Jammu, Feb. 26 -- Walk through any Indian colony, and you'll hear the same refrain: "The street dogs are a menace!" It is a phrase thrown around so carelessly, a blanket condemnation of the community animals that have shared our streets for centuries. But let us stop and ask ourselves: What is the real menace? Is it the growing population of dogs, or is it our own growing intolerance and sense of entitlement over every inch of shared space?

We are in the midst of a human explosion, and with it, we are grabbing every available piece of land for ourselves. The roads, the footpaths, the parks-we are converting all common spaces into extensions of our personal domain. We park our vehicles on footpaths, forcing pedestrians onto the road. We e...