India’s temporary restriction on Telegram ahead of the NEET-UG re-examination has dominated headlines. But focusing on the messaging app misses the more important story. This is not about Telegram. It is about the collapse of trust in one of the country’s most important public institutions. Nearly 2.28 million students appeared for NEET-UG earlier this year. Within days, allegations of paper leaks became serious enough for the authorities to cancel the examination.

The case moved into the hands of the CBI, arrests followed, and students protested on the streets. Families who had invested years of effort, emotional energy and considerable financial resources were told that the examination determining their future would have to be conducted again. In an attempt to secure the re-examination, the government has reportedly resorted to extraordinary measures: restricting Telegram, disabling features allegedly used to fabricate evidence, cracking down on fraudulent channels and, most strikingly, deploying Indian Air Force resources to transport sensitive examination material.

That detail deserves far more attention than the Telegram ban itself. The........

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