The World - News from March 26, 1989

A powerful bomb strapped to an abandoned bicycle exploded in a crowded market in the Indian city of Amritsar, killing at least one person and injuring six, authorities in Punjab state said. No one claimed responsibility, but police blamed Sikh extremists pressing their seven-year campaign for an independent Khalistan homeland, a cause for which about 3,000 people have died during the past 18 months. On March 3, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi announced measures intended to dimish the violence, freeing a group of Sikh leaders from prison and withdrawing special powers given security forces.