The last time the Olympic torch came to India, it traveled more than 32 km across Delhi. This time it’s likely to cover less than one tenth of that distance, thanks to pressure from China which wants the Indian government to ensure there are no protests by Tibetan sympathizers along the relay route.

So authorities are said to be strongly in favour of restricting the torch relay to just a three-km distance on the Rajpath, from the Central Gate of Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate, a route that security forces will find convenient to sanitise and sequester.

Because of the shorter route, the number of torchbearers would also have to be limited. Last time, 105 people had run with the torch but as a source put it, for a three-km route, it would be difficult to accommodate more than 10-15 runners.

The issue was discussed at length at a meeting chaired by National Security Advisor M K Narayanan today. Based on inputs of the security agencies, the meeting is said to have thrown up the Rajpath route as the most plausible choice.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA), whose president Suresh Kalmadi was present at the NSA’s meeting today, had earlier proposed to start the relay at a landmark historical monument like the Red Fort and end it at India Gate. The torch relay for the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 had started from Qutub Minar and ended at National Stadium after passing through a number of major landmarks in the city.

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