Opinion 40 years ago November 25, 1985: Clashes over reservation
This is the front page of The Indian Express published on November 25, 1985.
This is the front page of The Indian Express published on November 25, 1985. 
Seven killed during hijack
The hijackers of an Egyptian jetliner have killed seven passengers and were threatening to kill more unless the aircraft was refueled at Malta airport, control tower conversations said. However, Paul Mifsud, spokesman for the Government of Malta, said only one person was confirmed killed, a woman in her 20s whose nationality was not immediately determined. “She was shot and thrown out of the plane,” he said. He said another body was under the aircraft but “we don’t know if it’s dead, or wounded or of what nationality”. The plane, carrying more than 90 people, was diverted on a flight from Cairo to Athens, Greece.
Runner’s death mars marathon
The death of a runner marred the otherwise well-organised Rath International Youth Marathon held as part of the National Games in New Delhi. The runner, S P Achanta, collapsed while running and died. The marathon, for which traffic arrangements were superb, saw Delhi’s Ram Bhagat and Asha Aggarwal emerge as champions in the men’s and women’s sections respectively. The curtain was rung down on the athletics events with a grand treble from P T Usha.
Clashes over quota in Gujarat
Even as the state Congress (I) leadership endorsed the Gujarat government’s decision to reserve seats for the students of backward classes in higher secondary schools, a new offensive was launched by the pro-reservationists leading to a clash with the anti-reservationists in Ahmedabad and violence near Vyara, the hometown of Chief Minister Amarsinh Chaudhary in south Gujarat. The police used force in both Ahmedabad and a village near Vyara to quell mobs of the pro-reservationists who took out rallies demanding implementation of the reservation policy and scrapping of the accord the government had reached with its upper-caste employees on the roster system of promotions in jobs.
Anti-evasion drive
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is all set to achieve its 1985-86 target of mobilising Rs 1.250-crore worth of additional excise revenue through greater administrative efficiency, if the recent show-cause notices to several companies alleging Rs 100 crore’s worth of excise evasion and removal of uncertainty over tariff restructuring on cigarettes and relief to the man-made fibre industry are any indication.
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