Everything comes to a standstill. Roads are blocked. The trains are held up.  The oft repeated TV footage clearly shows the destructive tendencies of the agitators—some of them are seen removing nuts and bolts of the railway tracks so that the train service would not resume even if the agitations are called off. The party in power gets nervous and succumbs to pressure. The leader of the demonstrators makes it clear that there was no question of any discussion at a place convenient to the government but it should be at the very spot where agitators are ‘relaxing’!

The above said agitation [or rather ‘pressure tactics’,] as you might have guessed, is for the inclusion of one of the umpteen castes in the never-ending reservation list. Since caste is a sensitive issue, nobody has the guts to oppose it, though it is crystal clear that the necessity for caste-based reservations does not exist and it is time to switch over to income-based reservation [if it is absolutely necessary]. Since there are poor and rich in every caste, there being no social barriers.