The fringe seems to be eclipsing the centre in India. The arson unleashed by an unruly mob protesting against the release of the film, Padmaavat - even school children were not spared by the lumpen elements in Gurgaon - and the State's capitulation to such violence bear testimony to this regression. Perhaps the Centre feels that such a show of force is consistent with the image of a 'muscular India', that too at a time when dignitaries are in the country on the occasion of Republic Day. Earlier, upholding the spirit of the rule of law and Constitutional rights, the Supreme Court had permitted the film to be released all over the country. Incidentally, the governments of Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh had shown remarkable agility to impose a ban on the film. The message that the judiciary was sending was clear: elected governments are responsible for upholding law and order and under no circumstances can they be allowed to forfeit their responsibility of safeguarding the freedom that is necessary for creativity to blossom. But some states, it appears, are inclined to do the opposite of what the court has instructed. It cannot be a coincidence that the Bharatiya Janata Party is in power in the states that have witnessed repeated instances of vigilantism, be it by gau rakshaks or, now, by the Shri Rajput Karni Sena. The governments' perceptible unwillingness to do the court's bidding can open up a possible area of conflict. The potential tension between two pivots of the State cannot be healthy for a democracy. It is the tacit encouragement from the political leadership that contributes - immensely - to the sense of impunity of fringe organizations. The irony is that it is not impossible to restrain, indeed thwart, outfits that take up the law in their hands in the name of defending the honour of a fictitious queen. The West Bengal government has shown how. Neither does the fringe represent a community fully. In Punjab, the Rajput Mahasabha found nothing objectionable in Padmaavat after attending a screening.

Of course, the din works well for the BJP. Protest, especially when it is allowed to go unchecked, can deflect public attention from larger failures on the economic front. Moreover, an authoritarian dispensation is known for its allergy towards creativity - dissenting or cinematic. A mob, or an equally hawkish censor board, has its uses.