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Seven miles from Kashi in UttarPradesh [ Images ] is
Mughalsarai. A hundred years ago, Lal Bahadur, India's second prime
minister, was born there on October 2, 1904, the same day as
India's greatest statesman Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, born 35
years before Shastriji. Though his parents Sharada Prasad and
Ramdulari Devi were Srivastavas, Shastri dropped his caste identity
in his early years. In 1921, inspired by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and
Gandhi, he cut short his studies to join India's freedom movement.
Later he joined the Kashi Vidyapeeth and earned the epithet
'Shastri' by obtaining a degree on philosophy. He won the hearts of
Indians when he showed exemplary courage in taking quick decisions
as prime minister June 1964 to January 1966) during the
India-Pakistan war in 1965. His leadership in war was an answer to
that most often asked question at that time: 'After Nehru,
who?'
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But his untimely death on January 10, 1966 in Tashkent, in
suspicious circumstances, deprived him the chance for history to
sit in judgement. In a haphazardly taken decision, the central
government has formed a committee to celebrate Shastri's life and
work in the year of his centenary. In an ongoing series rediff.com
salutes the 'gentle giant' who led India through the critical years
after succeeding Nehru. Has the nation forgotten Shastri? Is
Shastri, who epitomised honesty and sincerity in public life,
relevant today? Anil Shastri, one of the late prime minister's six
children and member of the Congress party, recounts memories of his
father in a conversation with Senior Editor Sheela Bhatt. On the
Congress treatment of Shastri I don't think India has forgotten Lal
Bahadur Shastri. Whatever he did is remembered even today. I must
say since Sonia Gandhi [ Images ] has taken charge Shastriji's
portraits are displayed in all the annual sessions of the party.
Many people have observed that there was a conspiracy to underplay
Shastri's legacy within the Congress. This serious charge is untrue
for the simple reason that due to his untimely death his
contribution to the nation was confined to those 18 to 19 months
when he was PM. Nehru ruled the country for 17 years, Indira Gandhi
[ Images ] for 16 years and Rajiv Gandhi [ Images ] for 5 years.
Obviously the Nehru-Gandhi contribution is unparalleled because
nobody got this opportunity. And remember Shastriji considered him
as a protg of Pandit Nehru [ Images ]. He was never outside the
sphere of the Nehru ideology which is the Congress ideology. Our
nation is going to celebrate his birth centenary throughout the
year. The committee is formed under the chairmanship of Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh [ Images ]. Even in Tashkent, Uzbekistan,
celebrations have been organised on a big scale. E Ahmed, minister
of state for external affairs, was in Tashkent to participate in
the celebrations.
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Why has history forgotten this giant?: Rediff.com news
Shastriji who represented a certain value system is more
relevant today than before because a majority of us today have no
value systems. I feel difficult to contest elections. I feel a
little out of place but for my lineage I have survived in politics.
His father I still miss him although I was just 16 years old when
he died. If he would have lived 10 more years he would have done
much more for the country. He was down to earth. A real son of the
soil. His grounding was from the grassroots level. He was a
practical man too. He strongly believed the laws of the land should
be changed because the British formed them to rule over India. He
did make an attempt by constituting the administrative reforms
commission and made Morarji Desai its chairman. But after he died
the idea was shelved. The most cherished memory I have is the
verses of Guru Nanak, which were displayed on his table. As Nehru
kept Robert Frost's lines -- 'Miles to go before I sleep', on his
desk, my father kept Nanak's quotes in Gurmukhi. When translated
into English they mean -- 'O Nanak! Be tiny like the grass, for
other plants will whither away, but grass will remain ever green.'
When under the PL 480 programme, America was going to send inferior
quality of wheat to India, he opposed it. He asked the nation to go
hungry once a day than accept poor quality food from US. Before
making this announcement he asked my mother not to cook evening
meals. He himself followed what he recommended. The 1965 war with
Pakistan He appeared very modest but was a man of steel. He had the
ability to take quick decisions. It was demonstrated on August 31,
1965. On that day he came home for an early dinner. One of his
secretaries told him that the three chiefs of the defence services
had come to see him. He immediately left for his office next door
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The three chiefs visited him to inform him that the Pakistan
army [ Images ] had crossed the international border with 100
battle tanks in the Chamb sector of Jammu. They told him that in a
short span of time the Pakistan army would cut off Kashmir [ Images
] from the rest of India. Without losing time he asked for the
opening of a new front including Lahore [ Images ]. Retaliate with
full force, he said. What I remember is that the historic meeting
lasted less than five minutes. Arjan Singh, the then chief of the
air force was present. He is the only surviving member from that
meeting. He told them, "Be prepared for war." He called Defence
Minister Y B Chavan and informed him of the decision. He responded
positively and expressed his support. He didn't wait for
international reactions. The next day, newspapers reported that the
Indian army [ Images ] was marching towards Lahore. It was a big
morale booster for the country. During those tense days, in his
address to the nation from Red Fort [ Images ] on Independence day,
he said: "Hathiyaron ka jawab hathiyaron se denge. (Force will be
met with force.) Hamara desh rahega to hamara tiranga rahega. (Our
flag will survive only if our country does)" On Shastri and the
Nehru-Gandhi family Pandit Nehru was very found of him. Shastriji
was around 15 years younger but he trusted him fully. In 1956, when
a train accident killed 144 passengers near Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu,
Shastriji resigned. Panditji refused to accept the resignation but
he prevailed upon Panditji to accept it. On the following day in
Parliament, Nehru said no one could wish for a better comrade than
Lal Bahadur. A man of the highest integrity and devoted to ideas is
called Lal Bahadur, said Nehru. Once he was sent to Kashmir by
Nehru to help resolve the theft in the Hazaratbal shrine. Nehru
asked him whether he had enough woollens for the trip. "Are you
aware Kashmir must be having snowfall at this time?" asked Nehru.
Shastri showed him the jacket he was wearing and Nehru immediately
gave his own mink overcoat. My father was short in stature so he
told Nehru the coat was quite long. But Nehru said woollen
overcoats were always longer. That no one would know it was a
borrowed one.
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On his return from Kashmir when father went to him to return the
overcoat, Nehru asked him to keep it. The next day newspapers
reported: Nehru's Mantle Falls on Shastri. Shastriji and Indiraji
also enjoyed a close relationship. She had the highest personal
regard for him. After Nehru's death in 1964, the Congress chose him
as a consensus candidate. He did make an attempt to persuade Indira
Gandhi to take over as prime minister. He went to see her and asked
her to become prime minister. She put her foot down and said no.
"You become PM and I'll totally support you," she said. When he was
PM he would drop by at 1, Safdarjung Road (Indira Gandhi's home)
without intimation just to chat with her. Image: Uday Kuckian Part
II: The politician who made no moneySheela Bhatt Emailthis Save
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The politician who made no money: Rediff.com news
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Part I: Why has history forgotten this giant?
Kuldip Nayar was Lal BahadurShastri's press advisor from 1960 to
1964 and travelled with him extensively. He provides an insight
into the former prime minister's life. Shastri and the Congress
Shastri has been forgotten by the nation. He has been pushed into
the background. I have no doubt that there was a Congress
conspiracy to underplay Shastri after his death. The Congress is
the party that should have put him to the fore but I remember
visiting a Congress meeting where Shastri's portrait was not even
displayed with respect. He simply didn't fit in. Mrs Gandhi was
strongly against the Congress old guard. When he died there was a
strong resistance against his cremation in the area where Gandhi
and Nehru had been laid to rest. Most Congressmen wanted his body
taken to Allahabad. When Mrs Lalita Shastri said she would go
public only then did the Congressmen relent.
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They even protested against inscribing the slogan -- Jai Jawan,
Jai Kisan on his samadhi. Then again, only when Mrs Shastri
threatened to go on a hunger strike was it was allowed. After
leaving the Press Information Bureau I became a reporter. Wherever
I went to meet Congress leaders, I was labelled as 'Shastri ka
aadmi' [Shastri's man]. Now, a committee has been set up by the
Congress-led government to celebrate his birth centenary but it
seems like an afterthought. I think after the death of Shastri, the
Congress did not know where to fit him. When Mrs Gandhi succeeded
him, the Congress didn't know where to put his legacy in the scheme
of things then. Shastri stands for austerity. Shastri stands for
simplicity and consensus. Shastri represents an ideology that was
right of Centre but not left of Centre. After all, he is the man
who said we need the five-year plan but let us have a one year
holiday from plan. I remember vividly a small incident that brought
out the stark difference between the two (Shastri and Indira Gandhi
[ Images ]) leaders. During Shastri's tenure his home in Janpath
was upgraded quite a bit to suit the status of a PM. After his
death, while searching for a suitable home Mrs Gandhi went to see
Shastri's home. She entered the home, had a round inside and said,
"middle class!" The making of Shastri Shastri was selected by
veteran Congress leaders K Kamaraj, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy [ Images
] and S Nijalingappa to lead the nation. Moments after Nehru's
death I asked him who should become PM, he said it should be the
unanimous decision of the Congress. He gave two names in order.
First, Jayaprakash Narayan and second, Indira Gandhi. He told me he
wanted a unanimous decision over the selection. "But if there is a
contest (which Morarji Desai contemplated) then I can defeat
Morarji Desai but not Indira Gandhi," he told me.
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Probably he was right. However, the question didn't arise
because Kamaraj was asked to talk to members informally. Shastri
was made PM but Morarjibhai never accepted the decision. After
Shastri became PM he had to face the war with Pakistan. When the
Chamb border was attacked Shastri was asked to take a tough
decision whether to cross the international border. The army chief
said it would be difficult to hold on for long at Chamb. Shastri
gave the order saying -- before they can capture Chamb you should
capture Lahore [ Images ]. After the war was over, I asked Indira
Gandhi if Nehru would have allowed the crossing of the
international border. Mrs Gandhi said, 'Whatever the generals would
have advised him he would have followed." But I wonder. A slight
man made of steel After the war, Shastri's name was all over.
Before the war many people laughed at him for his softness but not
after the war. He came out as a tough hero. His toughness was
evident at Tashkent. When Russian Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin
(left: Shastri with Kosygin and Indian's then external affairs
minister Swaran Singh) wanted Shastri to sign the agreement for
peace with General Ayub Khan of Pakistan after the 1965 war,
Shastri insisted on adding the assurance, "never again will weapons
be used to sort out problems between India and Pakistan." Ayub was
maintaining a vague stance by quoting UN resolutions. "Then you
will have to find another PM," said Shastri during the arguments.
In the final agreement General Ayub Khan had not mentioned those
words but Shastri continued to press for it. Ayub finally wrote it
at the very last moment. General Ayub's handwritten assurance is
still preserved in the Indian archives. Shastri was a slight person
but with a strong mind.
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Also read: Kuldip Nayar on the Tashkent summit Shastri can't be
revived If the Congress wants to celebrate Shastri, it will have to
re-emphasis the honesty of Shastri. He stood for the small men of
India. But the Congress has changed completely. Since Mrs Gandhi
said that corruption is a world phenomenon, Congressmen are not
losing sleep over it. Neither can I imagine Shastri imposing the
Emergency. All those Congressmen seen active during the Emergency
are part of this government. Ambika Soni is a confidante of Sonia
Gandhi [ Images ], Pranab Mukherjee [ Images ], Arjun Singh [
Images ], Kamal Nath all were part of the establishment then. How
can these leaders bring in the values of Shastri? The Nehru-Gandhi
dynasty culture has also played a role in minimising Shastri's
legacy. When Shastri was made a minister without portfolio in the
Nehru's Cabinet, he was uncomfortable. Once in a huff he told me,
"I shall quit and retire to Allahabad." While cajoling him not to
entertain an such idea I said, "Nehru has you in his mind." Shastri
said, "Unke dimag main to unki putri hai. (He has his daughter in
his mind as successor.)" As soon as Shastri died the dynasty
culture returned to the Congress. Shastri's message of life was
that if he could become PM anybody could because he was a common
man. As the Bible says the meekest shall inherit the earth, he
proved it. In 1942 (during the Quit India Movement), when he was in
a jail, his daughter was ill and he was released on parole. But he
could not save her life because doctors had recommended costly
drugs. Shastri never made money. In 1963, on the day when he was
dropped under the Kamaraj plan I went to meet him. He was sitting
in his home without a light. "Why are you sitting in the dark?" I
asked. He said, "From today all expenses will be borne by me."
He
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told me as a MP and minister he didn't earn enough to save for
his rainy day. On that evening, I told him to turn a columnist to
earn some money. So he wrote a column on Lala Lajpat Rai. That was
the first syndicated column in India. I syndicated it to four
newspapers and collected Rs 500 from each. Quite a hefty sum! The
second column was on Nehru but before he could write more he was
recalled to the Cabinet. I don't see the revival of the values
Shastri stood for. A day before his first press conference after
becoming PM I asked him what will be your message tomorrow? He
said: "I'll tell them that during my tenure there will not be any
increase in food price and as PM of India I would ask members of
the Planning Commission to have one more column in their charts to
show me how many jobs will be created after spending thousands of
crores of rupees." He was a man concerned about the common man of
India. Can these values return to this country? I don't think so.
As told to Senior Editor Sheela Bhatt Image: Uday KuckianKuldip
Nayar Emailthis Save toMy Page Ask Users Write aComment
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rediff.com Special: Kuldip Nayar remembers the Tashkent
summit
HOME | NEWS | SPECIALS
July 14, 2001 The Rediff Special/ Kuldip Nayar NEWSLINKS US
EDITION COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF
POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFFSearch the
Internet
India Pak PeaceTips
Kuldip Nayar, the veteran journalist and MP, worked closely with
Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. He shares his memories of the
Indo-Pak summit in Tashkent in January 1966 with Sheela Bhatt.
Recent SpecialsA Solution for Siachen When India and Pakistan
almost made peace War in cyberspace Ram, Jesus, Allah Much hype,
small gains Born to run Weak, distressed, accident-prone 'We will
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MORE SPECIALS...
Lal Bahadur Shastri always believed we must have goodrelations
with Pakistan. Besides, he believed they were our own people; after
all, we are from the same stock, spoke the same language, etc.
Shortly, after he became prime minister, India and Pakistan clashed
in Kutch. Shastri was always inclined towards peace, so he agreed
to participate in the arbitration announced by then British prime
minister Harold Wilson. At the same time, he issued a stern warning
to Pakistan: "If you still want to fight, I shall hit you
badly."
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, then Pakistan's foreign minister, had been
told if Pakistan attacked India, it could win the war. Later, India
would start building many more armament factories and become
stronger. Bhutto sent infiltrators into Indian territory. Field
Marshall Ayub Khan, who was then Pakistan's president, did not know
about Bhutto's plan. After the 1971 war, when I met Ayub Khan, I
asked if I could speak to him about the 1965 war. He said, "Why
talk to me? Talk to Bhutto. It was Bhutto's war." It was
sensational. The Pakistani plan was to cut off the road which
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India and the Kashmir Valley. I remember the army chief called
Shastri at midnight. He sought an appointment. At that midnight
meeting, army officers spread maps and showed Shastri how the
Pakistani pressure was building up. They sought permission to
relieve the pressure. The prime minister asked, "Why don't you do
that?" The commanders replied, "We should start another front to
attract their forces on this side. This means we will have to move
towards Lahore. But, that's an international border." "The other is
also an international border (Kashmir where the infiltrators had
sneaked in)," Shastri said. "Cross it!" After Independence, this
was the first time India had crossed an international border and
the rest is history. We won the war. We hit their weaponry badly.
After the war, Alexei Kosygin, the Soviet premier, wrote to
Shastri, 'Have pulao and the kababs of Tashkent.' Russia provided a
forum. In a way, it was not a tripartite discussion. I was then
heading the United News of India. Before that I was Shastri's press
officer, so I was quite close to him. Before leaving for Tashkent,
Shastri hosted a small meeting of editors. He explained the
background to the Tashkent talks and the agenda. He said the USSR
is our friend and the issue is pending before the UN Security
Council. All the editors agreed, but there was a major issue
important to India. We had won two posts. Haji Pir and Tithwa. Our
army had captured these posts which were part of Pakistan occupied
Kashmir. The editors argued that these two posts were very
important because they overlooked Indian territory. Shastri said,
"Yes, you have a point. I shall try." He wanted to talk to Pakistan
because he had already shown India's superiority. Atal Bihari
Vajpayee, who was then in the Jan Sangh, opposed the Tashkent
talks.
Two plane loads of Indians went to Tashkent. Pakistan was enemy
country sowe flew over Iran to get there. Along with Shastri, there
were Foreign Minister Sardar Swaran Singh, Defence Minister Y B
Chavan, General P P Kumaramangalam, deputy chief of the army staff,
many diplomats and journalists. Shastri and Ayub Khan were given
dachas almost 12 km away from the hotel where the respective
delegations stayed. On the first day, they met alone. They agreed
to the exchange of territory. Then, Shastri said, "We won't return
Haji Pir and Tithwa which was won in the war." Pakistan said, "It's
the result of aggression." Shastri wanted a promise from Ayub Khan
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in the future. So the talks did not proceed. Kosygin was trying
his best. But the difficult person was Bhutto. At one stage,
Kosygin turned to Bhutto and asked, "Do you want to destroy your
country?" Bhutto replied, "This would amount to surrender." The
talks used to be held late at night. At one point, Kosygin told
Shastri, "You will have to give up Haji Pir and Tithwa." Shastri
said, "In that case, you will have to talk to some other prime
minister." The Soviets said the issue would go to the Security
Council. Shastri said, "We may return them, but they must say
specifically that whatever differences we have should not be sorted
through war At the Tashkent summit: Y B Chavan, or violence, but
only through Swaran Singh, Shastri, Ayub Khan negotiations." Ayub
Khan agreed, and Kosygin but Bhutto opposed this. Our Pakistani
friends were packing their luggage. They were told it was all over.
Then Kosygin intervened and a formula was reached. Pakistan would
say it would never resort to arms and India would return Haji Pir
and Tithwa. When the last meeting took place Shastri did not find
the specific reference to arms. Shastri showed his displeasure.
Ayub Khan, at that very moment, wrote in his handwriting, "Without
resort to arms." That document is still in the ministry of external
affairs' archives.
After the settlement, Shastri met Indian journalists. Shastri
explained theclauses of the agreement reached with Pakistan. Some
journalists inquired about the two posts. He said, "Yes, but we
have got this assurance." At that point, one journalist alleged,
"You have sold the country." The press conference became quite
bitter. Others joined in the criticism. I pacified them. I went
back to the hotel and retired early. I was dreaming about Shastri's
death when someone knocked at the door. "Your prime minister is
dying," a fat lady said. I rushed to Shastri's dacha. As soon as I
entered, I saw Kosygin speak to somebody. In a large room, a small
man's body was lying, crumbled. I could see he had struggled with
the thermos. We were informed that Shastri came in at 9.30 pm and
called for a doctor. Later, Dr Chugh, his personal doctor, said,
"Shastriji did not give me time." Later, we discovered that Shastri
spoke to his family in Delhi every day. That evening, he had called
Delhi and asked for Ammaji, his wife Lalita. His
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came on the line. It is said his daughter said, "Amma won't come
on the line. You have given away Haji Pir and Tithwa." It is said
she was very upset. Of course, former defence minister V K Krishna
Menon and Vajpayee also criticized him. He then asked his daughter
to send him all the newspapers to Afghanistan where he would halt
for some time. It is said he tried to reach Delhi again, but Ammaji
never came on line. It was around midnight. I used the hotline on
which Kumarmangalam was speaking to someone in Delhi. When he hung
up, I called the UNI office in Delhi. I dictated my biggest scoop,
"Shastri dead." The journalist at the other end asked, "How is it
possible sir? I am subbing his speech." Late that night, Ayub Khan
came to the dacha. He prayed. He told me, "If this man had lived,
there was a possibility of India and Pakistan coming together to
live in peace." India honoured the Tashkent accord. But Pakistan
never implemented it. Bhutto was against it. There was a political
tussle within Pakistan. And Tashkent failed. 'I have been
betrayed.' Thirty-five years after Shastri's death, his family
breaks its silence. Pick up the next copy of India Abroad for a
world exclusive! Part II: The Errors of Simla Part III: When Rajiv
met Zia The Rediff Specials
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rediff.com Special: J N Dixit on the Simla Summit
HOME | NEWS | SPECIALS
July 15, 2001 The Rediff Special/ J N Dixit NEWSLINKS US EDITION
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India Pak Peace
The Errors of SimlaJyotindra Nath 'Mani' Dixit, the former
foreign secretary, shares his memories of the Indo-Pak summit in
Simla in 1972 with Sheela Bhatt.
Tips
Mohammed Ali Jinnah had tried to take over Jammu andKashmir.
Though he did not succeed, his actions affected the relationship
between India and Pakistan. Even after his death and that of prime
minister Liaquat Ali Khan, the relations between the two nations
did not stabilise. Jawaharlal Nehru did try for normalcy. He signed
an agreement with Pakistan's prime minister Mohammad Ali Bogda.
With the World Bank's help, we signed an Indus water treaty with
Ayub Khan. That was some marginal development. But Pakistan's
hostility did not go away and this resulted in the 1965 war.
Pakistan did not succeed in its objectives, which was primarily
aiming Kashmir. The interesting thing is Pakistan did not feel it
was militarily defeated in 1965. America and the Soviet Union
persuaded India to sign the Tashkent agreement. India had not won
the war decisively, and was in difficulty. Recent SpecialsTrouble
in Tashkent A Solution for Siachen When India and Pakistan almost
made peace War in cyberspace Ram, Jesus, Allah Much hype, small
gains Born to run Weak, distressed, accident-prone 'We will open
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the Moon MORE SPECIALS...
The crisis in East Pakistan was a qualitatively different
proposition. First of all, Pakistan thought that Chinese and
American support would ensure the failure of the liberation
struggle. President Yahya Khan thought if India launched a military
operation in the east, he could do something in Kashmir and take it
away. That is why he carried out a surprise, but it was no surprise
to us.
We defeated them for the first and perhaps only time on both,
the eastern and western fronts. We help the liberation of
Bangladesh and captured large areas of Sind and southern Punjab.
They didn't succeed in Kashmir, and we took 93,000 prisoners of
war. For the first time, Pakistan could not escape accepting the
fact that it was
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politically throttled and militarily defeated. The result was
the erosion and then, fading away of the Yahya Khan regime. The
defeat also convinced Pakistan it must have conversations with
India. Why we agreed to negotiations in Simla is worth analyzing.
We had no political and military objectives, we had no desire to
capture West Pakistan nor did we want to capture Pakistan occupied
Kashmir.
The military regime in Pakistan had disappeared and a civilian
-- Zulfikar AliBhutto -- had taken over, so we were at ease talking
to him. Holding onto another nation's territory is a politically
and financially expensive proposition. You have to appoint a
military governor and you have to permanently station your troops.
The population will be hostile. The age of aggressive imperialism
is over. It is not in our tradition, so we decided to talk.
Remember Simla occurred after a series of meetings in Dhaka. P N
Haksar, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's principal secretary, and
Foreign Secretary T N Kaul had detailed discussion with Mujibur
Rahman in Dhaka. Indira Gandhi conveyed to Mujib that India want
normalcy in the sub-continent. Mujib, I suspect, had some informal
contact with Bhutto when he was released in January 1972. Bhutto
asked Mujib to help in the release of the Pakistani POWs and, if
possible, not initiate war crime trials. I was then director of the
War desk at the ministry of external affairs. I was the first
acting ambassador to Bangladesh. My frank analysis is Mujib was not
keen on independence. He wanted to be prime minister of the whole
of Pakistan. It is only because of the obstinate stand of the
military regime and Bhutto that he was compelled to declare
independence. He was willing to negotiate even then. It was the
Awami League's youth wing who remained firm. He was not an active
participant in the freedom struggle, as he was in prison. India
told him if you don't want to release the POWs, Bangladesh could
keep them. Mujib was not prepared for that because he could not
afford it. Bhutto was a clever man, he anticipated the pressure on
us. At Simla we had many objectives. First, we wanted to stabilise
the relationship and tell Pakistan: The war is over, you provoked
it, we were compelled to respond, but that does not mean we have
any ambitions, territorial or otherwise. Second, we want the
Kashmir issue to be resolved to the maximum extent. Third, we
wanted Bhutto to recognise Bangladesh. Not only had Pakistan not
recognised Bangladesh, Islamabad was obstructing Dhaka getting UN
membership.
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Four, we wanted him to take back non-Biharis and non-Bengalis
from Bangladesh. This was a demand on Bangladesh's behalf. All
these was discussed first in Dhaka, then in Delhi and Murree in
Pakistan. P N Haksar, D P Dhar, chairman of the policy planning
committee, and T N Kaul were involved in the negotiations. Swaran
Singh was our foreign minister, Jagjivan Ram the defence minister.
In January 1972 I was appointed acting ambassador to Bangladesh. I
was in Simla for the first day-and-a-half. K P S Menon Jr, who
later became foreign secretary, was also involved in the
negotiations. India's strength was that we had won the war, but
importantly, we had gone through internal discussions to decide
what we want to achieve. It was decided if Pakistan agreed to the
new border and recognised Bangladesh, we would release the POWs. We
also told Pakistan if they recognised Bangladesh, we would persuade
Bangladesh not to initiate a war crimes trial. Mrs Gandhi went to
Simla with Sardar Swaran Singh, Haksar, Dhar and Kaul. There was a
business-like atmosphere in Simla. The chemistry of cooperation was
absent between the two leaders. Mrs Gandhi was not there to forget
and forgive. Bhutto's stand was, "Whatever you say is right, but I
was not responsible." He was a clever man. The discussions were
very difficult. Bhutto kept harping, "Look, I am in a weak
position. I have just taken over. If you make very harsh demands
and if I concede them I may not survive back home. Already, there
is a lot of anger and frustration in Pakistan. We don't want an
extremist Muslim or military government to come back. So please
help me stabilise myself in office."
People often ask why did we give back the territory we won?
Holding foreignterritory is expensive militarily. It would also
have not been acceptable to the international community. The 93,000
POWs lived in pucca housing. Our troops guarding them lived in
tents. For a year they lived in tents. Under the Geneva Convention
you have to give certain facilities to POWs. It affected the morale
of our soldiers. They thought we defeated the Pakistanis, but they
are living comfortably while we are in slums. There was the tension
of keeping 93,000 hostile soldiers. It was a complex predicament
and we wanted to get rid of them. We talked about Kashmir in Simla;
we wanted to settle it once and all. Till the last day we kept
saying the military commanders would draw a new line. It would not
be called a cease-fire line, but the Line of Control. It would be
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first step towards making it an international boundary. Kashmir
would not be considered a dispute. We discussed this at a formal
meeting too. Bhutto said, "I have no problem. I will do it, but
please don't put it in the agreement, formally." Mrs Gandhi
insisted upon this, but internal differences surfaced in our
delegation. Jagjivan Ram, Dhar and Kaul wanted Bhutto to put this
in the agreement, but Swaran Singh and Haksar cited history. If you
put this in the agreement, they said, it would be in the manner of
an imposed clause. The last time such an agreement was signed was
after the first world war. After Hitler came to power he said this
is an imposed agreement, it has no validity, he violated it and
there was war. This was the argument Mrs Gandhi was given. They
said, "If Bhutto says he will do it, then don't insist on including
it (Bhuttos promise on Kashmir to India) in the agreement." My
personal view is we should have insisted that Bhutto's promise on
Kashmir be included in the Simla agreement. I don't know what was
working in their minds, what the compulsions were. On the last
night, at the meeting with Mrs Gandhi, Bhutto agreed he would
formally declare the Line of Control as an acceptable boundary in
four years' time. This too was not put on record. The Simla
agreement just said Kashmir is an issue which should be discussed,
and has to be resolved peacefully and bilaterally. We made another
mistake by writing 'other means;' we agreed to solve it 'by other
means.' Till the last day it was certain the meeting would be a
failure. There was great anxiety. The mood was tense. If the talks
failed, it would mean we would have to keep 93.000 POWs and
Pakistan territory. The overriding feeling was that it is okay, if
he is giving us this assurance on Kashmir, maybe it will lead to a
durable peace. The agreement was signed on the very last day. From
July 1972 to 1974, Bhutto did take steps confirming his promise to
Mrs Gandhi. The level of violence on the border was not high. He
merged the northern areas into the Pakistan federation. He created
a separate Kashmir ministry. Of course, he started the nuclear
weapons programme, saying Pakistan would never again be defeated in
war. By 1974, Mrs Gandhi was in trouble because of the Navnirman
agitation. Bhutto had become very strong by then. Even the military
was subject to his influence. The Emergency made Mrs Gandhi
unpopular. She had to concentrate on internal problems. Bhutto was
a political opportunist. He saw Mrs Gandhi was weak and reduced by
50% the value of the Simla agreement by 1976. He said, "Kashmir is
a dispute." He didn't fulfill the other parts of the agreement.
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The value judgement of Simla that we didn't take advantage of
our position is in the light of much later developments. It did
improve our credibility. Henry Kissinger, who was our greatest
critic during the Bangladesh war, signed an agreement with us on
economic cooperation. The Simla agreement provided the framework of
some peace for a decade-and-a-half. Part I: Trouble in Tashkent
Part III: When Rajiv met Zia The Rediff Specials
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recalls the Rajiv-Zia talks
HOME | NEWS | SPECIALS
July 16, 2001 The Rediff Special/Romesh Bhandari NEWSLINKS US
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Former foreign secretary Romesh Bhandari was born and educated
in Lahore. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1950. During his
tenure, Pakistan President Zia-ul Haq visited New Delhi. He recalls
the encounter between then premier Rajiv Gandhi and General
Zia:
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for Siachen When India and Pakistan almost made peace War in
cyberspace Ram, Jesus, Allah Much hype, small gains Born to run
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President Zia and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi met inMoscow in
February 1985 at the funeral of the late Soviet president Yuri
Andropov. During their talks, both men agreed they should do
something to establish good relations between their countries.
Rajiv proposed to send me to Pakistan. Zia happily agreed because
his foreign minister Shabzada Yakub Khan and foreign secretary Niaz
Naik were pro-India.
I went to Pakistan and Zia's visit was finalised. In the middle
of December, Zia came on a working visit. He and Rajiv agreed for a
step-by-step approach. The compulsions of that meeting were by and
large the same. Zia realised that as long as both countries
remained hostile development would be elusive.
Remittances from the Gulf had started declining, so Zia had
economic compulsions. Zia, being a military man, realised there
could be no military solution. India had a clear advantage in
conventional warfare. He knew he could not fight a war and get
Kashmir. The best way was dialogue. There was also an agreement
that ruled out the use of force.
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There was no euphoria when Rajiv and Zia met. Because, people
did not trust Pakistan. They had heard so often that peace would
arrive, but it always remained far away. There was a feeling in
India that many within the Pakistan armed forces wanted to take
revenge for Bangladesh. So there was no hype. The talk took place
in the Yellow Room of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Zia stayed over that
night at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Zia was the most courteous and polite
leader I have ever met. He would always come right out to the car
to see off his visitor. There was good personal chemistry between
Rajiv and Zia. There was no tension. No one was present when they
spoke to each other for over two hours. We were in the committee
room. Both came out, sat with us and told us what they had agreed
upon. Rajiv took me aside and said, "Zia was pushing and pushing me
to commit myself to a visit to Pakistan." Nothing came out on
Kashmir. We know the stated positions. Zia was very keen that Rajiv
should visit Pakistan. Rajiv said we would do it step by step; let
the finance and foreign secretaries visit first. Rajiv had a very
mature view on Indo-Pak relations. But he was influenced by others.
People told him Zia should not be trusted. Initially it prejudiced
his approach. But later, people like us said, "Zia is saying
something, test him out." Zia's cricket diplomacy was part of
getting credibility because, after all, he was a military man. To
follow up on the Rajiv-Zia talks, then finance minister V P Singh
went to Pakistan. He had a productive dialogue with his
counterpart, the pragmatic economist Maqbool Haque. Later, I went
for the foreign secretary-level talks .The day I landed in
Rawalpindi the political forces had started their game. The Muslim
League passed a resolution that economic exchanges between India
and Pakistan were detrimental to Pakistan, and the Kashmir issue
could be solved only on the basis of the United Nations resolution.
I was naturally very upset. My first meeting was with then prime
minister Mohammad Junejo, who was from the League. I told him, "I
better pack up and go home." To which his answer was, "This was a
political resolution and if President
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has said he wants better relations with India, we are committed
to it." Next, I met the president. We had a one-on-one. Our talk
went on for over an hour. I mentioned the League's resolution. He
agreed that was a problem and asked me to continue our efforts. At
that point, we wanted Zia to show some gesture that could be
interpreted as a friendly one. I can't tell you what we wanted.
That's too loaded. I'll reveal that in my memoir. I told Zia if I
go back empty-handed Rajiv would believe Zia was sincere, but not
the people of India. Three days later, when I was in Karachi I was
whisked away in a car and told the president would like to talk to
me. Zia told me, "I have done the best I can. Please go back, rest
assured." Subsequently, the third step -- a meeting of sub-groups
-- got stalled. Forces in Pakistan that were against the
normalisation of relations overwhelmed Zia's desire. Rajiv said he
and Zia had come to some agreement over Kashmir. It could have
solved the issue, but unfortunately Zia died in the 1988 plane
crash and the hope of an Indo-Pak agreement got crushed. That
solution was to keep talking on the border issue. In the meantime
we would go ahead with our economical and cultural discussions,
almost freezing the Kashmir issue and allowing a better life to
Kashmiris. I firmly believe it is in the interest of the armed
forces of Pakistan to keep the Kashmir issue alive. Only thus can
they remain a determining factor in Pakistan. If there is peace
there will be no need for the type of military establishment they
have now. They would need an army the size of Bangladesh, which has
a border problem but no fear of aggression from India. Today,
Pakistan is on the verge of bankruptcy. There is resentment against
the dominance of the Punjabis from Sindhis and Baluchis. Therefore,
there is much greater hope that Pervez Musharraf would agree to
keep Kashmir on the backburner to keep Pakistan united. With
international emphasis on democracy, the armed forces realise that
in the long run they will have to function under a democratic
set-up. Under such circumstances, the hope to solve Kashmir
increases -- but only in a long run. Tomorrow: The Lahore
Declaration Part 1: Trouble in Tashkent Part 2: The errors of
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recalls the Rajiv-Zia talks
The Rediff Specials
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