Open Book is not cheating

The thought of writing this blog came to my mind while I was writing my last exam today ;
There were discussions going on in class while examination was going on and the school teacher shouted back : “Cheating ke liye kitaabein de to di hai, aur kya chiaye ”(You have books ; what else do you need to cheat)
And I wanted to write on this topic at that very moment ; which is this that open book examination is not cheating ;
People have this tendency to smirk and reply back “oh Its an open book exam “ and what is the benefit of examination if you are provided with books ; and I completely fail to understand why people still live in the world where examination equals memory power ;
Examination is to examine whether you posses the knowledge or the right skill ; and whether you have understood the subject by heart ; so in life whenever you encounter any such thing ; how will you react ; and to the best of my knowledge I think books only help us in proving that yes we know it right ;
Critics of Open book forget that in practical life you are provided with best of all the resources you wish to access;
What is required is a thorough understanding of subject ; concept ; logical flow and the correct aptitude towards the subject and not how well we are able to memorize the words in book and produce it back ;
There is nothing wrong with referring to a book and mind you after giving four exams I can bet in saying that you cannot afford to study the book for the first time in exam ; you can only take advantage of an open book examination if you have thoroughly gone through the book ; know what is the flow of thoughts and contents by your own index not by the book’s .
Teachers who set the paper are not fools. They realize the difference and hence the paper;
Yes you are a bit more relaxed ; less pressurized as you know the book is with you ; and your creativity while writing long essays goes for a toss as you always think that the book has better answers :P