The controversy over a protester's abusive remarks eclipsed the issue that brought hundreds to the streets. That shift in focus deserves closer scrutiny than the words themselves.

Can a protester's profane language become a national emergency? The country today seems to be grappling with precisely that question. All thanks to one self-proclaimed teenager, her unparliamentary language at a student protest, the Prime Minister's seemingly indulgent admonition, and an apology video that surfaced within hours of his appeal to the nation to "guide the misguided youth".

It took six days to turn one protester's profane language into a national story about the Prime Minister's dignity, but almost no time at all to forget the protest's original purpose.

So here's what actually happened before the story was taken away from her.

On July 23, at the CJP protest in Jantar Mantar, a "25-year-old" Noida salon worker named Ruchika Singh swore at the Prime Minister on camera. The video went viral. Six days later, a Zero FIR was reportedly registered against her for public insult, public mischief and defamation under Sections 352, 353(1)........

© The Pioneer