New Delhi, April 15 -- Violent worker protests in Noida near the national capital have been disruptive, no doubt. But it would be a mistake to see this eruption primarily through the prism of law and order.

News reports suggest that the protestors draw extremely low wages, some as low as Rs.10,000 a month. With this money, workers are expected to not just pay for food, clothing and shelter, but also educate their children and tide over health emergencies.

Clearly, they lead lives of much misery, with the cost burden of a war making it even harder to get by; and if they hear that wages have been hiked by the government in a close-by state, and that workers there earn significantly more, they would surely demand pay hikes for themselves....