Delhi minister seeks action against DSSSB officials over 'racist question' in exam

Delhi minister Rajendra Pal Gautam Sunday demanded action against officials of the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) over a "racist and misogynist question" asked in an examination conducted for recruitment of primary teachers.

In a statement, the Delhi SC/ST minister expressed "serious concern" on the issue and said that he will ask Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash to take appropriate action against the DSSSB.

The examination was conducted Saturday.

"The purported question was asked in the Hindi section of the examination held yesterday. It had four options pointing to a caste-based system of the Brahminical Society. It is a multiple choice question and the answers are highly racist and gender insensitive," the minister alleged.

According to the statement, the minister said that the service department, which is under the Lieutenant Governor, is the governing body of the DSSSB.

The department should make it clear what made them include such a "shoddy" question, he said.

"Setting a caste-based question which ostensibly hurts the sentiments of the community in addition to being highly disrespectful to women demonstrates the state of mind of those at the helm of the DSSSB," the statement read.

The minister said he will speak with the chief secretary on Monday to demand an interim investigation into the issue.