India will rather do without foreign aid : PM
NEW DELHI Dec. 10.—The Prime Minister declared here today that if foreign aid interfered with India’s freedom of action, self-respect and ideals; “we will rather do without it and stand on our feet,” reports PTI.
Mrs. Gandhi addressing nearly 100,000 of college students, said some aid-receiving countries did not mind toeing the line and acting at the dictates of the aid-giving countries.
“Certain countries giving us aid are angry with us because we could not possibly act on their advice, which, we thought, was not in our country’s interest,” she declared amidst applause.
Mrs. Gandhi said that India neither accepted nor rejected the UN General Assembly resolution calling upon India and Pakistan to cease-fire and withdraw troops. “The resolution is under consideration of the government” she said.
The Prime Minister was in a cheerful mood. She was given standing ovation.
A purse of Rs. 1,10,000 was presented to her by the ViceChancellor of Delhi University, Mr. Sarup Singh, collected through donations of Re. 1 per student and teacher for the National Defence Fund.
Mr. Bhagwan Singh, President of the University Students’ Union, announced that 2,600 university students had already donated their blood for the jawans and there was a waiting list of 25,000 of them.
The Prime Minister declared she was sure of India’s resounding victory in the present war.
“The victory will be complete only when the Bangladesh Government establishes itself in Dacca, stabilises itself and a crore of refugees, now in India, return to their hearth and homes.”
India’s victory in the present war, which had been thrust on us by the unscrupulous West Pakistani Military junta, would equally prove a blessing in disguise for the people of Pakistan belonging to all provinces like Sind and Baluchistan. This, she said, was because the voice of the people of Pakistan was not being heard earlier by a few who ruled them. They were in agony as their liberties had been supressed by the military regime, she added.
Mrs. Gandhi said “it hurt us when certain countries blamed us for the war.” Her greatest regret, she said, was that certain countries, which called themselves democracies, gave sermons all the time in regard to democratic ideals. “But when the time comes for real action, they prefer to keep quiet.
“These countries,” she said, “just ignored when hundreds and thousands of hapless people were butchered. They did not care. Even now these democracies are unable to distinguish between right and wrong.”
She said India could not tolerate and remain a silent spectator when almost the entire neighbouring Bangladesh nation was being decimated and crushed.
The Prime Minister reminded the world that the India of today was not the same as before 1965. Many changes had taken place since then.
Mrs. Gandhi said the greatest secret behind India’s success in the present war was that our armed forces knew that the entire nation, irrespective of caste, creed or community was behind them. The jawan’s high morale and undaunted spirit on the front, she said was derived from the thought that the people would always remain united.
Turning again to observations by spokesmen of certain West European countries, The Prime Minister regretted that these countries had never tried to understand correctly the people and the Government of India.
She added: “We have all this time struggled for peace. We will continue unabated our efforts towards achieving peace. Even the present war is being fought to usher in an era of peace both in our own country and in the neighbouring Pakistani provinces.”
Indian leaders, she said, had made sustained efforts to warn other nations about deterorating conditions in Bangladesh. They were also told that the West Pakistan Government’s attempt to install a quisling regime consisting of defeated persons was neither acceptable to us nor to the people of Bangladesh. But none heeded these warnings.
Mrs. Gandhi, who spoke for an hour, traced the history of the Bangladesh freedom fight and why. India helped the Bangladesh struggle, “India thinks that freedom of Bangladesh will open an era of peace and friendship between the two countries,” she said:
She called upon the youth of the country to remain united and keep ready to extend all help to the armed forces now defending the borders of the motherland.
Reference: Hindustan Standard 11.12.1971