mid-day editorial: Nipping goondaism in the bud

The outpouring of outrage notwithstanding, it's hardly surprising that the Member of Parliament who brutally assaulted an Air India staffer on Thursday is from the Shiv Sena. The minimum qualification for entry to the party is a history of goondaism; it is the party's badge of honour. That it was flaunted not on the streets of Mumbai, but in elite surroundings - the inside of an aircraft - is probably why reactions are strident.

He lashed out at the senior staffer with his slipper because he was asked to fly economy class, despite holding a business class ticket. This is the same MP who infamously shoved a roti into the mouth of a fasting Muslim staffer at the Maharashtra Sadan in 2014. There was a murmur of outrage, before the incident was quickly forgotten.

That those in power have inflated egos is not news in India. In January last year, a Congress MP was arrested for slapping an Air India official at the Tirupati airport because he and his family were not allowed to board as they had arrived late. Hundreds of other cases of misbehaviour go unreported.

In Gaiwad's case, reprisal was quick in coming, as it should be. The aviation ministry has banned him from flying the national carrier and the Federation of Indian Airlines followed suit, banning him from its member airlines.

There should be zero tolerance for physical abuse. There can be no provocation big enough to warrant physical assault. As a society, we turn a blind eye to this goodaism on the streets, giving it a quiet legitimacy that only emboldens those in power. This is where it starts. If we are as strident in our censure then, things would probably not reach the skies, so to speak. Because, when maar-peet takes the field, wisdom and decency will forever be stuck at the gates.