Yesterday can easily become tomorrow if the signals sent out by the recent spate of terrorist attacks in Punjab go unheeded. The blast that ripped apart a coach of the 336 Dn Sri Ganganagar-Ambala Passenger train near Lehrakhana on Tuesday was the worst of four major incidents of this kind that have taken place over the last four months in Punjab, and the worst since the Akali Dal-BJP Government came to power in February. Not surprisingly, all of them involved ``soft targets'', people who happened to be travelling in public buses and trains. In the Lehrakhana blast, of the 34 who died, as many as 20 were women and children -- innocent victims of a senseless battle.

While no militant group has claimed responsibility for the dastardly act thus far, it seems to reflect increased militant activity across the border with its links within the State. Both Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Punjab Director-General of Police P.C. Dogra have voiced their suspicion of ISI involvement in the incident. Badal stated that the peace process in the sub-continent is being seriously jeopardised by Pakistan's ``hostile interference'' in India's border states. There is substance in what he says.

A mid-June intelligence report indicated that pro-Khalistani militant outfits based in Pakistan are making constant efforts to smuggle RDX consignments into India through international smugglers' route. While reports of this kind are alarming, there's nothing really new in them. The activities and agendas of Pakistan-based Punjab militant groups, functioning either individually or in cahoots with Kashmiri militant outfits, are well-documented. The question really is: what are the Central and State Governments planning to do about this situation?

Not surprisingly, Badal is anxious to forget the past and get on with the present. He has stated several times over that the law and order situation in the state is under control and that there is an atmosphere of peace and amity among the people of Punjab. But he must realise that the new dawn could prove a false one unless he deals firmly with the unhappy legacy of the past with a judicious mix of targeted governance and effective policing.

Pointing fingers to regions across the border and shutting one's eyes on the activities of militants in one's own backyard, as the Punjab Chief Minister is inclined to do, will serve no purpose. Those who aid and perpetrate dastardly acts of terrorism for narrow political gains must not be allowed the luxury of anonymity. They must be exposed and brought to book. A great deal is at stake. Peace has brought Punjab rich dividends and made it the country's most prosperous state with the highest per capita income. In order that this process continue, the locomotive of development cannot be subject to the ruthless terrorism of yore -- like the 336 Down Sri Ganganagar-Ambala Passenger, unfortunately, was.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.