Backlash in Punjab checked by curfew

From Michael Hamlyn.

Delhi

The strife-torn state of Punjab held its breath yesterday while all sides waited for a Hindu backlash that could set off the intercommunal struggle that many people have feared would result from the Sikh agitation and terrorist campaign.

A statewide Bandh or genreal strike was called in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Parish by Hindu organizations led by the newly formed Hindu Rashtriya Suruksha Sena, the national security force. A similar strike was also called in Jammu, the Hindu portion of Jammu and Kashmir state.

The authorities responded by clamnping down curfews on all the main towns of Punjab - Amritsar. Jullunder, Ludhiana and Patiala - were all kept indoors. Other places whlere

trouble also threatened were also placed under curfew,

The Bandh was callec to protest at the murder of the newspaper editor, Mr Romesh Chander, in Jullundher at the weekend. By early yesterday evening the state remained more or less peaceful, however.

Widespread disapproval of thekilling of Mr Chander has been expressed in India, principally by journalists' organizations but also by political parties. The President, Giani Zail Singh, himself a Sikh, issued a statement condemning the murder.

The killing came at a delicate moment in relations between the Government of Mrs Indira Gandhi and the leaders of the Sikh agitation; she had just realeased a number of Sikh Agitators from jail.