Manushi Chhillar speaks out on NEET crisis: 'Just write it again' misses the point
The actor and former Miss World shares her experience of taking the medical entrance exam twice in 2015 after a paper leak, backing current student protests and calling for systemic reform in India's examination system.
'Just write it again' misses the point: Manushi Chhillar reveals she took NEET twice after 2015 paper leak
Actor and former Miss World Manushi Chhillar has voiced strong support for students protesting alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2026 examination, drawing on her own traumatic experience of sitting for the medical entrance test twice in 2015 following a paper leak.
In a lengthy Instagram post on Thursday, Chhillar, who was last seen in Maalik, rejected the simplistic suggestion that affected students should simply retake the exam. She described the emotional and mental toll such situations exact on aspirants and their families.
A decade-old wound reopened
Chhillar's 2015 experience came when the Supreme Court cancelled the entire AIPMT exam on June 15, 2015, after uncovering a multi-state cheating racket that affected more than 6.3 lakh candidates. The scandal involved organized gangs using specially designed vests fitted with micro-SIM cards and Bluetooth devices to transmit answers in real-time across nearly 10 states.
Now, more than a decade later, history appears to be repeating itself. The NEET-UG 2026 exam, which more than 22 lakh students appeared for, was cancelled on May 12, 2026, following investigations that revealed overlaps between a pre-circulated guess paper and the actual question paper.
Chhillar, who won Miss World 2017 at age 20 while pursuing her MBBS degree at Bhagat Phool Singh Medical College in Sonipat, Haryana, wrote that asking students to simply retake an exam fundamentally misunderstands what is at stake.
I have always believed that in an unfair world, education becomes the biggest equaliser. Anyone who is saying 'just write it again' is missing the point. We have to have sensitivity. I've written it, twice in 2015 due to a paper leak then as well. It is not just an exam, it represents years of hard work, sleepless nights, sacrifices and aspirations.
Systemic failures demand systemic solutions
Chhillar's statement arrives as tens of thousands of young protesters, led by the Cockroach Janta Party, have gathered at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar and in cities including Mumbai and Bengaluru, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities.
The current crisis is not an isolated incident. India has witnessed more than 90 instances of paper leaks and examination irregularities at national and state levels over the past two decades, including at least 15 involving Central government agencies. The previous year saw its own controversy when an unprecedented 67 candidates scored perfect 720/720 marks in NEET-UG 2024, with 50 of them having received grace marks.
The National Testing Agency, established in 2017 as an autonomous body to bring standardization and digital integration to India's examination system, has repeatedly faced controversies involving security breaches and irregularities.
The human cost of institutional failure
Chhillar emphasized the personal toll these failures exact on students and their families, describing coaching centres where parents have borrowed beyond their means to send their children to study, and aspirants who have spent years attempting to clear the exam.
You don't realise the value of your dream of becoming a doctor till you're at a coaching centre, where parents have borrowed beyond their means to send their children to study, or those who have spent years together trying to clear the exam.
Educator and activist Sonam Wangchuk, who began an indefinite hunger strike on June 28, 2026, in solidarity with the students, ended his fast early Friday morning after more than 20 days. His protest highlighted the intensity of feeling around the issue and the demand for accountability.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a statement saying the accused in the NEET leak have been arrested and the government is setting up fast track courts to expedite the case.
A call for dialogue and reform
Chhillar was clear that the protests should not be interpreted as attacks on India or its institutions, but rather as demands for improvement.
Seeking reform should never be mistaken for rejecting our institutions. Democracies become stronger when they are willing to listen, learn and improve. Every generation has a responsibility to leave behind a stronger system than the one it inherited.
She concluded her message with an appeal for empathy and understanding, writing that compassion should guide the response and that India's youth represent its future.
Cockroach Janta Party founding president Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday urged the Prime Minister to accept Education Minister Pradhan's resignation, warning that protests would escalate if the demand was ignored.
