Assam Government Plans Domicile Policy in Recruitment, Seeks Classical Language Status for Assamese

GUWAHATI: The state government is contemplating following a domicile policy in recruitment, besides giving classical language status to Assamese.

With a view to bar candidates from other states from getting appointed to the Assam government’s posts, the state government is set to follow a clear-cut domicile policy in recruitment within a month. Speaking to the media, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “To begin with, we will follow this policy in the recruitment of grades III and IV posts. And we will implement this policy later in higher posts as well.”

The Chief Minister said, “We will move the Central Government to accord classical language status to Assamese. We have already initiated discussions on this issue with the Prime Minister.”

Most state governments have been following their own domicile policies in different ways. Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, etc. have been following their respective domicile policies in recruitment. Though West Bengal has no such policy, writing skills in Bengali are compulsory for certain posts in the state. In Maharashtra, candidates’ fluency in Marathi is also a must for getting jobs in the state government.

Though Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh do not follow any such policies, 80 percent of jobs are reserved for the local tribes in these two states in the Northeast. 

As of now, India as a whole has six classical languages: Tamil, Telegu, Sanskrit, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia. To get classical language status, a language has to fulfil certain criteria. Once a language gets classical language status, the Education Ministry provides certain benefits to promote it. The benefits include major annual international awards for scholars of eminence in the said language, besides the UGC (University Grant Commission) requesting central universities to create a certain number of professional chairs for the language that gets the classical tag. 

The state government is also going to follow the mutual transfer system now prevalent among teachers in other departments as well, especially in grades III and V.   

Also Read: Assam's Charaideo Maidams Earn UNESCO World Heritage Status, Celebrating Ahom Dynasty's Legacy and Architectural Heritage

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