It is a telling commentary on the depths to which we as a people have sunk that a young research student uses ‘hate speech’ in public targeting a leader she doesn’t agree with who happens to be her co-passenger on a domestic flight and shouts slogans in her face on board the plane, which is a sensitive security area. Equally, it is symptomatic of the lack of maturity and empathy of our political class that the said leader files a police complaint instead of ignoring an intemperate outburst by a youngster and overzealous cops book the researcher for an offence under a non-bailable section of the IPC. The saving grace was that the court very sensibly the next day struck down the non-bailable charge and released the research student on bail. Cry, my beloved country.