India Government Employees

Thousands of students protesting a government plan to reserve jobs for low-caste Hindus hijacked buses and clashed with police in New Delhi. They surged into streets, stopping traffic and urging motorists to join their campaign. The trouble began when Prime Minister V. P. Singh announced early this month that the government would reserve an additional 27% of public sector jobs for low-caste Hindus, bringing their share to 49%. The rest are awarded on merit.

A schoolgirl set herself on fire and burned to death in the northern India city of Chandigarh in another violent protest against Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh's plan to reserve more government jobs for low-caste Hindus. The girl's death raised to nearly 100 the toll in protests that erupted after Singh's Aug. 7 announcement of a plan to dramatically increase the number of government jobs reserved for the lower castes.

India's Supreme Court agreed Saturday to hear an appeal to halt a plan that reserves nearly half the civil service posts for low-caste Hindus. The policy has led to a rash of protest clashes and suicides. A panel of five justices is expected to meet Monday on an application by the Supreme Court Bar Assn. for a temporary injunction on the program, announced Aug. 7 by Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh to counteract centuries of discrimination.

India's Supreme Court agreed Saturday to hear an appeal to halt a plan that reserves nearly half the civil service posts for low-caste Hindus. The policy has led to a rash of protest clashes and suicides. A panel of five justices is expected to meet Monday on an application by the Supreme Court Bar Assn. for a temporary injunction on the program, announced Aug. 7 by Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh to counteract centuries of discrimination.

At least 55 students and 15 policemen were injured Thursday in one of several clashes during a general strike to protest job quotas for low-caste Hindus, police said. Police fired tear gas shells and attacked with three-foot bamboo canes to disperse stone-throwing students at Delhi University. "The street battles . . . turned the area into a virtual battlefield," United News of India reported.

Indian Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh fended off pressure to scrap plans to help low castes as police shot and killed six people and a student committed suicide in protests across northern India. Indian news agencies said that a conclave of Singh's party, Janata Dal, renewed majority backing for his plan, which would raise the quota of government jobs reserved for outcastes and low Hindu castes from 22.5% to nearly half.

A schoolgirl set herself on fire and burned to death in the northern India city of Chandigarh in another violent protest against Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh's plan to reserve more government jobs for low-caste Hindus. The girl's death raised to nearly 100 the toll in protests that erupted after Singh's Aug. 7 announcement of a plan to dramatically increase the number of government jobs reserved for the lower castes.

They are the royalty of regulation, the barons of bureaucracy. Without their permission, ships would not sail, planes would not fly, trains would not leave the station, contracts would not be let, licenses would not be issued. They are the 5,000 or so men and women who make up the elite of the Indian civil service, the famous "steel frame" that holds the country together.

Indian Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh fended off pressure to scrap plans to help low castes as police shot and killed six people and a student committed suicide in protests across northern India. Indian news agencies said that a conclave of Singh's party, Janata Dal, renewed majority backing for his plan, which would raise the quota of government jobs reserved for outcastes and low Hindu castes from 22.5% to nearly half.

At least 55 students and 15 policemen were injured Thursday in one of several clashes during a general strike to protest job quotas for low-caste Hindus, police said. Police fired tear gas shells and attacked with three-foot bamboo canes to disperse stone-throwing students at Delhi University. "The street battles . . . turned the area into a virtual battlefield," United News of India reported.

Thousands of students protesting a government plan to reserve jobs for low-caste Hindus hijacked buses and clashed with police in New Delhi. They surged into streets, stopping traffic and urging motorists to join their campaign. The trouble began when Prime Minister V. P. Singh announced early this month that the government would reserve an additional 27% of public sector jobs for low-caste Hindus, bringing their share to 49%. The rest are awarded on merit.

They are the royalty of regulation, the barons of bureaucracy. Without their permission, ships would not sail, planes would not fly, trains would not leave the station, contracts would not be let, licenses would not be issued. They are the 5,000 or so men and women who make up the elite of the Indian civil service, the famous "steel frame" that holds the country together.