The images in the newspaper today evoked memories of similar images seen from the Arab world last year. Initially, this left me very confused as after all - we are a democracy and this is a government that we have elected twice on the trot. Why this sense of alienation, then? Why the protests - for that matter? Nobody in the government was shielding the rapists this time. The police had acted the fastest in living memory to hunt down and arrest the perpetrators. Ministers and elected officials are falling over themselves to announce new laws and measures to deal with crimes of this type. So, what were the people protesting? As elsewhere, it is not the incident that the people are protesting. The incident is a trigger and provided an impetus for the underlying public anger to come pouring out. Let's face it - democracy or not - the current system of governance in India has collapsed and completely failed. This incident has reminded the people that the government has failed to provide the very basic amenities and conveniences that it is supposed to provide. A quick glance at the basic list that the government has failed to provide - lack of public infrastructure, transport and response systems; lack of schools and educational institutions; lack of healthcare facilities; a polluted environment; high inflation and lack of economic growth; a failed police and judiciary; a corrupt bureaucracy and legislature - and it is not difficult to see what the people are protesting!