‘Pandit’ option for question on opportunists trips up BJP in U.P. days after ‘anti-Brahmin’ claim by opposition

“Who changes according to opportunities?” The question triggered controversy and raised objections from within the ruling BJP when “Pandit” was one of the options listed in the written document in the Uttar Pradesh Police recruitment test.

To answer the question posed in the exam held on March 14 regarding the recruitment of assistant inspectors, candidates had to choose the correct one-word answer for the person, which varied according to the opportunity. The options were: “Pandit”, “Opportunistic”, “Innocent” and “Virtuous”.

Uttar Pradesh BJP secretary Abhijat Mishra, who belongs to the Brahmin community, wrote a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, expressing objections to the question and seeking action against those responsible for preparing the newspaper.

In his letter, Mr. Mishra said the question appeared misframed and insensitive. “The correct meaning of a person who changes according to opportunities is ‘opportunist’, but the inclusion of ‘Pandit’ among the options hurts the sentiments of a certain community,” he said.

“‘Pandit’ is a term associated with knowledge and religious reverence. Associating it with opportunism is inappropriate, insensitive and may have been deliberate,” Mr. Mishra said.

The controversy followed the alleged mistreatment of Swami Avimukteshwaran and Saraswati during the Magh Mela in Prayagraj, following which opposition parties accused the BJP government of being “anti-Brahmin”.

In this context, the last issue carries the danger of snowballing into another political debate, especially since the objection comes from a leader of the ruling party himself.

Mr. Mishra urged the State government to immediately initiate a departmental inquiry against the committee members responsible for preparing the question paper and take stringent action if any errors are found.

He also called for the question to be formally rejected or fixed and called for greater sensitivity in framing exam papers in the future.