Appointment of commissions of inquiry is often an attempt to douse public anger and resentment. More often than not, they are forgotten once the subject ceases to engage public attention. When their reports are finally submitted, they make headlines for a few days before disappearing from public memory.

Thereafter, they gather dust in government almirahs, to be occasionally dusted off and referred to by a subsequent committee. The controversy over the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and the National Testing Agency (NTA) illustrates the danger of this familiar pattern.

Following the leakage of the NEET question paper and cancellation of the examination, the government faced widespread criticism. The protests at Jantar Mantar, the high-handedness of the police, and the........

© Free Press Journal