An apparent copy-paste notification to recruit Anganwadi staff in Mudigere, a software that needed updating, applicants refusal to lie, and a seemingly recalcitrant BJP have sparked a fresh language row in Karnataka.
Published Sep 26, 2024 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 26, 2024 | 9:00 AM
A government notification for hiring Anganwadi staff said candidates with knowledge of Urdu would be preferred. (Representational pic/(Wikimedia Commons)
A Karnataka government notification allegedly making the knowledge of Urdu mandatory for recruiting Anganwadi staff in Mudigere’s fifth ward has sparked a controversy with the BJP accusing the Siddaramaiah-led dispensation of unfairly appeasing a minority community.
Even as the issue snowballed into a controversy with General Category candidates, too, voicing their concerns, Minister for Women and Child Welfare Laxmi Hebbalkar clarified that knowledge of Urdu was not mandatory for recruitment but a preference in areas where the minorities exceeded 25 percent of the population.
She also pointed out that the previous BJP government also followed the same norm. Meanwhile, a December 2022 order issued by the earlier government on hiring Anganwadi teachers and assistants went viral on social media.
The order accorded preference to candidates with knowledge of Kannada and the respective minority language in recruitment areas where minorities exceeded 25 percent.
The controversy erupted after a section of General Category candidates objected to the online application process, saying making Urdu mandatory was unfair.
Mudigere Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) Shobha Myali said the notification for hiring teachers and assistants to the mini Anganwadi centre at Ward No. 5 in the Chikkamagaluru district was issued recently.
“The state government had issued three orders regarding recruiting Anganwadi staff in 2014, 2017, and 2022. The orders said if the minority population in a particular Anganwadi centre’s jurisdiction is above 25 percent, then preference should be given to those knowing one of the minority languages,” she told South First.
The official stated that the knowledge of the minority language was not mandatory but a preferred one.
“The government introduced such a rule for better communication between Anganwadi staff and children. There are no other intention,” the CDPO explained.
On the ongoing controversy, Myali said the same guidelines were being followed for several years. “This is not the first time,” she said.
“When aspirants apply online, if the minority population in that specific area is above 25 percent, a field appears asking whether they know Urdu. They are given two options, ‘yes’ and ‘no’,” she further elaborated and blamed the software.
“If aspirants select ‘no’, their applications are rejected. The software provides only these two options,” Myali said.
The CDPO said officials advised applicants to select ‘yes’ while applying online. “They objected, asking why they should select ‘yes’ to say they knew Urdu. Higher officials advised aspirants to select ‘yes,’ as no documentation is required to prove it. However, they are reluctant to do so.”
“This is a software issue, not a government order. These posts are not reserved for Urdu-speaking candidates or minorities. We have alerted higher authorities about the software flaws and submitted a letter. Changes are expected at the state level,” she said.
Mudigere MLA Nayana Jowhar refused to respond since the issue fell under the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare and she was not authorised to comment.
The BJP issued a similar notification in 2022, when it was in power.
However, following the controversy in Mudigere, the BJP’s Karnataka unit was vehemently opposing the latest notification.
The BJP said on X that the Congress was imposing Urdu in Karnataka. “An official order has been issued by the Department of Women and Child Welfare to make Urdu compulsory for the appointment of Anganwadi teachers at Mudigere in Chikkamagaluru district.”
ಕನ್ನಡ ನಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಉರ್ದು ಹೇರಿಕೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದೆ @INCKarnataka ಸರ್ಕಾರ.
ಚಿಕ್ಕಮಗಳೂರು ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಮೂಡಿಗೆರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅಂಗನವಾಡಿ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರ ಹುದ್ದೆಗೆ ನೇಮಕಗೊಳ್ಳಲು ಉರ್ದು ಕಡ್ಡಾಯವಾಗಿ ಬರಬೇಕಂತೆ, ಹೀಗೆಂದು ಮಹಿಳಾ ಮತ್ತು ಮಕ್ಕಳ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ ಇಲಾಖೆಯಿಂದ ಅಧಿಕೃತ ಆದೇಶ ಹೊರಬಿದ್ದಿದೆ.
ಸಿಎಂ @siddaramaiah ಅವರೆ, ಮಹಿಳಾ ಮತ್ತು ಮಕ್ಕಳ… pic.twitter.com/SX3S9VwXwB
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) September 23, 2024
“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister for Women and Child Welfare Laxmi Hebbalkar, Mudigere is in Karnataka, Kannada is the official language in Karnataka. Why Urdu is mandatory…,” the BJP questioned the state government.
Terming the development unfortunate and appeasement politics by the state government, Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya shot off a letter to Siddaramaiah, demanding the suspension of officials who mandated Urdu.
Congress is trapping Kannadigas with Tippu and Hyder Ali-like Farmans on making Urdu compulsory in Anganwadis in Karnataka.
Wrote to CM @Siddaramaiah to immediately withdraw the order & prioritise the advancement of Kannada & its culture.
ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರ ಮೇಲೆ ಉದ್ದೇಶಪೂರ್ವಕ ಉರ್ದು… pic.twitter.com/JngiI75hQ5
— Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) September 24, 2024
However, a section of netizens hit back at the BJP, highlighting similar orders it had issued when in power.
The order issued in 2022 said, “At Anganwadi Centers in areas having 25% minority community population, candidates who know Kannada language along with the respective minority community language should be selected for the post of worker/assistant.”
BIG NEWS: BJP’s @Tejasvi_Surya and @astitvam openly supported mandatory Urdu for Anganawadi teachers by remaining completely silent when their own @BJP4Karnataka Govt made Urdu skill compulsory for Anganawadi teachers in 2022.
Kannadigas and the Hindu community will not… pic.twitter.com/DhBYcnuQ8o
— PLE Karnataka (@PLEKarnataka) September 25, 2024
Women and Child Welfare department officials claimed that the same government order has been used for recruiting Anganwadi staff since 2014.
Taking exception to the BJP’s “misleading” allegations, Minister Hebbalkar asserted that “the state government runs 60,000 Anganwadi centres and have mandated Urdu not even in a single centre in the state.”
“The BJP’s job is to mislead people. It is their birthright. The first order on the recruitment of Anganwadi teachers was issued in 2011 when the BJP was in power,” the minister told South First.
“The same order was carried forward by successive governments. There was another similar order in 2022 when the BJP was in power,” she pointed out.
She reiterated that knowledge of Urdu was not mandatory. However, candidates with Urdu knowledge would be given preference.
“The intention is to ensure good communication between the staff and children. If the local people demand that they need Kannada-speaking staff then we have to give,” Hebbalkar explained.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
