April 9, 1976, Forty Years Ago: Farakka Fracas

Anti-Deng March

Thousands of cymbal-beating people marched through the Avenue of Eternal Tranquillity in Peking in support of Hua Guofeng, the new Chinese prime minister. Many of the marchers carried placards condemning the policies and “crimes” of Deng Xiaoping, the vice premier deprived of all party and government posts. Students of the vanguard “radical” Tsinghua University took a leading part. Peking newspapers denounced the “counter-revolutionary political incident” of April 5 when pro-Deng cadres had clashed with the police. The party newspaper, People’s Daily, praised the promotion of Hua to the PM’s post. Observers said the events showed the Maoist group was in control of the situation, at least in Peking.

Indo-Nepal Ties
Nepal Prime Minister Tulsa Giro said in New Delhi Nepal believed in equidistance in its state-level relations with China and India, but as far as its specific bilateral relations were concerned, it was closer to India.

Bandaranaike Visit
Sir Lana President Sirimavo Bandaranaike was arriving in Delhi for talks with PM Indira Gandhi. Bandaranaike was arriving from Belgrade, where she had held talks with President Tito. The two governments had concluded an agreement to demarcate the maritime boundary. They had also resolved the question of settlement of Indian-origin people.