WORLD : Job Quotas Stir India Protests
Thousands of students protesting a government plan to reserve jobs for low-caste Hindus hijacked buses and clashed with police today.
The students surged into streets, stopping traffic and urging motorists to join their campaign. Arriving at the Parliament aboard dozens of hijacked buses, they tried to storm or encircle the building.
“We don’t want the politicians to come out of the Parliament. Let them perish there,” said Vinod Kumar Bist, a first-year university student.
Police beat back the protesters with steel-tipped bamboo poles, set up rope and metal barricades and repeatedly fired tear gas.
Traffic was paralyzed as the protests spread to major streets and intersections throughout the capital of 8 million people.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
