Paper marking

Mistakes are bound to happen in life, whether of an individual or a body.

Mistakes are bound to happen in life, whether of an individual or a body. Once, impelled by the desire of setting the highest standard in competitive tests the governing body of a Central Government Service Commission appointed Professor Harold Johnson of Cambridge to set the history question paper.

The honourable professor worked diligently and set the paper. One of the questions was: 8220;Evaluate the character and the administration of Emperor Aurangzeb8221;. The paper was duly put before the candidates. It was only when the answer papers were collected did someone realised the minefield that the Commission had walked into. There were different views on the subject. No one knew which was to be considered the right one. Since nothing could be done at that stage the Commission decided to forward a guideline to the prospective examiners on marking that particular question.

The guideline was a model of rectitude. It went as follows: 8220;In relation to the question about Emperor Aurangzeb the following guideline shall apply;

1. If the Candidate is from a state ruled by Congress or its allies then he is to get full marks if he praises the Emperor for his administrative abilities and justifies his religious intolerance. If the candidate writes against the Emperor his marks should be deducted since he would be writing contrary to what he was taught in the textbooks prescribed in those States.

2. If the Candidate had studied in any State ruled by the BJP or its allied parties then if he writes that Aurangzeb was a communal bigot, and glosses over his administrative capabilities, he is to get full marks. That is as per the textbooks he was taught in his Curriculum. On the other hand if he praises the Emperor in any way his marks should be cut as it is against what he was taught in his School/College.

3. If the candidate happens to be from the Communist rules states then if the candidate praises the Emperor without mentioning his religious policies he must get full marks. Any discussion about his religious policies should be held against the candidate as the Communists consider religion as the opiate of the people. This will conform with the textbooks taught to him.

4. However, if the Candidate does not fall in any of the above categories then the Examiner may use his own discretion to mark the papers. What is history after all, but a subjective opinion on an event long past? However, the marking of such papers will also indicate the examiner8217;s bent of mind, which will enable us to weed away unreliable examiners for the future.