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Tensions escalated significantly when members of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, led by the Narayana Gowda faction, laid siege to a computer-based testing centre
KRV members staged demonstrations outside railway department offices and examination centres. (Image/PTI)
The South Western Railway has officially announced the immediate postponement of its internal departmental examinations following intense demonstrations by the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike. Protests erupted at examination centres in Hubballi as activists successfully halted proceedings to demand that the tests be administered in the Kannada language. The examinations were originally scheduled to facilitate the promotion of current employees to various roles, including Goods Train Manager, under the Limited Departmental Competitive Examination quota.
Tensions escalated significantly when members of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, led by the Narayana Gowda faction, laid siege to a computer-based testing centre in Keshwapur. The protesters argued that conducting exams exclusively in English and Hindi constitutes a betrayal of local candidates and systematically denies professional opportunities to Kannadigas within the railway sector. The group demanded a total cancellation of the current session and urged railway authorities to reschedule the exams only after providing question papers in the state’s native language.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah intensified the discourse by taking to social media to criticise the Union Government for what he described as the continued imposition of Hindi. In a strongly worded statement, the Chief Minister asserted that the repeated denial of examinations in regional languages is an affront to the identity of the people of Karnataka. He emphasised that the federal structure of the country must respect linguistic diversity and called for an immediate correction of policies that marginalise local candidates in central department recruitments and promotions.
In response to the growing unrest and to ensure public safety, Railway Recruitment Cell Chairman Asif Ansari issued an official order to defer the exams indefinitely. While hundreds of candidates who had arrived for the two-hour test were turned away, railway officials clarified that any final decision regarding the inclusion of regional languages must be determined by higher-level management. The South Western Railway has stated that new dates for the examinations will be communicated to the candidates in the near future as they reassess the situation.
March 17, 2026, 20:26 IST
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