When police in tens of thousands are deployed to turn Delhi into a fortress it must sadly be inferred that the national government sees itself under siege. How can a country run like this? Where dialogue would have done, roads were closed, trains deferred, the internet blocked and preventive detentions made to prevent the protests called by the Cockroach Janta Party’s young leaders. If the government doesn’t have the heft and maturity to deal with some sincere young people, can it be relied on to represent our interests in more complex global situations?
An example of the government’s paranoia is the way in which it deals with the media. The big newspapers and channels have been made to sing for their supper. Try reading the papers or watching any of the news shows on television — it is difficult to spend more than a few minutes on them with the odd exception.