The police in developed countries face relatively few incidents of organized public defiance, and therefore the exercise of police discretion in handling major law and order problems has not been a focus of study. In contrast, the multicultural and multiethnic society in India, struggling to form a modern nation through a competitive democratic framework, virtually every day presents situations in which the police must use discretionary judgments in maintaining order within a legal framework. This paper examines in particular the application of discretion in handling communal clashes between religious groups, in dealing with political agitations and demonstrations, and in controlling crowds during visits by political leaders. The article describes several tactics used by police in dealing with large crowds as well as the problems that arise from their discretionary judgments. References