What was going on when I was born?

The lawyers for Jean S. Harris, who is serving a sentence of 15 years to life in prison for the murder of Dr. Herman Tarnower, are seeking a reversal of her conviction, citing what they say are eight trial errors. The complaints, contained in an appeal to the Appellate Division of New York State Supreme Court, argue that Mrs. Harris's constitutional rights were jeopardized in several ways and denied her a fair trial. These range from the retention of a possibly biased juror to experiments conducted by the jury during deliberations. Mrs. Harris's lawyers also charge a violation of her right to counsel when a policeman was present as she telephoned her lawyer. Other charges by the lawyers include the court's ''arbitrary'' refusal to allow them access to the Tarnower house for six months and what they assert was the misuse of a rebuttal witness by the prosecution.

INTERNATIONAL Israeli law disrupts life of the Druse in the Golan Heights A2 Crocker meets South Africans in Zurich to discuss Namibia A3 Around the World A5 Belgian Government falls over aid to steel industry A6 Punjab is tense after arrest of Sikh militant leader A7 Salvadoran, at White House, tells of army crackdown A13 Belize celebrates its independence A15 Exiled Chilean human rights leader meets with U.S. aide A16 China warns American reporter about article on dissident A17 GOVERNMENT/POLITICS Republicans encounter problems in Virginia campaign A19 California G.O.P. to seek reversal of redistricting law A19 Most of the ex-hostages are said to have resumed normal lives A22 Why Reagan spending estimates fell short of mark A24 Watt seeks to revoke ban on mining near Bryce Canyon A26 New York State turns over 795 acres to the Seneca Nation B1 Confusion over legal maneuvers marks eve of city primary B3 WASHINGTON TALK Briefing A28 Congress keeps an eye on the next election A28 Americans ease guilt with donation to Federal conscience fund A28 Catering firm guards secrets and gilds parties of capital A28 GENERAL Around the Nation A18 Flight attendant's death leads to new safety recommendations A20 Author to document allegations on Johnson A21 In an annual rite, amateur singers audition for choruses B1 SCIENCE TIMES A rare, close look at the private lives of whales C1 Education: Business schools suffer a shortage of teachers C1 What's in beer? At least 850 compounds, chemists find C1 The Doctor's World: A turnabout drug that found a second life C2 The Connecticut Tumor Registry, a treasury of research data C2 Science Watch C2 About Education: The age of science turns darker C6 Science Q & A C6 ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT Metropolitan Opera opens with restaged Bellini's "Norma." C9 Don Ewell's jazz piano is at Hanratty's this week C10 "The First," a musical about Jackie Robinson, takes shape C12 John Updike's "Rabbit Is Rich" is reviewed C13 NBC-TV offers a musical tribute to children tonight C15 Children's television programs are fou nd dwindling C15 STYLE Notes on Fashion B4 Dressing up: Glitter, diversity B4 Women's shop atop Barney's B 4 OBITUARIES Joseph Hirsch, an artist A29 Gregory Breit, physicist who helped develop atomic bomb A29 Helen Clark, lawyer and head of Federation of Women's Clubs A29 SPORTS Even Blue Jays have pennant hopes, thanks to split season D28 Mets beat Pirates on wild pitchin 13th, 4-3 D29 Indians top lackluster Yanks, 5-0 D29 Jets' president expresses confidence in Michaels D29 Dorsett leads Cowboys to 35-21 victory over Patriots D30 Coach Perkins unspoiled by Giants' success D30 Dave Anderson on another baseball blunder D31 Expos beat Phils, 1-0, in 17; Carlton sets strikeout mark D31 FEATURES/NOTES Notes on People B16 Issue and Debate: Should deficit's size concern investors? D1 Sports People D30 NEWS ANALYSIS Charles Mohr on the U.S. arms deal with Saudi Arabia A3 David Margolick on constitutional issues in Springbok case B2 EDITORIALS/LETTERS/OP-ED Editorials A30 Bread and peril in Poland Fighting arrest 'decay' Primary election choices Robert Curvin: Solidarity Day Letters A30 Sydney H. Schanberg: the Reich enters the primary A31 Tom Wicker: Reagan's tax-cut theory A31 Ali Reza Sheikholeslami: expect military rule in Iran A31 Larry Silverman: the future of sewage treatment A31

A reduction in the prime rate by several major banks touched off a rally yesterday in blue-chip stocks, sending the Dow Jones industrial average ahead by 10.37 points. The Dow, brimming with increases of 2 points or more for some of its 30 component comp anies, rose to 846.56. The gain equaled its largest advan ce - also 10.37 points, on Sept. 11 - in the last three months. Merck and Procter & Gamble each scored rises of 2 1/8 points. Smaller advances appeared for Alcoa, Union Carbide, General Electric, United Technologies, American Brands, International Business Machines, Allied and American Telephone.

A Federal District Court judge ruled today that Governor Carey could not prohibit a South African rugby team from playing an exhibition game scheduled here for 7 P.M. tomorrow. In lifting the Governor's ban on the match in Bleecker Stadium, the judge, Howard G. Munson, said Mr. Carey had acted ''unilaterally.'' Last week, when he ordered the ban, the Governor said that he was acting because of an ''imminent danger of riot.'' Black and civil rights groups had threatened protests, contending that the South African team, the Springboks, represented the apartheid policy of the Government of South Africa.

A number of leading banks reduced their prime lending rates another notch yesterday, to 19 1/2 percent fro m 20 percent, and some bankers predicted tha t interest rates might finally be headed downward for the first tim e in months. Analysts said that most other major banks were likely to move their prime rates to the new 19 1/2 level today. It would be the second half-point drop in the prime rate in the last 10 days. Still cautious in their new optimism, the bankers based their forecasts of interest rate drops on signs that the Federal Reserve System had eased credit curbs somewhat and that the economy might be entering a recession - a view bolstered on Friday by a Commerce Department report that the gross national product would be ''flat to slightly down'' in the current third quarter.

TEACHERS By EDWARD B. FISKE ADECADE of effort by American business schools to build up their quality as full-fledged academic institutions is now being jeopardized by a severe shortage of Ph.D.'s. The recent surge of student interest in business administration programs is straining the teaching capacity of college business faculties at the same time that students who might go on to earn doctorates and come to the rescue are being lured into industry by high salaries. A recent study by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business concluded that, at the current rate of production, it will take nearly 11 years to fill current vacancies. ''There is no hope, no mechanism for correcting the doctoral shortage in the short run,'' said Robert S. Kaplan of Carnegie-Mellon University, who directed the study. Some 1,200 colleges and universities in the country offer undergraduate degrees in business and management. Virtually all are accredited by their regional accrediting body, and the top 208 have also obtained accreditation of their business programs by the professional association, the American Assembly.

IC Industries, which paid more than $400 million for Pet Inc. in 1978, disclosed yesterday that it had offered to buy the Sunbeam Corporation for $451 million in cash and stock. Sunbeam, the world's largest producer of home appliances, called the offer ''unsolicited,'' a possible sign that it would resist the proposal. Wall Street professionals, apparently convinced that a takeover will develop, bid up Sunbeam by 8 3/4 points on the New York Stock Exchange, to $30. More than 1.3 million shares changed hands, making it the day's most active stock.

AS the small outboard neared South Wolf Island, with its Canadian lighthouse, a Coast Guardsman appeared on the edge of a cliff high above the shore, pointed out to sea and shouted: ''Two whales out there!'' The boat quickly reversed course and headed seaward. A few minutes later, Holly Garner, a researcher on marine mammals, shouted ''Whale!'' and pointed over the port side. ''There they are!'' Two black low-lying forms could be seen about 100 feet from the boat, close to the rocks of the island. They were northern right whales. ''They're awfully close to shore, but you never know where you'll find them,'' said Dorothy Spero, the marine biologist piloting the boat. She shut off the motor as the outboard neared the whales. The animals, about 40 feet long, occasionally expelled air and water through their blowholes with a whooshing noise, but remained motionless.

WASHINGTON WITHI N Buil ding 332 at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and at the Los Al amos National Laboratory, scientists are quietly experimenting with a nuclear alchemy intended to transform spent nuclear fuel fro m power plants into the atomic age equival ent of gold- pure plutonium for nuclear weapons. The goal of this highly classified research, which has been conducted since the mid-1970's, is the development of a method of using powerful lasers to separate bomb-quality plutonium from other elements present in ordinary nuclear wastes from commercial reactors. Although the research has been shrouded in secrecy, recently declassified testimony before a House Armed Services Subcommittee sheds some light on the effort, which is being expanded, despite protests from several lawmakers and nuclear critics. Disclosure of the research and proposal to tap commercial nuclear waste as a source of weapons-grade fuel has touched off a fierce debate within nuclear policy circles, and has generated protests from nuclear weapons critics, parts of the nuclear power industry and legislators. The proposal, for example, prompted a letter of concern last week from Senator Gary Hart, Democrat of Colorado, to Energy Secretary James B. Edwards.

The Senate confirmed Sandra Day O'Connor tonight as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The vote was 99 to 0. Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, was out of town and did not vote. Judge O'Connor, who is to take the oath of office on Friday, will be the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. President Reagan is expected to attend the ceremony in the courtroom. Hopes for 10 Years From Now

After a final flurry of back-and-forth legal maneuvers - and accompanying alterations to voting machines - New York City prepared to hold a belated, truncated primary election today. The polls will be open from 6 A.M. to 9 P.M., and the forecast is for clouds and rain. Mayor Koch's effort to win both the Democratic and Republican nominations is at the top of the ballot. He is opposed in the Democratic primary by Frank J. Barbaro and Melvin Klenetsky and in the Republican race by John A. Esposito.

"It's terribly sad to me that the windup of this has to be artic ulated i n such a small sum of money.