Rise of NEET influencers. They’re filing PILs, forming WhatsApp groups, online communities

“My DMs are flooded with complaints and doubts about the postponement of the NEET PG exam and ongoing controversies on the NEET UG issue. Every day, there is a new update. I keep track of all the information so I can pass it on to the students,” said Chauhan, who works at Delhi State Cancer Institute and is an active member of the Indian Medical Association (IMA).

The more Chauhan spoke about it on X, the more he became the voice of the aspirants. Aspirants reach out to him daily: one said that they travelled 600 km to take the exam; another mentioned they had spent Rs 8,000 on travel and a hotel. Another aspirant said she had given up on the national medical exam and would look for another option.

New Delhi: By day, 26-year-old Dhruv Chauhan is a doctor. But after his shift, he wears an invisible cape and appears on microblogging site X to fight for fellow doctors who are harassed and driven to suicide. However, three weeks ago, his fight turned personal. He learned about the irregularities in NEET UG 2024, followed by the postponement of the NEET PG exam that he had taken.

With a huge social media following, Chauhan has become a popular face in the medical community, and he passionately addresses their issues. The recent controversies involving the National Testing Agency (NTA) have thrust him into a multifaceted role as an informer, counsellor, and activist. From alleged paper leaks to the mismanagement of NTA, he reacts to everything. And it’s not only the students who write to him but also the doctors who are facing harassment at the hands of their seniors.

Amid this complete chaos surrounding India’s higher education entrance system, where governments are looking for answers vis-a-vis exam anomalies and the testing agency battles for credibility, Chauhan is a source of assurance for young students.

Around 24 lakh NEET aspirants seeking admission to medical colleges have accused the NTA of irregularities, such as paper leaks, rank inflation, and arbitrary grace marks over the past three weeks. These concerns have been amplified by medical influencers like Chauhan, who has taken to social media to highlight systemic failures in the exam process. And Chauhan is not alone. The likes of Dr Vivek Pandey have pursued legal avenues to support the students.

NEET expert and medical Influencer

Medical influencers have built communities on Telegram and WhatsApp groups where they answer students’ concerns. They also connect students to media organisations.

“I found out about Vivek Pandey sir on X, and later I discussed my problems with the NEET 2024 result with him. He made me a part of one Telegram group and connected me with some media outlets to talk about my issue,” said Surbhi Singh, a NEET aspirant who secured 650 marks in the NEET UG 2024 and is still unsure if she will get into a government college or not.

Chauhan describes himself as a medical influencer in his X bio, while Pandey’s bio labels him as a NEET issue expert.

After finishing long shifts at the hospital, Chauhan doesn’t go home to sleep. He studies for three hours. Then he launches himself into the world of social media, tracking the latest developments in the exam leak case and talking to students who are now doubtful of their future.

And Chauhan has always been an activist. For the last five years, he has been raising issues in the medical community. From PG student suicides to the misbehaviour of senior faculty in different colleges, he calls out everyone on social media.

But he does all this with a sense of responsibility. Chauhan says he is sensitive about the identities of teenagers sharing information.

“I request everyone, if you are sharing the picture of a NEET UG aspirant who scored 719 or 718 marks, kindly hide their face and application number. The motive is to expose the reality of NTA and not humiliate any student,” wrote Chauhan in an X post.

And his work isn’t going unappreciated. Not just grievances, his DMs are also full of thank you messages. That’s what drives him, he says. Chauhan uses medical references in his social media posts to give life lessons to his followers.

“The umbilical cord which supplies a baby with nutrition & oxygen during gestation is cut down first after birth to prevent complications, symbolizing that it doesn’t matter how deep your connection was with someone in your past; if it turns toxic for your future, leave it & move,” reads one such post on his Instagram.

This is not a one-way communication. Many followers reach out to him to acknowledge his work and appreciate the humour in his critical comments.

“I wanted to say thank you to you; you are doing great for our medical fraternity. Raising our issue and even after having a huge social media following, you reply to our messages. Also, your humor is mashallah,” reads one such message shared by Chauhan on his X timeline.

From Madhya Pradesh, Dehradun, and Delhi, Dr Dhruv Chauhan brings issues to light. In Dehradun, when a doctor died by suicide in May, Chauhan was one of the voices demanding justice.

He is like the unofficial voice of the young medicos.

Chauhan posted a series of tweets questioning the suicide of a junior doctor at Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical & Health Science. The issue went viral for days. However, Chauhan faced backlash from the college and received a complaint letter.

“SGRR Medical College filed a complaint against me for raising the issue of the recent suicide case in their college. I just have one thing to say: ‘Neither do I fear such threats, nor will I ever, as I speak the truth and facts and will always speak it,’” wrote Chauhan sharing the complaint letter on his Instagram page.

Also read: NTA’s one-size-fits-all testing approach isn’t working. Raise the assessment bar

Influencer-activists

When students focused on understanding cell theory and studying the site of photosynthesis turned to courts seeking justice, it was Dr Vivek Pandey who helped aspirants file a PIL in the Supreme Court. Pandey guided the aspirants through the legal process of which the latter had no clue. He calls himself an “expert and activist” for NEET aspirants.

Madhya Pradesh-based 28-year-old Pandey has filed 1,200 RTIs in the last eight years on medical, political and social issues such as irregularities in the NTA, examination form fee increments, and Covid vaccine wastage.

“I have filed 25-30 RTIs alone on the NTA, asking about data on breaking employees, fee collection, and the number of students debarred. I also asked how many COVID-19 vaccines got wasted during vaccination. This RTI was sent to the Health Ministry,” said Pandey.

Pandey talked about the high prices of examination forms for medical examinations. Once he raised the issue and questioned where all this money goes, the fee was reduced from Rs 5,500 to around Rs 3,500 for NEET PG.

It’s these feats that continue to inspire these medical influencers to carry on with their activism. But sometimes, they have to face threats.

“I faced adverse consequences for working as an activist. In 2017, while fighting the NEET paper leak case, some individuals threatened me with death, and there were attempts to entangle me in false accusations,” said Pandey.

Now that the NEET issue is in the news, Pandey has shared on X the old news that his RTI generated in 2019. He plans content to post on his X timeline every day. He wrote how NTA was not able to show where they spent Rs 500 crore of fee collection between 2019-2021.

“Immensely thankful to @Vivekpandey21 sir for divulging the frauds and malfeasance in the medical entrance exams. Because of brave activists like you, students still hold onto some courage, even when their hopes are brutally shattered by the system,” wrote one X user, retweeting Pandey’s tweet.

Also read: Struck down as unconstitutional, only to return — how NEET survived judicial scrutiny

Social media reach

It is a 24/7 job. Every day of the week, every few minutes, the student influencers are bombarded with comments and reactions to their posts. Among those seeking clarification on the NEET controversy are journalists.

Dr Vivek Pandey is on speed dial for every clarification related to the NEET controversy.

“The exam pattern and the whole process are a bit complicated. I had to explain the whole issue to many journalists to help them write articles and provide them with data, which I gathered from my RTIs,” said Pandey.

Pandey’s followers have increased by thousands after the NEET controversy.

Chauhan and Ashutosh Mishra also have significant media reach. Chauhan has more than 69,000 followers on X and 80,000 on Instagram. And they are aware of their social media capital.

“My posts have a wide reach among the youth. If I retweet something, it easily gets 500-600 retweets,” said Chauhan.

The influencer-activists try to bridge the gap between medical students, the administration, and the government.

Now, all of them are preparing for 8 June, the day when the Supreme Court will hear the petitions on NEET UG irregularities. Chauhan and Pandey have demanded exams be held again. Until then, they are holding the fort for the students.

“If the Economic Offenses Unit of Bihar Police tells the court that the paper was mass leaked and they can’t arrest everyone, the court may order a re-NEET like they did in 2015 in the re-AIPMT case,” said Pandey, who is leading one of the PILs.

(Edited by Ratan Priya)