2 min readMar 17, 2026 01:04 PM IST
South Western Railways (SWR) abruptly postponed Tuesday morning’s recruitment examination after Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) protested near exam centres across Karnataka, objecting to the tests being conducted only in English and Hindi.
SWR had scheduled its promotion examinations for 295 posts, including 194 posts for goods train manager (60 per cent promotional quota) and 101 posts for the Limited departmental competitive examination (15 per cent promotional quota).
A SWR spokesperson confirmed that the morning examinations were postponed due to the protests and that the dates would be announced later. “There were exams in the afternoon hours also, and it is yet to be decided whether to conduct or not,” the SWR spokesperson said.
KRV activists entered exam centres across the state, including Bengaluru and Hubballi, and staged protests demanding that the examination be conducted in the local language as well. KRV has been opposing SWR’s move to drop local language in the recruitment exam, saying it may prevent local people from appearing for the exams.
On Monday, KRV president Narayana Gowda said MPs had turned a blind eye despite the local language being dropped from the exam. “Had it happened in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the local MPs would have raised their voice for their language. Our MPs have shown no spine,” he said during a press conference.
Gowda also said this was not the first time such a recruitment had been attempted by the Indian Railways.
“In 2008, about 4,000 group ‘D’ posts recruitment was being held with only English and Hindi language in an attempt to fill all the posts with Bihar candidates. Following the protests, it was stopped. Now, the Central government wants to introduce the same,” Gowda added.
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“I spoke to Minister of State for Railways V Somanna. He expressed his helplessness and said everything was being done from Delhi. When the local languages are being included for the railways examinations in other states, why shouldn’t it be in Karnataka?” he asked.
