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Jaipur: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Rajasthan has introduced a new disclosure requirement on its State Recruitment Portal, requiring applicants applying for government jobs to state whether they have “settled in India from another country”. If an applicant answers “Yes”, they must specify the country of origin from a limited list that includes Pakistan, Tibet, Burma (now Myanmar), Sri Lanka and certain African countries.

The requirement is being sought even from applicants who declare their nationality as Indian, their home state as Rajasthan and their home district as a district within Rajasthan. This means that applicants identifying as Indian citizens are still required to disclose whether they had migrated to India from another country. Previously, applicants were required to only specify their nationality, home state and home district under the “domicile details” category of the application forms. 

This raises constitutional concerns on whether the information collected through the recruitment portal is used to distinguish between Indian citizens on the basis of their country of origin while considering them for public employment. Article 16 of the Constitution guarantees equality of opportunity in matters of public employment, and any differential treatment would be violative of this fundamental right. 

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