It is the government’s duty to protect the rights of its citizens. These include, but are not limited to, the rights to free expression and property. Recent events have demonstrated that the limits placed on these rights over decades by the state continue to lead to significant problems. Widely publicised statements by certain leaders then associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party about Prophet Muhammad caused outrage in Islamic communities. This outrage then led, in certain parts of India, to violence. The right to free expression includes the right to protest. But it does not include the right to violent protest.