Prince ‘Partisan’ on Refugees
Inder Malhotra Bombay, June 21. There was a furor in the Indian Parliament today over “partisan” remarks on Bangladesh refugees recently by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Prince Sadruddin. Sixty MPs of all parties tabled a motion deploring that the Government allowed the prince to visit refugee camps when he was “trying to whitewash the Yahya regime’s butchery.” They were assured by the Rehabilitation Minister. Mr. Khadilkar. that the Government’s criticisms of the prince’s “bias” had been conveyed to India’s permanent representative at the United Nations.
One MP claimed that Prince Sadruddin belonged to a family which had always been an instrument in British hands and that he had chosen to be “Yahya’s stooge.” Indian newspapers have started to ask how Mrs. Gandhi will make good her promise that nearly six million Bangladesh refugees now in India will have to return to East Bengal within six months.
Reuters adds: The Meghalaya State Government has imposed a curfew from 8 pm to 4 am on the movement of vehicles between the border with East Pakistan and urban centers to prevent East Pakistan refugees from mixing with the local population. It will be for a month initially. It is the latest move by Meghalaya and also of Assam. Indian States in west-central Assam. to restrict the movement of refugees. whose influx has caused resentment and apprehension among the local people. Shillong, capital of Meghalaya and also of Assam, was built for 10,000 people and now contains about 15,000. “It would be the end of shillong if the refugees came in.” an official said.
Reference: The Guardian, 22 June, 1971