Riot Squad

The riot squad was out in full force this morning. Since I live in Panchkula but work in Mani Majra (part of Chandigarh), I have to cross the "state" boundary. So after almost being killed on my bike going around the suicide roundabout, I have to ride through these "speed trap" that is the state boundary. At this point, there were about 30 riot squad officers, fully clad in cloth armour and masks. Not exactly a comfortable feeling...it's like they're expecting something.

It reminds me of when I was walking by the Japanese embassy in Beijing. Japan and China had just had an argument over history textbooks that were to be released in Japan (downgraded the attrocities at Nanking to an "incident"). There were big rallies in Shanghai, but Beijing was rather calm. Just in case, though, there were riot squad guys stationed outside the Japanese embassy. They were also marching through the embassy district (great part of Beijing, by the way).

Part of me wants to witness a riot, but most of me has this uneasy feeling whenever I see a riot squad. Considering the events of the last couple of days, maybe something is brewing that I don't know about. I'm hoping it's just a precaution, though.