India, March 17 -- On 4 March 2026, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma directed coaching centres to withdraw advertisements featuring successful APSC candidates within a week and urged newly appointed officers not to allow their names or photographs to be used for promotional gain. At first glance, the directive may appear to be a routine administrative intervention aimed at coaching institutes. In reality, it touches a deeper question that India has long avoided confronting: when did success in a public examination begin to resemble a marketing campaign?

Every year, within hours of civil service results being announced, a familiar spectacle unfolds. Posters appear across coaching hubs and social media pages celebrating "our studen...