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It could be argued that when an elected official has violated basic norms in public is not the appropriate moment to dwell on the wider problem of escalating rage and frustration. However, there is a direct link between abuse of power by its formal custodians and a public mood which validates citizens venting their anger and frustration.

The video of the incident shows people plucking pieces of the road surface with their bare hands. Someone who has long suffered badly-made, unsafe roads might already be on edge. To then watch the minister responsible for that road slapping a protesting citizen can look like a sufficient provocation for blinding rage.

Let us assume that enough people will pause long enough to acknowledge that acting out of blinding rage will only make things worse. The more insidious problem now is that once the provocation is felt to be valid, some form of “venting”, or retaliatory action, is treated as being automatically justified. At the next level are those who argue that to not express and vent your anger is to become a coward.

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It is difficult to know the exact extent to which elementary principles of civil behaviour have been abandoned in Indian society as a whole. Regardless of the scale, the core problem is now large and threatens the stability of everyday life. So, what kind of social energy is now required to restore and nurture a civic ethos?

The first, and seemingly elusive, requirement is that the institutions through which formal power operates actually honour the letter and spirit of the law. Naturally, this means that those who hold office in these institutions must be speedily prosecuted for any violations.

Who is to make this happen and how? Prospects for this look more hopeful now than at any time in the last decade or more. The pall of fear that had settled over samaj may not have lifted entirely, but it is sufficiently cracked for the light of courage and defiance to filter through.

A great deal now depends on what ethos the young people, who are demanding change, choose to adopt. Yes, there have been incidents of venting blind rage, but by and large the emerging youthful energy seeks to build formations and processes that foster participation and cooperation — rather than an order and command culture.

Above all, they are curious and keen to learn from the experiences of earlier generations. The old Jayaprakash Narayan slogan “Hamla chahe jaisa hoga, haath hamara nahin uthega” (no matter how we are attacked, we will not retaliate with violence) is faintly audible in the background.

However, young people cannot do this alone. There is no substitute for a more active and substantial participation by people of all ages in demanding accountability from institutions of power — regardless of which ideological group or party each individual supports.

Such work may not be as dramatic as “venting” your anger, but it will foster what currently looks like a pipe dream to many: Basic well-being.

The writer is the founder of the YouTube channel ‘Ahimsa Conversations’