'What was my fault?': How India's exam paper leak ended young lives

On 18 June, seventeen-year-old Kahaan Patel took his own life just three days before India's re-scheduled medical entrance examination. His family found him on the sixth floor of their apartment in Ahmedabad, laptop still open and his headphones on. Friends and family noted his excitement prior to the exam, even joking about revisiting Disneyland.

The death of at least twenty-one students due to the NEET paper leak sparked an emotional youth movement in Delhi, demanding accountability from the government. Kahaan's father, Prashant Patel, a lawyer, had moved his family to Ahmedabad to provide Kahaan with better educational opportunities, despite lacking any doctors in their family history.

Kahaan, an avid football player and Harry Potter enthusiast, was preparing for his third NEET attempt when the exam was cancelled due to the leak. His father attempted to reassure him, saying "You proved yourself once. You don't have to prove yourself again," but Kahaan's anger and disappointment grew as he questioned the system.

The NEET scandal affected many families, such as the Kumar family from Jhunjhunu district, where twenty-year-old Pradeep Kumar was also preparing for the exam in Sikar. With his family struggling to finance his education, Pradeep had sold land and borrowed heavily, only to have his dreams shattered by the exam cancellation. As the youth movement gained momentum, the government's education minister resigned amid the protests.

Kahaan's story highlights the devastating impact of the NEET examination scandal on young lives, leaving their families to grapple with the sense of injustice and loss.