Harvard Professors Speculate About India's Political Future

Harvard faculty and students yesterday expressed uncertainty about the impact of the assassination of Prime Minister Indira P.N. Gandhi on India's political stability.

Deep Regret

"I regard it as a sad event that has produced a very critical situation for India," said Professor of Comparative Religion John B. Carman, stressing that it is impossible to predict what the results of the assassination will be.

M. David Eckel, assistant professor of the History of Religion at the Divinity School, said that despite Gandhi's death, there is no serious immediate threat to the legitimacy of the government.

Walburg Professor of Economics Emeritus John Kenneth Galbraith--who served as U.S. ambassador to India in the Kennedy Administration and was a personal friend of the world leader--called Gandhi "a person of deep intelligence and great political acumen."

Gandhi was shot and killed in New Delhi early yesterday by some of her own Sikh bodyguards. (For more on the assasination, see page four.)

Carman called the assassination "a violent reaction to a violent event," referring to the storming of the holy Sikh Golden Temple of Amritsar by government troops in June.

That event was the latest incident in hundreds of years of antagonism in India between the Sikh minority and the dominant Hindu population.

There are many groups in Indian society that might be encouraged by the assassination, said Nur O. Yalman, professor of Social Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies.

But Eckel said "the forces of order and stability are deeper and stronger than many of us may suspect."

Galbraith said that "it is a time to remind all people that Indian democracy is a solid and durable thing I'm sure this will be made evident in the months and years ahead."

Son Takes Over

Yalman added that it is unclear whether the new Prime Minister, Gandhi's son Rajiv Gandhi, can keep the political system functioning under Sikhs pressure.

Rajiv Gandhi may be forced to crack down on the Sikhs to avoid appearing weak as he takes power, said Carman.

Yalman noted that the army may play a crucial role in the coming months. When the army raided the Golden Temple, a number of Sikh soldiers refused to fight, choosing to join the extremists instead. Rajiv may have to contend with similar desertions if he decides to crack down on the Sikhs, Yalman said.

With elections to be held late this year or early next year, the young Gandhi's political career depends on his performance over the next few months, said Trivellore I. Raghunathan, a statistics graduate student who grew up in India

Raghunathan said that he hopes both parties go to the negotiating table But, he added. Gandhi is unlikely to be able to overcome his emotional hatred of the Sikh extremists.

He said that he expects the Indian people will support negotiations, of Gandhi can avoid the appearance of having given in to terrorists.

But S. Rajasekaran, an Indian graduate student in the applied science and the Indian people will be angry at the Sikhs. He said that negotiations will be unpopular.

If Gandhi cannot win the elections, Raghunathan said, a coalition government may be formed by a number of small parties. He said that this could lead to a factional, in-fighting government such as ruled the country from 1977 to 1980. "The future looks very bad," he added.

Rajasekaran said that the majority party, known as the Indira Congress, could win the elections, but that it is unlikely the unpopular Gandhi would become Prime Minister. He added that Gandhi is inexperienced in politics and has little popular support.

The Sikhs were originally a non-violent sees formed in about 1500 in an attempt to reconcile Hinduism and Islam. Currently, there is strife in India between all three groups.

The Sikhs, though a small minority of the Indian population, live mostly in the northwestern Punjab province where they hold a slight majority. They currently demand political autonomy for the Punjab and a greater role in the Indian government