No one is dead and no lives are being threatened. So, no, there is absolutely no need for a psychosis. Those lowly losers who vandalised places of worship are still lowly losers with very little support in the country. This is not the first time we have seen acts of intolerance from a few hot-headswho represent only themselves. This won’t be the last time either. We remain, nonetheless, one of the most racially tolerant and religiously open-minded societies in the world.

Yes, there are some moments in our history we prefer to forget. This is one of them. But by and large, religious tolerance has been the order of the day. Without idealising the show each religious group makes of their beliefs, our religions have lived happily together because there has been an unwritten code: that of respecting the religious faith of one’s compatriots.

There are few countries in the world where religions cohabit so peacefully. We live in a country where people from different religions are seen at every pilgrimage pouring water on the ground to cool it down for their compatriots of a different faith who are going on pilgrimage barefoot on a hot day. We are in a country where people offer food and water at their doorstep to pilgrims of different religions.

That historical legacy is ours; lowly losers and hate peddlers can do nothing about it.

What goes on in the minds of lowly losers is difficult to understand, let alone change. What we CAN change is the way we deal with them. And we can only deal with modern problems with a modern mentality.

The first thing we should perhaps remember is that lowly losers crave publicity and thrive on the thought that they can have an impact on the community, country or the world. So we don’t give a toss who they are or what they exactly did. The police should deal with them in the same way they deal with other criminals. In the loneliness of the police stations and prison cells.

Secondly, we should not forget that we are no longer in the 80s. Back then, politicians and political leaders could talk about issues in the privacy of their gatherings and even press conferences with little danger of any blunders becoming a global embarrassment. Today, everything is one click away. If the internet revolution has changed the rules of the game for the lowly losers, it has equally changed them for those dealing with them.

So, the fact that the prime minister cracks the whip is commendable. That’s what a prime minister should do. Going to the extent of threatening to declare a state of emergency – in 2015! – is, however, rather sad and grossly disproportionate. Telling the world we are reduced to such methods, because the government has a large majority, is shooting ourselves in the foot. All the dangerous statements we make today will come and bite us tomorrow.

More importantly perhaps is the attempt to gain political mileage out of a very sad and embarrassing situation. Lowly losers do not belong to any one party or any one ideology. The prime minister knows that. Accusing another politician is both sad and opportunistic.

The future of our country goes beyond the stupid acts of a few lowly losers; beyond hasty and dangerous statements; beyond the opportunism of politicians and politics.