India, Oct. 18 -- I spent the first 13 years of my life in Bihar during the 1980s and 1990s, and never faced any crime. Zero instances. My parents were never worried about an Omni van pulling over, two well-fed gentlemen plucking me off their arms, and speeding off. Nor were they ever worried of someone robbing their car at gun point. The simple reason - we were poor. And it was no secret. My father didn't own a saree showroom at Motijheel, a prominent shopping street, in Muzaffarpur. Nor was he a doctor, treating the scores of people who couldn't afford a trip to Delhi. There was no car to carjack, no gold chain to snatch. The only villains the poor faced were mosquitoes.

Being scared of the criminal ecosystem was a status symbol. The r...