The Bharatiya Janta Party urged the government to take the initiative in resuming talks with the Akali Dal and Assam movement leaders to find a solution to the two burning problems.

China’s attitude is not “very conducive” to normalisation of relations with India, said PM Indira Gandhi. “Still we are trying our best to sort out our problems in a friendly atmosphere and talks in this regard are going on,” Mrs Gandhi said.

The Punjab Police swung into action and arrested over 650 Akali workers, including more than a dozen legislators and Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee members, in an attempt to frustrate the “rasta roko” stir, scheduled to begin.

The Meghalaya United Parliamentary Party coalition government, headed by B B Lyngdoh, came to its expected end when the state assembly voted a Congress (I)-sponsored no-confidence motion by 31 votes to 27.

In a sudden revival of violence, 12 people were killed in different parts of Assam in 14 hours. Ten of them died and many were seriously injured when an armed mob attacked Borgarlagaon village in Golaghat police station area in Sibsagar district.

Pakistan’s President Gen Zia-ul Haq was quoted as saying that under the Simla Agreement, India had no right to demand the return of Pak-occupied Kashmir.

Non-Congress (I) chief ministers hailed the Prime Minister’s announcement to set up the Sarkaria Commission to review Centre-state relations.

One Nirankari was killed, an extremist disguised as a Nihang was drowned while fleeing from the police, and a dozen people were injured in firing and sword attacks by extremists in fresh violence in Kapurthala and Gurdaspur districts of Punjab, according to reports received in Chandigarh.