The Akali extremists have struck again. This time the victims are the deputy inspector general of police, Mr. Avtar Singh Atwal, and an 11year-old boy. The police officer was not even in uniform at the time of his assassination. He had gone to the Golden Temple with his wife and children to offer prayers. Clearly the assassins knew Mr. Atwal’s programme. This confirms that he was on their “hit” list. The assassins cannot be unknown to the Akali leaders. In fact the chances are that the police also know their identity. Otherwise they would not be appealing to the SGPC leaders to hand them over. From preliminary reports it appears that once again the authorities will sit on their hands and let the criminals stay in safety inside the temple complex. If they do so it will be an invitation to disaster. The assassination of so senior an official as a DIG, and that too while not on duty, cannot but spread demoralization among the police who have already been hamstring by the directive not to enter gurdwaras even in hot pursuit of known criminals. This has been an unreasonable restriction – in this case all the more so because the whole of the complex is not the temple. There is no reason why the police cannot enter at least the Sarai, the rest house, and other buildings which have served as sanctuaries for a number of criminals, for the last three years, beginning with the murderers of the Nirankari Baba Gurbachan Singh in Delhi. The failure to distinguish between the temple proper and the adjoining buildings was inexcusable even before Mr. Atwal was gunned down. It is doubly so today. There is a point beyond which failure on the part of the authorities to act amounts to a surrender to the forces of extremism, violence and criminality. That point has now been reached.
It will be argued that the extremists have killed Mr. Atwal in order to queer the pitch for moderate Akali leaders who are interested in the resumption of talks with the Union government. There is some merit in this argument for the extremists do not want a negotiated settlement. They clearly entertain separatist designs. The statement of Mr. Balbir Singh Sandhu that a Sikh “war of independence” is inevitable is one more piece of this fact. But this cannot be made an excuse for inaction. The more the authorities are seen to cower before the extremists the more will the position of the moderate elements among the Akalis be weakened, and the more difficult will it be for them to accept a reasonable settlement of their problems.
This is not the proper occasion to discuss the merits the various Akali demands. But it must be pointed out that whether justified or unjustified the Akalis have not so far shown a serious interest in a reasonable settlement. One reason for this has been the growing influence of the extremists, headed by Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, on the politics of the Akali Dal. It is also not necessary to emphasize the importance of peace in Amritsar. This is self-evident in view of the city’s proximity to the border, and its role as a commercial centre for Punjab. Peace has to be established and maintained in the city and this cannot be done without firm action against those who do not hesitate to take the lives of innocent people to force their demands on the government.