee said on Sunday that he would discuss the matter with senior foresters.
“I have not received any letters so far. We will look into the concern and speak with our senior officers on the issue to decide what has to be done,” Banerjee said over phone from Calcutta.
