Dimapur: Lok Sabha MP from Nagaland, S Supongmeren Jamir on Sunday, urged Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio to take action, through the department concerned, for issuing recognition to the tribal dialects/languages spoken in the state as the ‘third language’, which will create employment opportunities for the youth of the state.
In a letter to the CM, Jamir drew his attention to the issue of engagement of non-local Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) in post offices of the north eastern region, including Nagaland.
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The letter stated that the postal department conducts online-based Grade IV staff GDS recruitment, requiring a Class X pass certificate and marksheet, and does not conduct any interviews or exams.
Jamir stated that the postal department’s notification No.17-02/2025-GDS (Annexure I) for Nagaland prescribes the local language/dialect, and they shortlist candidates based on the marks secured in English/Hindi in Class X.
Jamir observed that this undermines the third dialect/language that candidates would have otherwise studied or are fluent in, besides these two languages.
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He said this impacts the performance of local candidates when they compete nationwide.
Jamir pointed out that in the past two years alone, the postal department has conducted three rounds of recruitment for 364 posts, including a special drive in January 2023 that advertised 143 posts for Nagaland.
He said the Director General of GDS wrote to the Chief Postmaster General, Northeast Circle, stating that Nagaland recognizes English as an official language.
The DG also agreed in principle that the North East Circle Post Office would engage with the state government to officially identify the local dialects/languages it could consider as a medium of evaluation during recruitment.
Accordingly, the director of postal services, Nagaland, communicated this to the Nagaland home commissioner on April 16, 2025. However, the state government is yet to officially recognise the dialects/languages of the recognised tribes in the state for the purpose of a ‘third language/dialect’ in the state, he said.
In this regard, the state home department had written to the commissioner of the state government and the commissioner & secretary, art & culture, to submit their views and comments, Jamir added.