Gandhi

Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on Wednesday turned down a demand for statehood for 900,000 Gurkhas in the Darjeeling hill district of West Bengal. A spokesman said that Gandhi met Gurkha leader Subhash Ghising and members of his Gurkha National Liberation Front and told them there is "no question of the division of West Bengal, or of a separate state."

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was dealt his most serious political blow in 27 months in power when Marxists regained control of one state and stood poised to consolidate their hold on a second as vote counting in local elections continued today. A Marxist-led coalition regained control of the southern Indian state of Kerala, replacing a ruling group headed by Gandhi's Congress-I party that had defeated it five years ago.

Mahatma Gandhi's grandson resigned from the peace institute he co-founded in Rochester after condemnation of his comments that Israel and Jews are "the biggest players" in a culture of violence that "is eventually going to destroy humanity." Arun Gandhi, the fifth grandson of the revered pacifist, said that his comments, which were posted on an online forum, were meant "to generate a healthy discussion on the proliferation of violence." "Instead, unintentionally, my words have resulted in pain, anger, confusion and embarrassment.

Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi arrived Wednesday on the first leg of a four-nation African tour expected to focus on South Africa's apartheid system and its continued occupation of Namibia (South-West Africa) in defiance of the United Nations.

I do not agree with the Santa Monica City Council's decision to place a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Palisades Park. It would be more appropriate to have a statue of someone who has had an influence in Santa Monica. I urge the City Council to reconsider. NANCY JOHNSON Santa Monica

The life, spirit and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi will be celebrated on "Gandhi Day" Sunday at the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center, beginning with a showing of the Oscar-winning movie "Gandhi" and a discussion by speakers from the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council. The movie will begin at 3 p.m. at the temple at 21213 Devonshire St. A yogic meditation in the Gandhi style conducted by Dinesh Lakhanpal, president of the Hindu congregation, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. A discussion will follow.

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi warned that he would impose a state of emergency in India--sharply limiting individual freedom--if such a step became necessary to halt violence and terrorism. Gandhi was asked at a news conference about the crash of an Air-India jumbo jet in the Atlantic on June 23 that killed 329 people. Two Sikh organizations that seek a separate nation in the Punjab reportedly have said they planted a bomb on the plane.

Three Sikh defendants pleaded innocent today to charges of conspiracy and murder in the killing of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The first prosecution witnesses are to testify when the trial resumes Tuesday. The three blue-turbanned defendants sat in a bulletproof glass box during the hearing, which was closed to the public but open to reporters and relatives of the accused.

Forty-nine years after he was killed by a Hindu fanatic, Mahatma Gandhi's ashes, which have been kept in a bank vault, will be immersed in the Ganges River, officials said. The Press Trust of India said the ashes will be handed over to Gandhi's great-grandson today, following a court order. However, plans for the ashes to be taken on a nationwide pilgrimage before their immersion were blocked by the high court in Orissa state.

The Supreme Court today threw out the conviction and death sentence of a former security official in the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and ordered him released immediately. But the three-judge panel upheld the convictions and death sentences of two other Sikhs in the Oct. 31, 1984, killing.