India, Sept. 27 -- The hallmark of poor governance is pitting lives against lives. The basic logic of allocation becomes this: Resources are scarce, needs are one too many. Some lives - and deaths - therefore assume greater significance than others. Similarly with crime. It is no wonder, then, that crimes against women are not seen as a national security issue. If they were, the national capital would have been going into damage-control mode after a spate of incidents highlighting, yet again, the State's abject failure in protecting half of its citizens. It is de rigueur to see women's security as an isolated issue, and crime against them as something that doesn't deserve multi-agency high alerts.

Just this month, Delhi hosted two big-ti...