Violence can never be condoned. Yet it is not difficult to understand the bitter backlash of the seething resentment of the downtrodden sections of society that manifested itself across a vast swathe of northern India on Monday.

The Dalits have been at the “receiving end” of divisive politics for quite some time now, so given the reality that being meek is seen as being weak, it was probably inevitable that once their emotions reached boiling point the fallout would be disastrous.

It would be myopic, and convenient for the government to project a decision of the apex court as the “trigger” ~ when in fact the anger had been building up over several months.

Hence, for the downtrodden, at least, the court’s dilution of some of the provisions of the law preventing atrocities against the Scheduled Castes and Tribes was more than the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back ~ that dilution was perceived in a certain context.

The context being the repeated attacks on Dalits in the Hindi heartland; and the leeway given by elements in the state to the so-called fringe elements to unleash an agenda that favours the smug upper crust.

The lynching of a Dalit youth in Gujarat for having the temerity to ride a horse, powerfully illustrates the brand of discrimination that threatens to tatters the social fabric ~ it is not just the religious minorities who feel threatened.

The pattern is familiar, sinister: the lesser lights of the BJP make vicious statements, the leadership opts for silence. As was written long ago, “mischief thou art afoot…”

Little ice is cut by the government filing a review petition in the apex court on Monday; why did it wait for almost a fortnight when the fallout was palpable, even within its own political ranks? Were the government’s law officers unaware of the matter being heard in court, why was no intervention attempted? Suspicions abound that the government was awaiting opportunity to discern the extent to which the limit could be pushed.

True that the court does not take political positions, but their Lordships could not have been unaware of the potential backlash of their order ~ the backlash that was felt on Monday.

While there was some basis for the Court to have reached the conclusion that it did, large numbers of complaints that were found frivolous, the timing of the order was unfortunate in that it suggested the judiciary has an upper-caste bias.

Surely North Block and its intelligence apparatus should have picked up the signals, and taken adequate precautions. Accusations that the Opposition fuelled the flames are a poor explanation, what was done to prevent the flames being ignited? Political perceptions of the NDA’s policies would, understandably, vary ~ but whether it was demonetisation, the conduct of CBSE examinations, or preparing for Monday’s “Bharat Bandh” the harsh truth is that effective governance was not in evidence.