Aisa bhi hua - kahin

* The characters, incidents, place etc. bear no resembalance to anyone/anything/any place.

** Its all taken from a credible source. I didnot witness this happen. So incase you were involved and disagree with whats written, well so be it.


The trap was set. In its simplicity lied its ingenuity. After all the targets were supposedly an intelligent sharp bunch of scoundrels ahem sorry people and for greater good (whose good- don’t ask me) it had to be ensured that they were caught. But then since they were clever it had to something simple. Something that they won’t even care about. Something so innocuous that it won’t catch their eye. So how about a class test worth 3 marks. Class test. You sound surprised. Oh didn’t I tell you it’s a bunch of (NCB) students that we are talking about.

Btw let me tell you everyone cheats. Let’s not have pretenses there. Everyone had in some way or the other incriminated themselves over the two years of the program. With 10000 assignments and countless other pressures (classes, homework, grades, club activities (and we are not talking about the kinda club your parents went to here rather the Consulting, HR, finance types), speaker sessions, seminar preparations, B-plans competitions, sports, relationships, placements, expectations, apprehensions, insecurity, 5 different study group meet co ordinations, peer group competition and yes not to mention a dwindling personal life) its impossible not to ask the guy you share a roof with what is the answer to Q. 22 in a 50 question assignment that is to be submitted in 20 minutes.

And in case you still wear the holier than thou halo and look down on the imbeciles who cheat let me assure that in some way or the other you are in the same boat as them. ‘How?’ you ask. Well are you sure that every study group you were a part of never had a member ask his friend/ spouse for any help/clarification on any of the group assignments and projects over the 2 years. And if they did well you are damned too. That’s the rule right. All for one, one for all. And let me go a step further and remind you that the nifty work distribution you worked out within the study group (yaar tum assignment 1 dekh lena and I will take care of assignment 2) also is a violation of the honorable spirit we are talking about. Because on that assignment 1 in which you did no work at all, your name is still on it as one of the submisees.

So now you know the truth. Still it is important to show everyone that the establishment is above reproach. The students cheat but they shouldn’t. And well that’s something I can’t argue with. Because if you haven’t been there in that position you wont understand. And that’s not purpose of this writing anyway. The purpose dear reader is just to narrate an incident for a friend of mine who has requested me to do so because if she does it herself then you might guess the players involved.

Moving on. A class test of 3 marks conducted every week across 4 sections. Share the answers with the students after each test. And then. One day. Bam. Catch the students of the last section for having used the trickled down answers.

Q. How many did he catch?
A. Well many.

Q. Must be all back benchers right.
A. Ha.

Q. You mean some good ones got caught as well ?
A. Well there were merit listers, club presidents, social activists, international award winners, b- school competition finalists --- people who had done more for the institution than their peers who were going to judge them. And yes to be fair some were back benchers too.

Q. Then what happened?
A. Read on.

With 38 people caught there are 38 perspectives to this story. Each one handled the onslaught the best he /she could. But they were in store for a rough few months ahead. For one there was a tribunal set. Judges were assigned to the case. It was interesting to read those judges as well. One was a self admitted offender. You can always cheat dear whether a student or not. The other couldn’t care less about the whole thing. One was sympathetic. And in the panel of 5 two were student themselves. The irony of it all!

Post the panel setting there were trials conducted. 38 people individually grilled /scolded /humiliated and tried. Explanations were sought. Explanations were given. But as my friend puts it we all knew the verdict even before the trial started. Guilty as charged. What we didn’t know was the quantum of punishment that was to be meted out. And that kept everyone awake 38 people- 38 friend circles -38 families all waited for not the verdict but the punishment.

But why the fuss? It is just a 3 marks test for crying out loud. The faculty gave the answers himself. Didn’t he know students talk? Isn’t the code of conduct clear about this sort of thing? For an institute that’s been around for more than 60 years shouldn’t this be just a small incident. It should have been but it wasn’t. What was the crime committed wasn’t taken to account. Who committed the crime was understandably ignored. All that was considered was the act itself.

You cheated. Full Stop. It doesn’t matter if it were for a 3 mark 2 questions paper. You could have cheated for the entire 100 marks or so for all I care. You cheated that is it and now you will be punished. This was the judge’s argument.

And the punishment. Boy was it harsh. Short of expelling the 38 everything else was done. People suffered. It’s their own doing you might argue. Well so be it then. But the batch saw 38 hopes be dashed, 38 careers nearly ruined, 38 friends suffer. It hurt us because they were the unlucky ones who got caught. It hurt because some were the most meritorious students around and this meant all their accomplishments came to nought. It hurt because the whole thing seemed like a witch hunt and it hurt because it so unfair.

But a spectacle was made. A precedent was set.

Game set match, establishment.