Srinagar, July 17 -- By Adnan Ur Rehman

Close to twenty lakh students sat the NEET examination this year. Eleven lakh qualified. Government medical colleges hold roughly sixty-three thousand MBBS seats. Private colleges add more, but tuition fees place them beyond the reach of most families.

The arithmetic is plain: the vast majority of candidates, including many who poured two or three years into disciplined preparation, will spend the day after results on the other side of the cutoff line.

These young people watch the celebration happening down the street as though it belongs to another country.

An examination lasts three hours, but its emotional aftermath can extend for months.

Students who land below their target rank face a floo...