Internet shutdown doesn't stop exam cheats. Some Indian states do it anyway

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Editor's note: The recruitment exam for Grade III and IV government posts in Assam last month had a lot riding on it. It was to fill 30,000 vacancies. It was to also go some way towards fulfilling the Bharatiya Janata Party’s pre-election promise of providing 100,000 jobs. “This is not just an exam,” Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was quoted as saying before the exam. “If we can induct 30,000 completely on merit, then the face of the government will change.” But ensuring only the meritorious got in wasn’t easy. Assam—as with much of India—has a history of malpractice in recruitment exams for government jobs. As recently as 2020, question papers for police recruitment exams had leaked on social media before the exams. Over 50 people, including a senior BJP leader and a few police officers, were arrested for it. This year, a whopping 1.43 million candidates were going to sit for the exam. “Even if one person leaks the question paper on WhatsApp during the exam, there will be chaos,” Sarma added. So, last month, the state government decided to …