EVENING STANDARD, OCTOBER 8, 1971
INDIA FACES NEW FLOW OF REFUGEES
Calcutta. Friday. – The East Pakistani refugee population in India already over the nine million mark-is expected to be boosted by a massive new influx in the next three months.
Observers give two main reasons for the expected additions. Famine and an upsurge of military activity.
Any increase in activities by either the Pakistani Army or East Pakistani fighters, known as the Mukti Bahini (liberation forces), would undoubtedly add to the flow of refugees who-six months after the martial law crack-down began in their country-are still crossing the border at the rate of 15,000 to 40,000 a day.
Observers expect a Pakistani Army offensive to begin when the floodwaters of this year’s monsoon finally drain away late this month or early November.
Struggle
The Mukti Bahini undoubtedly view the next six weeks as a crucial period in their struggle for independence.
Some observers even expect a Mukti Bahini campaign on the scale of the Vietcong offensive in South Vietnam.
But an exact replica is unlikely because the Mukti Bahini arc still hampered by a shortage of heavy artillery which the Indian government has consistently-refused to supply.
Despite the back of arms, it is believed there will be a serious attempt to counter any Pakistani military initiative with intensified guerrilla activity.
The inevitable increase in refugees that would result from such activity could only make the short term prospects of the refugees already, inside India even bleaker. (Reuter)