This is the front page of The Indian Express published on July 17, 1984, Forty Years Ago.
Baba Santa Singh, the Budha Dal Nihang chief, declared he would start kar seva as the government foiled an attempt by the Akali Dal volunteers to take out a shahidi jatha to the Golden Temple to seek the withdrawal of security forces from there. The decision was in defiance of the directives of the five priests that kar seva could only be undertaken after the approval of the SGPC.
Indo-Pak Meet Stalled
The Indo-Pakistan dialogue aimed at ensuring sturdy peace on the Subcontinent suffered a setback with the postponement of the scheduled talks between the foreign secretaries of the two countries. The suggestion to put off the talks was made by the Indian government. It did not spell out the reasons for suggesting the postponement.
Alleviating Poverty
The Seventh Plan aims at halving the property rates. This is part of a long-term aim to cut the poverty rate to 10 per cent by the end of the Eighth Plan. In pursuance of this, the poverty alleviation programme will absorb five to seven per cent of the Seventh Plan outlay, a much higher share than in the previous plans. Forty per cent will be devoted to rural areas.
Bihar Flood Relief
The Army has been alerted as the Bihar flood situation turned grim. Railway bridge number ten and a stretch of 1.5 km track near Khariyal was washed away by the flood waters of Mahananda, snapping the rail link of Assam with the rest of the country. The Katihar–Kolkata train services had been disrupted, with the railway track submerged and two bridges damaged. All major rivers in Bihar were flowing much above the danger mark and were expected to rise further.
