At The Boiling Point

OVERNIGHT NEW DELHI BECAME A MILITARY FORtress. Even before they began converging on India's capital for a planned antigovernment rally, about 60,000 activists of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party were whisked into detention. The party's Hindu militants who reached the sealed-off city were confronted by a security force of 60,000. Several flash points erupted as authorities sprayed tear gas at crowds and hauled off an additional 5,000 to sport stadiums. Through it all, the manicured lawns near the presidential palace -- planned rallying point of the militants -- remained pristinely empty.

Thus did the government of Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao finally show resolve in dealing with India's spreading sectarian violence. But the B.J.P. also scored, displaying a measure of discipline lost in last December's riotous destruction of Ayodhya's historic Muslim mosque. Convinced it can ride to power on a Hindu wave, the B.J.P. plans to continue its protest campaign to force national elections.