Last week, JNU student leader Umar Khalid was shot at by someone outside the Constitution Club. Speedy police response was not seen. A few days later, a video surfaced on social media where two young men claimed to be the attempting assassins. Had they succeeded in their attempt, their speech would have felt only chilling in its childish incoherence. Because they did not, we see how pitiful these men are. We have a moment to feel not only angry, but also sad at what is going on around us.

The two men — who identify themselves as Darwesh Shahpur and Naveen Dalal — see themselves in an epic light, karamveers, who will single themselves out by doing something for the cause of Bharat Mata, threatened by any who dissent from central ideology. They cite upbringing and tradition – we have been taught by our elders that such people are dogs, and such dogs must be killed. Their plan ahead is something of a screenplay derived from various nationalist films. They start with three slogans Inquilab Zindabad, Vande Mataram, Bharat Mata Ki Jai — almost like the tri-lingual title of older commercial films.