Q.Distinguish between contestation, crime and violence as discussed in the chapter. Why did Mahatma Gandhi's breaking of the salt law count as a crime, even though it was widely regarded as morally justified?

The chapter separates dissent into three levels of seriousness, and defines 'crime' purely by law, not by morality. …

The chapter treats contestation, crime and violence as three related but distinct concepts, forming a rough scale of increasing seriousness within the broader theme of dissent against social order.

Contestation is the broadest term — it simply means insistent forms of disagreement in society, ranging from mild and routine forms (elections, as a form of political competition) to more pointed dissent (protest against laws or authorities, or 'counter-cultures'/youth rebellion expressed through things like clothing, hairstyle or language). Social order does not require sameness or unanimity; disagreement is normal and, within limits, tolerated by open societies, which define explicit and implicit boundaries for how much dissent is acceptable.

Crime is a narrower, more specific concept: it is defined strictly by law, as an act that violates an existing law — nothing more, nothing less. Crucially, the chapter separates the legal status of an act from its moral worth: an act's illegality does not automatically make it immoral, because a person may deliberately violate a law they consider unjust for what they regard as the highest moral reasons.

Violence is treated as the most extreme and serious form of contestation, tied to the very definition of the modern state: the state is defined by its monopoly over the legitimate use of violence within its territory, so that, barring narrow exceptions like self-defence, any other use of violence is automatically illegal, and even private acts of violence between individuals are technically treated as offences against the state's authority. Violence signals the breakdown of legitimation and consent — the point where contestation goes beyond words or lawful protest into an open, forceful challenge to social order. …