‘We are not Pakistani’: Vedant’s family slams trolls after Doordarshan anchor row, CBSE responds

What began as a Class 12 student's battle over unexpectedly low marks rapidly transformed into a controversy involving mistaken identity, social media outrage, and fresh questions over CBSE's evaluation process.

Delhi student Vedant Srivastava had initially raised concerns after receiving lower-than-expected marks in his Physics examination.

Seeking clarity, he applied for photocopies of his answer sheets through CBSE's re-evaluation process.

However, when the copies reached him, he noticed something unusual: The Physics answer sheet available for review allegedly did not belong to him.

As Vedant attempted to amplify his concerns online, the issue moved beyond an academic dispute and entered a much larger political and social media storm.

Doordarshan News anchor Ashok Shrivastav noticed that the student's newly created X account carried the location tag ‘South Asia’ and inferred that it belonged to a Pakistani user.

He publicly questioned whether Pakistanis had also appeared for CBSE examinations.

The remark triggered a wave of online reactions, with several users amplifying similar claims. Soon, attention shifted away from the marks dispute itself and focused on allegations surrounding Vedant's identity.

However, the narrative changed significantly after CBSE publicly responded to the matter.

On May 25, the Board said it had examined the complaint and confirmed that the correct copy of Vedant's Physics answer book had been sent to his registered email address.

It also stated that necessary action regarding result updates was being initiated.

Vedant's brother Siddhant later alleged that the marks originally awarded had been calculated using another student's answer sheet. According to him, public attention around the issue prompted CBSE to intervene directly.

He also claimed that after Vedant's case became widely discussed, more students began sharing similar concerns regarding evaluation discrepancies. Calling for structural changes, Siddhant urged the creation of a dedicated portal through which students could report grievances directly without facing online harassment.

Late Monday night, he also took a swipe at online trolls, posting a photograph with Vedant and writing, "A big thanks to everyone who supported us...and we are not Pakistani."