Imphal, August 18: The Meitei Heritage Society (MHS) has urged the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) to declare null and void a question on the Manipur crisis allegedly included in the Agricultural Development Officer (ADO) Examination held on August 10.
In a statement on Monday, MHS described the question as “mischievous” and accused it of maligning the Meitei community. The group argued that the question presented a one-sided portrayal of the conflict, failing to reflect the role of Kuki-Chin militants and civil society organisations as documented in reports by the NIA, CBI, and a Supreme Court-appointed committee.
“This selective framing unfairly targets one community while ignoring publicly available data. Such a portrayal is unbecoming of a public service commission, whose mandate is to remain impartial and fair,” the society stated, adding that it had submitted a strong representation to the APSC, which is now under evaluation.
Responding to the controversy, APSC Chairman Debaraj Upadhaya clarified that exam questions are set by external experts and later moderated by independent academics. “We don’t set the question papers ourselves. They are prepared and locked by setters and moderators from reputed universities and colleges. The Commission does not interfere, and we maintain neutrality with no political bias,” he said.
Upadhaya stressed that the APSC had no mala fide intent and declined to comment on the specific question, noting that the principal controller of examinations would be the appropriate authority to address it.
