One of the most disturbing things about the Indian State, besides the well-reasoned failings mentioned in the article, is the failure of the press to delineate between sins of omission and sins of commission. Modi, Narsimha Rao and Rajiv Gandhi may be accused of incompetence, or failing to act effectively to control the riots - if that. Tytler and Sajjan Singh are accused of explicit complicity in provoking rioters towards further mayhem. It is very dificult to directly convict Modi, Rao or Rajiv of any crime - except moral responsibility. A precedent should have been set since India's Independence where acts of omission should be owned up to, and the highest-ranking politician involved would resign, owning moral responsibility. Nehru should have resigned after the Chinese debacle in 1961, not his Defence Minister. In the UK, Chamberlain resigned after the Munich fiasco, and Eden after Suez. Rao and Rajiv should have resigned after Ayodhya and the Sikh riots respectively, Naik after the Mumbai riots and Modi after the Gujarat riots. The precedent should be so strong that no wriggle room is possible.
