350 scholars ask for ban on Pakistan aid

November 5, 1971

SCHOLARS URGE NIXON TO STOP AIDING PAKISTAN

More than 350 scholars signed a statement urging US president Richard Nixon to withdraw his country's support for Pakistan until there was a peaceful settlement of the India-Pakistan crisis.

A proposal from an ad hoc committee asked Nixon to inform the Pakistan government that the United States would not provide military or economic assistance nor continue aid programs "until there is political settlement with the elected Awami League leadership of East Bengal".

The statement was signed by five Nobel Laureates and many of leading US specialists on Asia, including Henry S Rosovsky and Benjamin I Schwartz of Harvard and Myron Weiner and Harold R Isaacs of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Weiner and Isaacs began circulating the statement for endorsement within the academic community at the beginning of November, 1971.

Other signatories, who were Nobel Prize winners, were Paul Samuelson and Salvador Luria of MIT, Simon Kuznets of Harvard and Linus Pauling and Richard Hofstadter of Stanford. The signers also included economists James Tobin of Yale, Wassily Leontief of Harvard and Otto Eckstein of MIT; Seymour Martin Lipset, Harvard political scientist, and Noam Chomsky, MIT expert on linguistics.

INDIA DOESN'T WANT WAR: INDIRA

Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi said in Washington DC today that her country had no desire to provoke war against Pakistan and had no territorial designs either on Pakistan or on what she called "East Bengal." She studiously avoided using the term East Pakistan.

Indira said, "I should like to plead with the world not to reach a solution that would leave out the people of East Bengal. The solution must be reached through Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and through their elected representatives."

Alluding to president Yahya Khan and his military government, she said: "The nations of the world should make up their own minds as to who is more important -- one man and his machine or a whole nation."

Indira met again today with Nixon and members of his cabinet and other senior US government officials.

Later, Lakshmi Kant Jha, India's ambassador to the United States, said the Indian premier had gained the impression that president Nixon was "making a genuine effort to achieve a political rapprochement" in East Bengal. Indian officials disclosed, however, that Nixon had warned that the US influence on Pakistan was limited.

BHUTTO ON VISIT TO PEKING

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, as the head of a delegation comprised military commanders and diplomats, left Pakistan today for China for consultations with Chinese leaders, including premier Chou En‐lai.

A Pakistan foreign office spokesman said that the delegation was invited by the Chinese government and would exchange views with the Chinese leaders about "recent developments in the subcontinent, among other things".

ON THE WAR FRONT

Mukti Bahini successfully drove the occupation troops out of Bantara and Mohanpur outposts today. The freedom fighters took control of these two posts. During their raids, Mukti Bahini killed one and injured another occupation soldier. Several Razakars were captured with two Chinese rifles, and LMG.

In Sylhet district, Mukti Bahini encountered occupation troops in Bagber area today. In that action, three enemy soldiers were killed. The freedom fighters also captured a Razakar.

Freedom fighters removed 200 metres of telephone cables between Hansadaha and Motchandpur. They also destroyed telephone poles between Chuadanga and Darsana.

Shamsuddoza Sajen is a journalist and researcher. He can be contacted at [email protected]