New Delhi, April 20 -- Edward Bernstein, an American economist, observed that inflation is ultimately a social tug of war; between those unwilling to relinquish their gains and those fighting for their fair share. This captures something that reams of economic data cannot. It describes the human experience behind violence in Manesar and Noida.

Consider a family of four in a Noida worker colony surviving on Rs.10,000 a month. The cooking gas price has soared, vegetables are dearer, bus fares have risen and the landlord has raised rent. There is no spending to cut, because there was nothing spare to begin with.

When workers at garment and auto-component factories turned to stone-pelting and arson, it cannot be just mindless rage. It was t...