MUMBAI （Reuters） - At least half a million protesters brought Mumbai， India's financial capital， to a standstill on Wednesday as they pressed their demands for reserved quotas in government jobs and college places amid a slumping rural economy. 周三（8月9日）最少五十万抗议者把印度的经济中心-孟买带入完全停滞的境地，他们向政府提出要求，希望政府开放保留的政府职位以及大学的名额。这一切都是因为农村经济的急速下滑。

　　Organisers put the number of protesters at more than two million and said it was the largest rally ever staged in the city of 20 million. Indian media estimated the number of people at the rally between 600，000 and about one million. 组织者声称抗议者总数达到200万人，从而使这一事件成为（孟买）这个人口达2000万人的城市的最大抗议事件。印度媒体估计抗议群众在60万到100万之间。

　　Rising unemployment and falling farm incomes are driving farming communities across India， from the state of Haryana in the north to Gujarat in the west， to redouble their calls for reservations in jobs and education. 失业率的升高与同时发生的农业利润下滑使得全印度的农村社区，从北边的哈里亚纳邦到西边的吉吉拉特邦，不得不再次要求政府给予工作和教育的机会。

　　"Farming is no longer profitable and jobs are not available，" said one protester， Pradip Munde， a farmer from Osmanabad， a town more than 400 km （250 miles） southeast of Mumbai. "Reservation can ensure us better education and jobs." “务农已经不够支持生活了，而有没有工作可以参加。”一位抗议者说。他是Pradip Munde，来自孟买东南边400公里处马哈拉施特拉邦一个小城镇的农民，“保护我们，给我们更好的教育和工作。“Protesters dismissed as insufficient a proposal by the chief minister of Maharashtra state， Devendra Fadnavis， to consider granting reservations to the Maratha community， which is mainly dependent on farming. 在马哈拉施特拉邦主席提出一个部分解决问题的提议，同意向农业大区马拉沙社区提供更多保留之后，抗议者逐渐散去。

　　"We are not satisfied with the government's promises. The Chief Minister hasn't given any concrete assurances to solve farmers' problems，" said Bhaiya Patil， one of the rally organisers. “我们对政府的保证并不满意，邦主席对我们农民的问题并没有给出坚定的保证。”游行组织者Bhaiya Patil说。

　　The protest rally seriously disrupted road and rail traffic in Mumbai and a city park where protesters gathered could not accommodate all those trying to enter， but police said there was no violence. 抗议群众严重阻塞了孟买的公路与铁路运输，并且占据了城中的一个公园用来安置不及进入的抗议者，但是警察说没有暴力情况发生。

　　"Many people couldn't enter the （park） venue as it was packed. We had made arrangements for 2 million people， but we ran out of supplies，" said Patil. Patil说：“许多人想加入游行，但是马路全部都堵住了。我们组织了200万人但是我们没能把他们全部送到游行地点。

　　Young people and senior citizens of western India's Maratha community waved saffron flags while more than 10，000 policemen helped to maintain order. 来自印度西部马拉沙社区的年轻人与老人挥舞着藏红花旗，而超过1万警察帮助维持着秩序。

　　The city's famed 'dabbawalas'， who deliver packed lunches to people working in offices across Mumbai， suspended operations for the day， as did schools in the affected area. 著名的为全孟买的办公大楼送盒装外卖的‘dabbawalas’公司当天停止营业。此地区的学校也停课一天。

　　Wednesday's rally was the concluding protest of a series of 57 marches staged over the past year in Maharashtra by the Maratha community to press its demands. 周三的集会是过去一年中马哈拉施特拉邦里马拉沙社区组织的57场抗议集会中的总集会。

　　Two-thirds of India's population of 1.3 billion depend on farming for their livelihood， but the sector makes up just 14 percent of gross domestic product and there is a growing divide between the countryside and increasingly well-off cities.印度13亿人口中有三分之二靠务农生活，但是农业部门为GDP只贡献了14个百分点，因而城乡差距十分巨大。