NEW DELHI, March 10 -- First, a disclaimer. Emperor Aurangzeb was not my great-great uncle. Nor is Maharashtra Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi my nephew. I have no reason to defend either. But what compels me to write this piece are the agonising details of a controversy in Maharashtra, where some people are baying for Azmi's blood.

The MLA has already been suspended for the remainder of the ongoing session of the Maharashtra Assembly. Some leaders want the Assembly to expel him from the House. One even wants to bar him from contesting elections in the future.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wants Azmi to be sent to his state, where he knows how to "handle" people like him. A day after this, the Education Minister in Raja...