I don’t want to comment on how thin-skinned politicians are, or how they get away with uncouth comments while expecting good behaviour from everyone else, or how their double standards never shame them into acting like decent human beings. I avoid saying these things because it may be true of politicians outside India but can never be true for the white-clothed, soft-spoken patriots who spend all their waking hours serving us. Who amongst us has heard an Indian politician behave in anything but a respectful manner?

Then again, every other month or so, something occurs to change my opinion. A few weeks ago, for instance, members of an otherwise peaceful political party vandalised a venue because a stand-up comic who performed there said something to upset one of their ministers. It seemed like a stupid response, given that the venue had nothing to do with what the speaker was saying. Then again, as I recalled later, this was the kind of party that would ban a book despite few of its members being able to read. After factoring illiteracy into the equation, the response didn’t seem that farfetched after all.