A row of charred police cars, flames still licking their chassis, a helicopter circling above on patrol, boats treading waves with black flags - by noon, it was obvious that the coda of the peaceful mass demonstration for Jallikattu, the bull-taming sport, was robbed off the spirit of youthful fervor and integrity that won it so much admiration. The violence that erupted at Chennai's Marina Beach today, the police stressed, was not the work of students, who were the engine of the powerful week-long movement. "Anti-national elements," the cops said, had crept into the area, determined to cause some wreckage.
