Airline flights and rail schedules were disrupted and most banks were closed across India today as hundreds of thousands of union members and others poured onto the streets to protest the government's economic reform policies.

Opposition members staged such a loud protest in Parliament that the lower house was adjourned.

Buses and taxis stayed off the roads, leaving them to playing children, pedestrians, motorcycles, rickshaws and three-wheel motor scooters. Compliance with the strike call varied from state to state and little violence was reported.

Hotels and government offices were closed in parts of India, transportation and cargo handling were disrupted and even lawyers stayed away from the courthouse in one city.

The National Platform of Mass Organizations, comprising the major trade unions, called the 24-hour strike in protest over government policies opening India's economy to global competition by privatizing state enterprises such as airlines, banks and insurance companies and reducing state subsidies on everything from fertilizer to milk.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-India-Strike.html