This is the front page of the Indian Express, forty years ago.

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister M Chenna Reddy has been asked by the Congress I high command to withhold his resignation. He was to have resigned this morning. The advice, given over phone, follows the high command’s inability to come to a decision on a suitable successor to Reddy. The dissidents, who have been pressing for his resignation for nearly two months, could not agree on a single name to succeed Reddy. However, sources in the Congress I high command said that they are confident that a decision on a CM for Andhra Pradesh will be reached by the end of this week.

Criticising Jamaat

The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah has alleged that the Jamaat-i-Islami which was recently accused of inciting trouble in the state has been receiving money from some oil rich West Asian countries. It was assumed that the money was being given for religious purposes, but they were misused, he added. To another question about the National Conference-Congress I rivalry in the state, and the Congress I’s efforts to destabilise his ministry, Abdullah said there was “a change in the political environment” after his meeting with the Prime Minister. “Now there is no communication gap between her and me,” he added.

Sati in Rajasthan

Twenty-year old Om Kanwar committed sati by jumping into her husband’s funeral pyre in Jhadli village in Sikar district. Several people were witness to the act, which could not be prevented in spite of prompt police action.

Under Water

The mighty Ganga dealt a major blow to the city of Varanasi by submerging over a dozen of its low-lying localities. The river, which is flowing above the danger mark from Allahabad to Ballia, has submerged the city’s main crematorium besides inundating the famous Assi Ghat and the old university campus.