The violence that erupted in Shillong on August 19 during a black-flag motorcycle rally organised by the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) is deeply disturbing and deserves unequivocal condemnation.

A protest, however legitimate its demands may be, cannot become a licence to vandalise property, attack pedestrians, damage public monuments or target vehicles merely because they bear registration numbers from another state.

The reported damage to more than 30 vehicles and public property is not an expression of democratic dissent; it is a breakdown of law and order. The state government is, therefore, right to take firm action against those who took the law into their own hands.

The arrest of those responsible for the violence should not be portrayed as an assault........

© Free Press Journal