Playing with fire

Rein in vigilantes before the situation spirals out of control

To date, much of the commentary on the gau rakshak movement has centred on its communal focus and the economic disruption caused by the forced closure of abattoirs and the intimidation of dairy farmers. But the Doppler effect on public disorder caused by the imposition of a politico-religious agenda was on grim display in three separate incidents over the past week. The passive reaction of the law enforcement machinery to the serial freelance vigilantism in several northern states, especially Uttar Pradesh, presages a breakdown of law and order that could come to haunt the ruling dispensation in the long run.