Indian Police Ordered to Shoot Rioters as Students Burns Buses in Protest Over Language

MADRAS, India — Police were ordered to shoot on sight in this south Indian city Wednesday as Tamil-speaking students burned buses in a second day of rioting against Hindi, India’s official language.

The language riots erupted in the capital of Tamil Nadu state as religious riots subsided in neighboring Karnataka state, where 17 people were shot to death this week by police trying to disperse Muslim rioters.

In New Delhi, where up to eight people were killed last week in fighting between police and Sikh rioters, four Sikhs charged by police with provoking the disturbances surrendered Wednesday to magistrate and were ordered jailed.

Madras Police Commissioner W. I. Dawaram announced the shoot-on-sight orders as students burned 10 buses in Madras and other cities to protest the arrest Tuesday of M. Karunanidhi, leader of a Tamil Nadu anti-Hindi campaign.

Burned Document

Karunanidhi, leader of the main opposition political party in the state, was held for burning excerpts of the constitution declaring Hindi as India’s official language.

He and 17,568 of his followers arrested during the 22-day campaign were charged under the Prevention of Insult to National Honor Act and with unlawful assembly and jailed for 15 days.

Tamils resent the imposition of Hindi, which is spoken by 30% of the population, mainly in north India, as India’s official language. They want English to be India’s “link” language.