It is hardly necessary for us to join in the condemnation of the desecration of the 500-year-old Jagannath temple near Amritsar in Punjab. Every Indian with the good of the country at heart will condemn this act of vandalism and sacrilege. But it is not only necessary but urgent that we sound a note of warning. To begin with, we must not rush to any conclusion regarding the identity of those who have committed this crime. For it may be as unfair and wrong to conclude that they are foreign agents out to promote Hindu-Sikh discord as to take it for granted that it is the handiwork of Akali extremists inspired by the same purpose of inciting violence in Punjab and elsewhere. The extremists are, of course, active and are sparing little effort to put Punjab to the flame. And so perhaps are foreign agents, though, despite Mrs. Gandhi’s repeated statements to this effect, it must be admitted that the necessary evidence has not been available. And for all we know the two – the extremists and foreign agents – may be collaborating. But nothing should be assumed till the investigating agencies have established the facts. We are at pains to emphasize this point because it has a vital bearing on how the situation in the state should be handled. It is one thing to deal with local extremists, another to cope with foreign agents, and quite another to beat a conspiracy of the two.
It is similarly premature to say whether there is a connection between the abortive attempt to damage a gurdwara in Rajasthan and the foul deed in the Jagannath temple in Punjab. The latter deed may or may not be in retaliation against the former. Attempts to desecrate Hindu temples antedate the arson in the Rajasthan gurdwara. Above all, we must resist the temptation to conclude either that those who have been placed in charge of Punjab under President’s rule have failed to do the job or that their success has made the Akali extremists and or the foreign agents desperate. In this matter we have to go by the judgment of the Union government. It is watching developments in Punjab closely and can be depended upon to take the necessary action. On their part, the people should recognise that the authorities are landed with a delicate and complex task, back them and keep calm in the face of mounting provocations. This newspaper has addressed itself frequently to the Sikh community and the moderates among the Akalis and appealed to them to disown the extremists and join in the effort to isolate, locate and arrest these dangerous men. We do not think we can be held guilty of partisanship if we were to state explicitly our belief that the Hindus in Punjab have behaved with exemplary restraint. No one can possibly dispute this fact. We have also no reason to believe that any kind of Hindu backlash is in the making. Even so it may be in order to appeal to them to continue to display the good sense they have in recent months. Punjab is passing through the gravest crisis since 1948. Nothing should be done by any well-meaning Indian to aggravate it.