The Centre’s decision not to restore popular rule in Punjab must come as a relief to the people in the state, indeed, most of them must wonder how anyone aware of the fragility of the law and order situation there could possibly have thought in those terms. It is difficult to take at their face value reports which suggest that the Union government has had second thoughts only after the trouble in the Golden Temple on Monday. For, those who formulate or influence policy on Punjab could not possibly have regarded the withdrawal of the army from the Golden Temple and its handing over to the Sikh head priests as evidence of restoration of normalcy in the state. They would have known that these developments could at best mark the beginning of a prolonged process of restoring normalcy since extremist elements were still active in Punjab in sufficiently large numbers. And the less said about the health of the Congress legislature party which commands a majority in the assembly the better. In plain terms, the considerations which had persuaded the Centre to impose President’s rule on the state a year ago had not ceased to be pertinent.
Meanwhile, not unexpectedly a controversy has arisen over the question of the preservation of the sanctity of the Golden Temple and the other gurdwaras. The priests have contended that they have not given any assurances to the Union government in connection with the handing over of the temple to them. This contention has been challenged by Congress spokesmen. But the pertinent issue is not whether the government sought and the head priests gave an assurance that they would preserve the sanctify of gurdwaras in Punjab. The issue is whether the head priests believe that this sanctity deserves to be protected and whether they can do it. The answer to the first part of the question should not be in doubt. They would want the sanctity of the gurdwaras to be preserved. It is true that they acquiesced in the desecration of the temple by Bhindranwale and his gang. But the assumption should be that they were too terrorized to have acted. The answer to the second part of the question is, however, not equally obvious. They might well find it beyond their capacity to preserve the sanctity of the gurdwaras. That is presumably why the acting SGPC chief favours the formation of a volunteer force of ex-servicemen. But this is a dangerous idea which the Union government must discourage at this very stage. The Indian state cannot acquiesce in the formation of a private army, however laudable its supposed objective. For, a private army is bound to be misused by those who organize it, command it and man it. Law and order is solely the government’s responsibility. Thus if it turns out that the head priests do not possess the necessary moral authority to ensure that the precincts of the gurdwaras, including the Golden Temple, are not abused again for carrying on anti-national activities, the responsibility devolves fully on the government. It cannot shirk it.