Exam-Nation: Regulating Opportunity in an Unequal Society
Satish Deshpande | 18 August 2018 | The India Forum
If we did not know it already, we know it now: The holiest institution in Bharat that is India is not the cow or even the newly built temple in Ayodhya – it is the examination.
Veneration for our gau-mata does not prevent us from ill-treating, starving or abandoning her with impunity. And it seems that we can bear with relative equanimity the embezzlement of devotees’ offerings at the Ayodhya temple. But the repeated desecration of our public examinations cannot be tolerated. The intense, nation-wide youth protests centred on entrance examinations have achieved what even the farmers’ long agitation could not: they have extracted a token of accountability from the least accountable government of independent India.
The sacredness of the examination protects its foundations from scrutiny even as it invites worship of the outer structure. The recent protests have focussed attention on the surface workings of the institution – its integrity, logistical management, and overall system of accountability. This was long overdue and is very welcome, particularly the hard-won acknowledgement of accountability. But though the protests essentially expressed the anguish of devotees denied the means of dignified worship, their unprecedented courage, resilience and irreverent style have unintentionally unlocked new possibilities. Rather than just “cracking” this or that examination, the protesters have broken open the institution itself, offering the opportunity to examine examinations from an agnostic standpoint.