Treating welfare programmes in a framework of people’s rights is, on the face of it, inconsistent with the basic tenets of neoliberalism.

Under the Narendra Modi government, there has been a special thrust on citizens' duties over rights. But the former cannot be performed effectively unless the state fulfils its obligation towards citizens.

Mounting state repression acknowledges the growing solidarity among the oppressed. The August assault has opened up political possibilities for the opposition in the run up to 2019.

The need for strict measures to maintain stability in the country as a whole – and in Xinjiang and other ethnic minority areas in particular – was reasserted