The security forces in Punjab must be commended for the way they are trying to deal with the terrorists in the Golden Temple complex. They may well manage to make it impossible for the militants to build fortifications in and around the complex without entering it. Indeed, it appears that left to themselves the security forces may be able to neutralize the terrorists. In the exchange of fire for the last three days, the former have had an upper hand over the latter. And if this continues, it can only be a matter of time before the terrorists begin to run out of ammunition and find it prudent to call off the direct confrontation with the security forces. It does not follow that the extremists must choose between surrender and liquidation, as the Punjab Governor, Mr SS Ray, has said. The third option of either sneaking out, as some of them tried to do on Thursday night, or staying put within the precincts of the temple and the Akal Takht is obviously open to them. But that too will represent a significant defeat for them – and not just temporarily. For the strategy that the security forces have now adopted can be applied whenever the militants threaten to fortify the complex. The choice so far was believed to be between the security forces entering the temple and doing virtually nothing to prevent the terrorists from using it as a safe sanctuary and a base. This is no longer the case.
The security forces are, however, subject to political pressures. Given New Delhi’s far from reassuring record in the last three years, it is open to question whether it will stay the course this time. All we can say is that it should. The security forces are once again demonstrating the capacity to get a grip on the situation and it will be a pity if they are hamstrung for want of the necessary political will. There is then the question of the Sikh leadership, such as it is. The authorities had to prevent the high priests from trying to go into the temple on Thursday, not because the presence of the latter would have significantly changed the situation in the complex, but because they could have been caught in the crossfire between the security forces and the terrorists. That would have exposed the government to a lot of criticism. The priests themselves may have felt relieved by their arrest. The same may apply to men like Mr Badal who are threatening to march into the temple. But their threats, even if fake, pose a political problem. It is difficult to say whether the balance of advantage would lie in preventing them from making the entry or in allowing them to go in. The authorities would need to weigh the rival arguments carefully.