What was going on when I was born?

Harassed Sri Lanka minority hears call to arms A2 Iran names new police chief as Teheran clashes continue A3 U.S. reporter is ordered out of Egypt A3 44 senators reported to sponsor resolution against Awacs sale A4 Japanese Prime Minister views disputed Soviet islands A6 Around the World A7 Waldheim says he would welcome a third term A8 Turks worry about plans for re- turn to democracy A9 Bonn agrees to discuss U.S. troop support A11 Government/Politics U.S. reported working on plan to reuse atomic fuel A20 Immigration agency temporarily halts deportation of Haitians A24 Board finds canceled election also poses logistical problems B8 Senate again refuses to halt anti- busing filibuster B11 Judge O'Connor praised as she ends her testimony B12 General Around the Nation A16 Plan to share cleanup cost at Three Mile Island advances A21 Industry/Labor Volkswagen takes top position in fuel-efficiency ratings B10 List of Government ratings of fuel economy on '82 cars B10 Education/Welfare I.S. 231 in Queen appears to have qualfified for a $300,000 grant B2 Features/Notes Questions and answers on the New York City primary A1 About New York B3 Notes on People B19 Sports People D22 Weekend Weekender Guide C1 East Side, West Side - fairs are all over town C1 Guide to the pick of the region's apple crop C13 Governor's Cup yacht race set for tomorrow C28 Theater: Broadway C2 "Something Cloudy, Something Clear" at Bouwerie Lane C3 Screen: At the Movies C6 "Pixote," Brazilian film at Cinema Studio I. C6 "The Shooting Party," Che- khov film from Moscow C11 Godard's "Made in U.S.A.." at Thalia C13 Music: Haydn and Stravinsky sa- lute at Lin coln Center C1 Beethoven festival on L.I. C3 Jimmy Smith, jazz organist, at Fat Tuesday's C5 The Commodores singing at Music Hall C5 Sallie Wilson to appear at Marymount C13 Little Anthony tops oldies bill at Beacon C23 Art: Dutch printmakers at Met Museum C18 Auctions C22 Books: Publishing C24 "The Care of Time" by Eric Ambler is reviewed C25 Restaurants C16 TV Weekend C26 Style The Evening Hours B14 Montana gets flashy New York welcome B14 Secrets of buying perfume B14 Obituaries Arthur Smithies, Harvard econo- mist B16 Sports George Vecsey on Wim Rijsber- gen, the Cosmos' quiet weapon D20 Jets are favored, but Giants face another struggle D20 Borg, Connors win and will meet in Open semifinals D21 Parker symbolizes plight of Pi- rates D21 Dolphins rout Steelers, 30-10 D21 Few fans turn out for Canada Cup D21 Leonard's friend in Hearns corner D24 News A nalysis Clyde Haberman on political im- pact of enjoined primary B8 Editorials/Letters/Op-Ed Editorials A26 Big bad Wall Street Comfortable, in the dark Times Square gamble pays off Topics: extended engagements Letters A26 Tom Wicker: panic in Reagan- land A27 Flora Lewis: NATO's political gap A27 Charles T. Manatt: Democrats' stirrings A27 Dorothy Samuels and Arthur Ei- senberg: N.Y. voting districts A27

Business officials are stepping up their plans for spending on new plant and equipment this year, but the total is likely to be little changed from last year after adjustment for inflation, the Commerce Department reported today. A department survey in late July and August found entrepreneurs estimating that their capital investment this year would be about $321.5 billion, or 8.8 percent more than last year, the report said. A spurt in United States business investment is a major objective of the tax bill signed by President Reagan. But a top Commerce Department official said it was much too soon to give up hope that business executives would greatly step up their spending plans in light of investment incentives in the new law.

An airline price war yesterday drove down fares between New York and Miami and New York and the West Coast. By the end of the day, a traveler was able to pay just $69 to get from New York to Miami in economy class and only $179 to fly from New York to the West Coast on a standby basis. The burst of activity began when Eastern Airlines announced a series of sharp fare reductions that matched or undercut those set by the financially troubled Pan American World Airways on Monday in the major New York-to-Florida market and on transcontinental routes. Other Carriers Re-examine Fares Not to be outdone, Pan American quickly returned to the offensive yesterday by further trimming the rates it had barely begun to charge. Meanwhile, a number of the country's other major carriers, which were scheduled to put into effect some lowered fares in the next few weeks that were costlier than the new Eastern and Pan Am rates, said they would re-examine their positions.

THANKS to a lucky stroke of zodiacal chance, New York is about to savor the music of Haydn and Stravinsky in quantity during the coming season. In 1982, both composers will reach one of those roundnumbered anniversaries so beloved by music programmers - it will be Haydn's 250th birthday and Stravinsky's centennial - and the festivities in their honor will get off to an early start as the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society begins a weeklong Haydn-Stravinsky Celebration at Alice Tully Hall on Sunday night. It seems a fairly safe bet that the two composers would have approved of a festival in which they share equal billing, for in many ways they are kindred spirits. We know that Stravinsky thought highly of Haydn - at one point he even ranked him above Mozart. ''Haydn possessed in the highest degree two indispensable constituents, invention and method,'' Stravinsky observed some 40 years ago. Haydn might well have returned the compliment - certainly few 20th-century composers could compete with Stravinsky when it came to inventive ingenuity and refined methodology. Plans for the Chamber Music Society's homage have been on the drawing board for more than a year, and in the last few months Charles Wadsworth, the society's artistic director, has been busily working out the details with his customary enthusiasm.

''We do not interfere in the discussions between two branches of the American Government.

Governor Byrne traveled today to a temple in Teaneck that was once desecrated with swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans and signed into law a bill against such acts. Its sponsors called it the toughest in the nation. The new law sets penalties of up to five years in prison for anyone convicted of attempting to incite fear by burning crosses, painting swastikas or defacing buildings or property with threatening slogans or symbols. Earlier in the day, Mr. Byrne signed a bill in Trenton that empowers a nine-member commission to situate hazardous-waste treatment plants anywhere in the state, even over the opposition of local elected officials.

Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr. said today that the United States and Israel had agreed on strategic collaboration that would probably include joint naval maneuvers, the stockpiling of American medical supplies in Israel and joint planning to counter the Soviet Union. After President Reagan and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel ended two days of discussions today, Mr. Haig, at a news conference, sought to anticipate Arab criticism of the new strategic relationship with Israel. He said it was a natural evolution of the relations of recent years that was being accelerated by the Reagan Administration. Defense Ministers Meet Today The strategic aspect is to be discussed further tomorrow by Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger and the Israeli Defense Minister, Ariel Sharon.

President Reagan today exhorted his Cabinet and the Wall Street financial community not to lose faith in his economic recovery program. He also parceled out to his Cabinet officers responsibility for making specific decisions on how to cut $74 billion from the budgets for the fiscal years 1983 and 1984. At a meeting with his Economic Policy Advisory Board, Mr. Reagan said he was ''upset'' that his program had declining support on Wall Street. Later, he told a working luncheon of the entire Cabinet that the Administration economic plan was the only way to prevent ''eventual collapse'' of the economy. At a White House meeting earlier this week, in another move to avert the soaring deficits projected by economists, the President called for cuts for the fiscal year 1982, which begins Oct. 1, of $10 billion to $15 billion beyond the reductions approved by Congress this summer.

Poland's independent union, Solidarity, called today at its national convention for free elections to Parliament and local legislative bodies. It was the latest of a series of increasingly strong positions adopted by the 892 delegates on matters the union would have once avoided as being political. With free elections, there would be unlimited nominations of candidates by citizens' groups and more candidates running than positions to be filled, according to Solidarity's national spokesman, Janusz Onyszkiewicz. The union would also have the right to send representatives to polling places.

President Reagan ordered his Cabinet officers to make $75 billion in budget cuts for fiscal years 1983 and 1984. He also called on them and the Wall Street financial community not to lose faith in his economic recovery program. (Page A1.) The Administration has drafted a budget resolution that includes further cuts in education and other programs for next year. (D6.) Wall Street executives said Congressional G.O.P. leaders were wrong in casting the financial community as the villain behind high interest rates, rejecting the idea that a small group controls interest rates. The executives also were skeptical that threatened credit controls or a tax on interest income would be imposed. (D6.)

A faulty transformer feeder switch led to the explosion and fire that caused Wednesday's four-hour power failure in parts of lower and midtown Manhattan, fire marshals said yesterday. The Consolidated Edison Company, in a preliminary report that differed slightly from the marshals' version, said a short circuit in a transformer -perhaps involving the switch - had occurred when a 69,000-volt cable was being removed for maintenance. This, Con Edison said, caused an electric arc that set off the oil fire and explosion at the East River generating station between 14th and 15th Streets. John Mulligan, a Fire Department spokesman, said the marshals had investigated the cause along with the police arson and explosion squad.

The following are questions and answers on New York City's delayed primary elections. The answers were compiled in interviews with city and state officials involved in the case. Q. When will the primary be held? A. City and state officials now believe two primaries are likely - one for the citywide and boroughwide offices, such as Mayor, Comptroller, District Attorney, councilman at large and judge, and the other for City Council district seats.