Forty Years Ago

Forty Years Ago, March 19, 1981

The Lok Sabha tonight passed a unanimous resolution proclaiming its firm commitment to the national policy on reservation as has been laid down in the Constitution.

Lok Sabha On Quotas

The Lok Sabha tonight passed a unanimous resolution proclaiming its firm commitment to the national policy on reservation as has been laid down in the Constitution. The resolution moved by the Home Minister Zail Singh as an amendment to the original resolution of Ram Vilas Paswan (Lok Dal) was approved with every member standing after a five hour debate. This was the second time in the history of Lok Sabha that a resolution was passed in such a manner. Earlier, in 1962, members of the lower house had passed a resolution standing, vowing to free Indian territory occupied by China. After an eventful debate in which emotions ran high at times, the House condemned the atrocities on weaker sections.

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Census Figures

The population of the country is now 683, 810, 061 according to the provincial figures arrived after the 1981 Census that ended recently. This is about a 24.75 per cent growth rate, about 0.5 per cent less than the growth rate recorded in the 197I Census.

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Gujarat Violence

One person was killed when the police opened fire on a stone and acid-throwing crowd at Nadiad in Kaira district. The police also burst more than 90 teargas shells to quell stone throwing mobs in Raipur, Khadia, Dariapur and Shahpur areas in Ahmedabad city. A call for bandhi in Narainpura, Usmanpura and Nava Vadaj suburbs west of the Sabarmati had a partial response.

Mystery Of Pan Singh

Pan Singh Tomar, leader of the most dreaded gang of dacoits in the Chambal Valley of Madhya Pradesh, was “a docile, well-behaved man and totally dedicated to athletics,” according to Lt Col Jaswant Singh, the outlaw’s ex commandant in the Bengal Sappers. The Army officer, now retired, said “it’s beyond my comprehension how he became a dacoit”.