Troops deployed as deadly clashes in India cut water to capital

NEW DELHI — Four days of violent unrest outside this capital city left at least 19 people dead by Monday, choked surrounding highways and the city’s water supply, led schools to close and halted production in the area by India’s biggest carmaker.

The Indian army, sent over the weekend to quell the violence, took back a crucial water canal Monday that members of a caste demanding affirmative action had captured, Delhi officials said.

For years, India has been trying to engineer advancement for its underclass through a vast and growing affirmative-action program.

Almost half of government jobs and university seats in the country are reserved for members of special groups.