Murder of Millions of Dreams
Every year, millions of students across India appear for NEET with one dream in their eyes — to become doctors. Behind every student standing outside an examination center is not just preparation, but years of sacrifice, sleepless nights, emotional pressure, and the silent struggle of an entire family.
In cities like Kota, students live far away from home for years to prepare for this one examination. Mothers leave their careers and stay with their children in small rented rooms. Fathers stay behind in different cities, working alone, living alone, eating alone — only so their child can get a better future. Families stay separated for years for one dream.
And then one day, a paper leak destroys everything.
When examination papers are leaked, it is not merely cheating. It is the destruction of trust. It is the murder of hard work. It is an attack on every honest student who spent years preparing with sincerity.
Recently, reports surfaced about a person whose family reportedly had more than five selections together in the previous year. Such incidents naturally raise serious questions. If this happened today, could similar things have happened before as well, silently hidden behind the system?
But what hurts the most is not the scandal itself. It is the emotional collapse of students and parents who gave everything for this examination.
I still remember a heartbreaking incident involving a brilliant student, Mihir Tripathi. During the examination, he was mistakenly given the wrong coded question booklet, wasting a significant part of his exam time. It was not his fault, yet his entire effort suffered.
When I later asked his father, Dr. Tripathi — a respected eye surgeon from Delhi — how the exam went, he replied with a broken voice:
“It feels like I should just open the car door and jump out…”
That sentence still echoes in my mind.
At that moment, I realized something deeply painful — competitive exams do not affect only students. They slowly consume entire families emotionally. While a child fights inside the examination hall, parents stand outside carrying fear, hope, helplessness, and prayer all at once.
This is why paper leaks are not just “education scams.” They are emotional crimes against millions of honest families.
The people who leak papers for money — have they ever seen students studying till 3 a.m.? Have they ever seen mothers praying silently for their children? Have they ever understood the loneliness of fathers living away from their families just to pay coaching fees?
If not, then perhaps they no longer understand humanity itself.
There must be strict and immediate laws against paper leaks. Cases like these should be handled through fast-track courts so that future generations never lose faith in hard work and honesty.
Because when hard work begins to lose against corruption, society itself starts breaking from within.
As a mother and as a teacher, I can deeply feel this pain. And that is why this is not just an article — it is the voice of millions of families whose dreams were shattered before their eyes.
AMITA KOTHARI