What next? Internet off before exams?

In its rather finite wisdom, MeitY has decided to treat dandruff by cutting off the head and waiting for a new head to grow back each time. Which is pretty much what banning Telegram until the next NEET exam gets over on June 21 amounts to. What next? Shut down the internet every time an exam looms? Instead of targeting culprits, GoI has opted to inconvenience millions of legitimate users. Telegram's not merely a gossip channel for teenagers, but also a backbone for startups, trading groups and professional networks. To cripple it for nearly a week is to punish the citizenry for the sins of exam boards.

India's exam system is plagued by leaks, corruption and mismanagement. Maybe it makes more sense to reform the process - tighten security, digitise question banks, hold officials accountable - instead of going full Queen of Hearts and order, 'Off with its head!' MeitY believes WhatsApp and other messaging platforms can't be 'possessed' and, therefore, need not undergo such 'exorcism'. Unfortunately, its reasoning that WhatsApp has end-to-end encryption by default, while Telegram doesn't encrypt messages unless one selects the option manually, doesn't quite cut the mustard. Surely, leakers competent enough to use messaging platforms are competent enough to select the encryption option?

A nifty headline-grabbing move that signals 'action' solves nothing. All it does is add another level of burden for a larger swathe of citizens. The real problem lies not in messaging apps but in systemic incompetence. Paper leaks are a failure of governance, not of technology. By punishing platforms instead of fixing flaws, MeitY risks turning India into a digital backwater. Yet another symptom of a government that confuses control with competence.