THE AUSTRALIAN, SYDNEY, DECEMBER 6, 1971
THE WAR NOBODY STOPPED
Mrs. Gandhi got it right when she blamed the world for the war which has now started between India and Pakistan. For nine months, we have all stood by as if impotent as, day after day, the confrontation escalated to its inevitable explosion. What have any of us done to help India meet the burden of nine million Bengali refugees suddenly thrust upon its fragile economy? Not much, what have any of us, beyond the odd couple of prime ministerial letters, done to get Pakistan’s President Yahya Khan to come to his senses and restore some semblance of democracy in East Pakistan? Not much. The rich industrial countries have sent their money to help the refugees. They always do. And Australia, thanks to a public outcry, has done as welt, if not better, than most in this endeavor…