Both individual and organized crime are increasing in India. The criminal justice system tries to control some forms of crime while disregarding others, thereby providing de facto decriminalization of some criminality. The toleration of certain types of criminality sometimes results from government decisions and sometimes results from a consensus among the dominant interest groups as well as the government. Thus, the Bhopal factory catastrophe of 1984 reflected a situation in which the pesticide plant was considered to be economically beneficial despite its violation of all standards and rules concerning location, manufacture, storage, handling, and safety procedures for hazardous products and processes. Other forms of criminality that are tolerated include repressive force in dealing with revolutionary and secessionist movements, corruption offenses, atrocities against the untouchables, patriarchal violence against women, and campus violence. The official tolerance of certain forms of violence, the growth of organized crime, and the increase in violence in general all represent contradictions to democratic structures and a challenge to the country. 51 reference notes