Mob sets stadium on fire
A riotous mob to-day [January 1] overpowered the police and set fire to the Eden Garden Cricket Stadium, forcing the cancellation of the second day’s play in the second Test match between India and the West Indies. Military had to take over control of the scene of trouble and restore order. About 200 persons, including 52 police personnel, were injured in to-day’s incidents, according to hospital sources here [Calcutta] to-night [January 1]. Thirteen police personnel, including two Deputy Commissioners and four members of the public were admitted to different hospitals while others, including two other Deputy Commissioners, were rendered first aid and discharged. It was indeed a deadly new year’s day at the Eden Gardens. The beautifully turfed ground, scene of many a famous cricket match, looked like a battle field as the furious mob chased the policemen away, and took possession of the ground 15 minutes after the scheduled start of play.
Krishna Menon to contest from Bombay
Mr. V.K. Krishna Menon, former Defence Minister, announced at a public meeting, attended by 2 ½ lakh people, at Shivaji Park here [Bombay] to-night [January 1] that he was seeking the suffrage of the people of North-East Bombay to stand as a non-Party candidate to the Lok Sabha in the coming general election. Mr. Menon also said stated that he wanted to contest in a constitutional and democratic way. and as such his candidature was subject to the formal approval at the forthcoming convention on January 8 of the North East Bombay Voters’ Council. In a democracy, he explained, it was for the voters to decide as to who should contest from the North-East Bombay constituency and hence the formalities had to 'be gone through. He said, he would stand for the repeal of monopoly, both foreign and internal, and affirmed that he would carry forward the message of socialism and peace. Mr. Menon explained the reasons which led to his resignation from the Congress. He said that immediately after Independence the country under the leadership of Mr. Nehru served the cause of peace. Now the country had become crippled. Mr. Menon declared that democracy would not succeed if reliance was placed on ‘money bags’ at the coming general elections. No self-respecting people would accept the bait of money. He deplored the pressures from outside to decide the policies of the country. The progress of the country had to be decided by forces inside the country and not from elsewhere. Nation could live only with self-respect and not without it. He repeatedly stressed that socialism was the only way to eliminate poverty in the country.
China’s nuclear progress
China claimed to-day [January 1] that its fifth nuclear blast last week brought China’s knowledge of nuclear weaponry to a new level. New China News Agency also stated that Chinese nuclear scientists had advanced a new theory that elementary particles were formed of still more elementary substances — stratons and anti-stratons. It gave no other details about the theory and the results of the tests. China may be working on a triple stage nuclear bomb — the most powerful and most “dirty” atomic weapon possible, experts said in Washington yesterday [December 31]. But they cautioned that this was only a theoretical possibility deduced from what was known here [Hong Kong] so far about the fifth Chinese nuclear test last Tuesday [December 27], and that the United States had no evidence one way or the other. The speculation is based on an announcement by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission on Friday [December 30] that the test involved thermonuclear elements and contained uranium-238 and 235 as fissionable materials. It was the first time that uranium 238, or ordinary uranium, was mentioned in connection with Chinese nuclear test, the experts said. Radio-active fall-out from the fifth Chinese nuclear test reached a new record over Japan to-day [January 1], according to reports from Tokyo. Radio-activity recorded at Fukuoka, Kyushu Island, was 462 times higher than the normal level. Country dwellers using rain water however, were advised to filter it if fall-out continued at the same level during the next few days.
