May 28, 1985, Forty Years Ago: Indira Memorial
The iron curtain of security was lifted from 1 Safdarjung Road after two decades as the Indira Gandhi Memorial opened for public viewing. Crowds thronged to the spot where the late Prime Minister was assassinated, and there was hardly a person who did not see the glass case which encloses the kidney shape outlining the bloodstain that coloured the stone footpath on which she fell. .
The Delhi High Court directed that Sonia Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi be appointed guardians of the minor children, Rahul and Priyanka, and Feroze Varun, in the Indira Gandhi probate case, as they had not raised any objection to the petition filed by PM Rajiv Gandhi. The court's registrar, Usha Mehra, ordered that Sonia Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi be given the guardianship because they had not contested this in their replies and even otherwise, they had 'no adverse intent' against Rahul, Priyanka and Feroze Varun.
The devastating cyclone that lashed Bangladesh's southern coast has claimed 25,000 lives and left more than five lakh people homeless, reports said. An official said he would not be surprised if the toll crossed 100,000. The tidal fury completely washed away Urichar island near Chittagong, inhabited by some 10,000 people.
Two separate conclaves, that of the newly formed working committee of the 'merged' Akali Dal and the youth wing of the Akali Dal-L, both scheduled for May 31, will precipitate the impending collision between moderates and extremists. The conclaves will gauge both factions' youth power, a decisive factor for their survival. They will take into account the relative strength of the All-India Sikh Students Federation, which claims to have survived Operation Blue Star relatively unscathed.
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