What was going on when I was born?

''In my judgment, our role for now and for the future is purely limited military assistance.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. David C. Jones, said today that he did not ''see any circumstances under which we would intervene with United States forces'' in El Salvador. Testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, General Jones was repeatedly asked for his professional military opinion about the possibility that American troops would be sent to fight leftist guerrillas in El Salvador. He gave the same answer in slightly different words each time. Asked if the Pentagon had contingency plans for the dispatch of American forces to El Salvador, he said, ''We do not have plans to go into El Salvador with military forces.''

The Senate Judiciary Committee today approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would enable Congress and individual states to adopt laws banning abortion. By a vote of 10 to 7, the panel endorsed a measure sponsored by Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, that seeks to reverse the 1973 Supreme Court decision upholding the right of women to seek abortions. The vote today marked the first time that a full Congressional committee had supported an anti-abortion amendment and opened the way for a full-fledged floor debate on the issue. Two-Thirds Majority Needed Senator Hatch's proposed amendment would give Congress and the states ''concurrent power to restrict and prohibit abortion.'' State laws that were more restrictive than national laws would prevail. In seeking to overturn the 1973 Supreme Court decision on abortion, the amendment says, ''A right to abortion is not secured by this Constitution.''

The gasoline tanker that blew up in the East River on Feb. 26 exploded before it reached the Williamsburg Bridge, according to testimony by eyewitnesses yesterday at a hearing into the causes of the blast. ''Everything happened north of the bridge,'' Louis Pantano, an employee at the Amstar Corporation's sugar refinery in Brooklyn, told a Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board hearing panel at Battery Park. His testimony and that of five other workers at the Amstar plant on the east bank of the river just north of the bridge contradicted earlier testimony by six crew members from the tanker and two nearby tugboats who also had witnessed the explosion.

In an unusual procedure, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is negotiating with groups of banks in its efforts to find a merger partner for the deeply troubled New York Bank for Savings, sources in Washington said yesterday. It was expected that by this weekend the Federal agency, which insures deposits in savings and commercial banks, will narrow its choices to two of the groups, and that the final decision will be made by the end of the month, the sources said. The New York Bank for Savings, which has its headquarters at 1230 Avenue of the Americas, has 19 branches, not including those of its divisions. The bank's assets total about $3.5 billion. Following a $34.7 million operating loss in the fourth quarter of 1981, its surplus - the amount by which its assets exceed its liabilities - dropped to $37.3 million, barely enough to get it through the present quarter if interest rates remain at or near present levels.

The Reagan Administration is providing millions of dollars in covert financial aid to individuals and private organizations in Nicaragua in hopes of bolstering moderate elements there, according to senior Administration officials. The effort, which is being managed by the Central Intelligence Agency, began late last year after it was approved by President Reagan, the officials said. They said Mr. Reagan and his top national security advisers rejected a proposal to finance and support the creation of a paramilitary force in Central America. Several South American nations, however, including Argentina and Venezuela, are working together to assemble paramilitary units that they plan to infiltrate into Nicaragua for hit-and-run attacks against Government troops and installations, the officials said.

Mitterrand doing battle with bureucrats A2 Broader job expected for Buckley A3 Spanish court-martial brings lies on King's role in coup attempt A3 Soviet sentences man who sued K.G.B. A4 Mercenaries go on trial in South Africa in Seychelles hijacking A6 Two nationalisms compete for power in Bangladesh A7 Foreign press is making its power felt in Salvador A18 U.S. policy on Salvador is criticized in Europe A19 Government/Politics Governor Brown announces candidacy for U.S. Senate seat A28 Nassau County and U.S. reach accord on police hiring B2 Fink threatens to block new funds for Westway B3 Gains cited in New York metro- politan region's economy B4 Washington Talk Briefing B12 Decision File B12 Chilean's widow carries on his cause B12 The White House: The Battle for Reagan's Mind B12 General The Everglades Commandos, exiles in search of a war A18 Around the Nation A20 The night the planets were aligned with Baltimore lunacy A20 Minnesota border cities seek to stem business exodus A20 3,748 pounds of cocaine seized at Miami airport A22 Chemist calls Stouffer's Inn blaze "toxic" B2 Mobil to transfer Scarsdale, N.Y., office to Pennsylvania B6 Coast therapy group believes wishful thinking comes true B11 Home Section Home Top-drawer spring cleaning: Experts the decorators call on C1 Protecting and fixing cane furniture C5 Light thoughts from the Bauhaus period C10 Young girls learn self-defense option in special seminars C1 Hers C2 Helpful Hardware: Candlelight accessories C2 Home Beat: For artful showers C3 Utility consumers gain new rights C3 Home Improvement: Anchors for walls of solid masonry C4 Scaasi's "perky, snappy" clothes C8 Bathe-in kitchens: A tub with a view C9 Design Notebook C12 Health/Science Threatened birds making a comeback after ban on DDT A21 Industry/Labor Warner withdraws as a potential purchaser of The News B6 Arts/Entertainment Spiderwoman Theater: "Three Sisters: From Here to There" C15 Critic wonders why intellectuals neglect music C16 Steven Ivcich presents abstract mime piece "Solitaire" C17 Joe Pintauro's "Snow Orchid" has opening C17 Carnegie Hall names Seymour Rosen artistic director C17 La Scala has a premiere and breaks some traditions C20 U.S. and French Governments to cooperate on Braque exhibition C22 Shaw's "The Doctor's Dilemma" is revived C22 Paperbacks of two Cyril Connolly books are reviewed C30 Richard Bull dancers include im-provisations in program C31 An evening of choreography by Pola Nirenska is presented C32 Sports Rangers, leading by 5-2, are tied by Flyers, 5-5 B15 Westphal expected to join Knicks today B15 Illinois routs L.I.U., 126-78, in N.I.T. B15 Underclassmen are a stabilizing influence in Iona's 24-8 season B15 Islanders tie Stars, 4-4 B17 Dave Anderson on the Cubs' new tradition B18 Happy Chandler and Travis Jackson named to Hall of Fame B18 Steinbrenner is calmer about losses in spring training B18 Mets' Swan pitches three shutout innings without pain B18 Nets beat Suns, 113-105 B19 Features/Notes Man in the news: Malcolm Wal- lop, Williams's Senate accuser B6 Notes on People B7 Sports People B17 Going Out Guide C16 News Analysis Philip Shabecoff on Watt's proposal on wilderness leases A26 Editorials/Letters/Op-Ed Editorials A30 The Nicaragua picture Ditching the Conrail commuter Sleepers Hugh Price: let students choose Letters A30 Flora Lewis: hearing the French view A31 Anthony Lewis: peace without joy in Sinai A31 Benno Weiser Varon: Salvador's toll? So? A31 Chris Ohman: New Jersey's dis- tricting A31

Seventeen senators and 122 members of the House of Representatives joined today in sponsoring a resolution calling for a freeze in the levels of Soviet and American atomic arsenals. The nonbinding measure, which was introduced in both houses, was immediately criticized by Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr. in testimony before a Senate subcommittee. He said the proposed freeze would have a ''devastating'' effect since it would perpetuate as much as a ''6 to 1'' Soviet advantage in nuclear weapons in Europe. Proponents, among them Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Rep. Jonathan B. Bingham, Democrat of the Bronx, held a news conference at American University's Kay Chapel to announce the introduction of the single-page measure, which urges the United States and Soviet Union to ''pursue a complete halt to the nuclear weapons race.''

The Democratic-controlled House Appropriations Committee, defying President Reagan, rejected further cuts in spending for social programs today. In the Republican-controlled Senate, the Committee on Labor and Human Resources remained deadlocked on proposed cuts in social programs and in direct benefits, and its chairman acknowledged that the impasse appeared insoluble. ''It has not been possible to reach an agreement on funding levels,'' Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, the chairman, wrote the Senate Budget Committee. ''Consequently, the committee cannot now specify the aggregate level of spending appropriate for programs in its jurisdiction. It is therefore necessary to defer judgment to the Senate Budget Committee.''

International No plans to send G.I.'s to El Salvador have been prepared, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General David C. Jones, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He testified that ''We do not have plans to go into El Salvador with military forces,'' but he refused to speculate on Washington's next move if present efforts by the Salvadoran Government to eliminate the guerrilla threat were unsuccessful. (Page A1, Column 6.) Covert aid to Nicaraguans is being provided by the Reagan Administration, according to senior Administration officials. They said that millions of dollars were being sent to individuals and private organizations in hopes of bolstering moderate Nicaraguan groups. The officials said that the effort, begun late last year, was being managed by the C. I. A. (A1:4-5.)

The Securities and Exchange Commission simply calls it Rule 415, a blandly written change in the Federal regulations governing underwriting procedures. Investment bankers call it dynamite. The new underwriting rule will dramatically simplify and speed up the bureaucratic registration process that corporations must go through with the S.E.C. every time they want to market new debt or equity. These innovative regulations, which are on a nine-month trial period, not only could alter the style and role of investment bankers, but also tear asunder some of the traditional relationships and pecking orders that have governed the nation's capital markets since the early 20th century. Everyone agrees things will never be the same in the once-genteel world of investment banking, but the potential for change is so vast, no one is sure yet just how they will be different.

Retail sales increased 1.6 percent in February, the biggest increase since last June, Government figures indicated. The gain was hailed by most analysts as encouraging news for the economy, although officials noted that for the most part it merely recouped January losses attributed to bad weather. (Page D1.) Fraud and laxity in a Government-guaranteed surety bond plan have cost millions in the last decade, Senate investigators said, and organized crime reportedly profited. Under the Small Business Administration plan, meant to aid small-business and minority contractors, claims of $178 million were paid. (D1.)