Assam to put language clause in govt job offers

GUWAHATI: The Sarbananda Sonowal-led NDA government is set to make the ability to speak and write in Assamese mandatory for people seeking state government jobs.
“The ability to speak Assamese is not enough. If one does not know how to write in Assamese, one will not be able to apply for a state government job. We will bring a law in this regard within this year. The move is aimed at protecting the Assamese language,” state finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said here on Saturday.
“An Assamese who does not know how to write in his language will not get (a government) job. My son studies outside the state and he can speak in Assamese but he can’t write in Assamese. This means, he will not be eligible to get a job here,” he added.
In next month’s assembly session, the state government will introduce two bills — one prohibiting the indigenous people from transferring their land rights to non-indigenous people, and the other making the teaching of Assamese compulsory in schools up to Class X.
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