40 years ago April 22, 1986: A new education policy

Introduction of a national core curriculum at the school level, a special emphasis on the education of women and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, introduction of a semester system at the secondary stage, examination reform and establishment of an Indian Education Service are the highlights of the new national policy on education. Within hours of a devastating fire in Dhaka’s Geneva Camp, a double-decker motor launch sank near Munshiganj district headquarters, 15 miles from Dhaka, killing several hundred passengers. Officials said 134 bodies were recovered. Residents and officials at the district headquarters said the number of survivors would not go beyond 300. The launch bound from Dhaka to the southern Barisal district was carrying nearly 1,500 passengers, 300 more than its sanctioned capacity. Hospital sources said 35 people had received injuries while jumping out of the launch during heavy rains accompanied by hailstorms. About six persons received burns when a tanker, carrying 6,500 kg of liquified petroleum gas from the Mathura Indian Oil Corporation refinery to Jalandhar, caught fire near Motinagar in New Delhi. While five persons escaped with relatively minor injuries, the sixth, Radha Kishen (55) of Sudarshan Park, has been admitted to the ESI Hospital with 50 per cent burns. The Soviet Leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, called for a simultaneous disbandment of the Warsaw Pact and NATO military alliances. In a speech to factory workers in East Berlin, the Soviet Communist Party general secretary said the first step in that direction would be to disband the military organisations of the two alliances. This was necessary if the world was to switch over from military confrontation to peaceful co-existence, Gorbachev said.