Even before the Gurudwara lynching issue settled down, Punjab is faced with yet another tragic incident as a blast in the Ludhiana court complex has left one person dead and another six injured. The unfortunate incident caps a series of blasts the state has seen this year. Nearly a month ago, a grenade was hurled in the Pathankot military area. Before that in September, a blast in Jalalabad left one person dead. In August also, an explosion took place at a petrol pump on Amritsar-Ajnala Road. Apart from these blasts, a couple of seizures of grenades and tiffin bombs were also made earlier this year. Being a border state, adjoining a notorious country like Pakistan, Punjab is no stranger to such terrorizing acts. The death of seven persons in the January 2017 attack is still etched in the memory of the state. A parallel can be drawn between the recent blast and the 2017 blast — both incidents took place in the run-up to assembly elections. Though the 2017 blast was more lethal and occurred just five days ahead of the polls, the recent one is no less threatening as the intensity of the bombing is said to be quite high. There is a possibility that the bomb may have been mistimed as it blasted during the lawyers' strike — which ensured that the damage was less as the blast area was less crowded. As of now, there is very little clarity over what actually happened, but certain factors appear to be at the confluence. The first is the permanent factor of the border proximity of the state with Pakistan. Captain Amarinder Singh, earlier this year, flagged the role of drone-based supplies of explosives, drugs etc., which cannot be completely ruled out. It shouldn't come as a shock if terror outfits from across the border use cheaper methods to mobilise terror in the state. The second is the periodic factor of assembly elections. Currently, while the BJP has found an opportunity to castigate the ruling Congress government by criticising them for not being able to put a check on cross-border supply of terror ammunitions, the Punjab government is trying to find an escape by linking the incident to the registration of an FIR against Shiromani Akali Dal leader. The third is the crisis factor and emanates partly from the second factor. The rift between the two leading national parties — one ruling at the Centre while the other in the state — along with intra-party rift between certain factions of the state Congress, and the diminishing regional political force resulting in rising resentment in SAD, have lent the state an unstable outlook. It is almost a unanimous conviction that a stable frontier is a must-have attribute for a nation, particularly if the neighbour is as hostile as Pakistan, laden with misguided terrorists. To prevent the situation from worsening further, one certain pre-requisite is the formation of a mature consensus among political parties — particularly between Central and state governments — when it comes to national security. It is true that those behind the blast are not yet identified and no party can be presumed guilty. But maintaining national security is more of a permanent exercise than a crisis response measure. Another major aspect of the bomb blast is the resurgence of hardcore religious sentiments across the state. The state had witnessed religious extremism in the latter half of the previous century. Resurfacing sacrilege issues, and consequent unfortunate lynching tendencies is a bad omen. It reflects the deterioration of a harmonious state of society that Punjab has gained over the past few decades. Disruptions in this harmony will only lead to the creation of a fertile ground for anti-national elements to realise their nefarious designs. The recent incidents in the border state of Punjab need to be taken very seriously. For the sake of the stability of the state, Central and state governments should abstain from leveraging the situation for political gains, as such gains may come at a huge cost of compromised national security. India remains the target of terror outfits — from within or across the border — whom we cannot afford to give chances to create destruction. Further, it will take a great effort from the state government to instill and maintain a state of harmony. Putting a cover on such incidents would be the gravest mistake at this point.