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Desperate Indians want Batman to take charge. We have reached that stage

All talk of justice is momentary and transient. Arrests are no more than photo opportunities. Would Batman make a difference?

Sometimes people on X, which I still call Twitter, post the strangest things. Amid all the angst and outrage that has dominated my timeline over the past few days, one post stood out: we need Batman here, it said.

Yes, I know it sounds silly because the post did not refer to a new Batman movie (there won’t be one for many months) or a comic book. It referred to Batman himself.

The fictional Batman is an avenger who takes the law into his own hands and goes to places where the justice system does not reach. He knows that the law-and-order machinery is largely corrupt, compromised, incompetent, and ineffectual. So he doles out his own kind of justice, dispensing with the need for due process. At a desperate time, when nothing else works, he is the answer to the prayers of a frustrated citizenry.

Have we reached that stage in India?

Judging by the people I speak to and those whose social media posts reach me: yes, we have. Things are worse here than they are in Batman’s Gotham City.

Faith in the police is at an all-time low. People believe that involving the cops in any matter may be a mistake because they will just make money from every side and go with what the highest bidder wants. Sadly, this cynicism has now extended to include the judiciary, once regarded as the last hope for justice. Even on routine matters like bail, there........

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