No additional comment is necessary on Mr. Rajiv Gandhi’s brief visit to Chandigarh. We said on the eve of the trip that it was not likely to serve the intended purpose. We adhere to this view and the related one which is that political activity in Punjab cannot be resumed at any level unless the problem of terrorism begins to be effectively tackled. But there is another issue which calls for discussion. It relates to the disclosure first by the Union home minister, Mr PC Sethi, and now by Mr Gandhi that discussions are going on between the government and the Akali leadership. Since no talks have taken place in the open for some months, the reference is clearly to some recent secret parleys through unidentified emissaries. Reports to this effect had appeared in the press before Mr. Sethi spoke in Parliament last week. Even so it is truly extraordinary that individuals in responsible positions should have provided confirmation for press reports and that at a time when the Longowal group in the Akali Dal is publicly losing support to the Bhindranwale faction.
Since the struggle between the rival factions is being fought behind closed doors in the Golden Temple in Amritsar, it is not easy to identify the political differences between them. But two points are well established. First, while the Longowal group believes in keeping the current morcha by and large within the conventional parameters, Sant Bhindranwale has openly sanctioned and organised the acts of terrorism which have come to plague the state. Secondly, the latter has made it clear again and again in recent months that any settlement of the Akali demands to be viable has to be negotiated with him. Indeed, he has gone so far as to say that if the Prime Minister is interested in such a settlement, she would be well advised to come to the Golden Temple and parley with him. Going by press reports, he has not said explicitly that he is inviting her to sign on the dotted lines. But the implication of his statements is clear enough. In the circumstances, it is surprising, to put it mildly, that Mr. Gandhi should describe Sant Bhindranwale as only a religious leader and not a political one. The Sant is in fact what his name suggests – a general which becomes Jarnail in Punjabi – and he is waging a war on the government on the one hand and on the official Akali leadership headed by Sant Longowal on the other.
The first must of necessity be a long-drawn affair. The second seems to be beginning to go his way. Apparently, as his murder squads range all over the state and beyond without let or hindrance, his prestige rises in the Akali Dal. The reported defections from the Longowal faction to his in the last few days suggest that his influence is growing. It is too early to say whether this is a secular trend or a limited development of limited importance. The authorities should not rush to any conclusion either way. They should wait and watch. It is tempting to argue that Mrs. Gandhi can help reverse the trend if she reaches an agreement with the Akali leaders who can be said to be moderates in the sense that they are not secessionists and they do not preach the cult of the knife. But even those who are looking for a way to justify surrender should know that the Longowal faction can now accept a settlement only on its own terms; that is, it too can accept only a surrender on the part of New Delhi. For that alone can enable it to fight the charge of surrender the Bhindranwale group is bound to hurl at it in the event of an agreement. In such a situation it does not, on the face of it, make much sense for the government to continue such contacts as it might have established with the Akali leaders. It must first do all in its power to restore order in the state. As stated earlier in these columns, the Akali leaders also need a demonstration of the effectiveness of the administrative machine in order to be convinced that an agreement with New Delhi will not endanger their lives. Mrs. Gandhi apparently recognizes this truth. That is presumably why she spoke of the Akali Dal losing ground. Implicit in her observation is the proposition that the terrorists are gaining influence. In any case, if there are to be secret talks, they must remain secret if only to save lives.