07051948 Text of the Speech made by Sir Mohammed Zafrullah Khan (Pakistan) in the Security Council Meeting No. 289 held on 7 May 1948

07051948 Text of the Speech made by Sir Mohammed Zafrullah Khan (Pakistan) in the Security Council Meeting No. 289 held on 7 May 1948

It is a matter of gratification that a certain definite stage has been reached with regard to the Security Council's efforts to bring about a settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir question between the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan.

In view of the announcement which the President has just made regarding the nomination of the United States as a member of the Commission, thus completing the formation of

the five member Commission, it is not necessary for me to make any comments now with regard to one or two declara­tions that appeared in the Press on behalf of the Government

We are particularly gratified that the United States has found it possible to undertake the responsibility which the President of the Security Council under the terms of the resolution of the Council [document S/726], has cast upon that great country. We trust that it will now be possible to get the Commission together at as early a date as possible, so that it may forthwith assume the discharge of the obligations laid upon it by the resolution of the Security Council.

Speaking for the moment completely as an individual keenly and passionately desirous of peace between the two Dominions and of peace all over the world, may I be permitted to give expression to the following hope and conviction: that if the-Commission proceeds immediately to the spot and gives concrete and practical proof of the fact that it will discharge the duties cast upon it by this resolution—in the spirit in which the reso­lution was conceived and in the light of the interpretation of its meaning placed upon it by the members of the Security Council —this will be the most effective way of convincing both the Governments of India and Pakistan, and the peoples of India and Pakistan, that the Security Council seriously desires peace and is determined to take every step to bring it about.

As I have said, I make this observation not as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, and not even as a person connected with one side or the other, but out of my passionate desire to see that peace should be restored as early as possible to these distracted areas, and also, as a result of the effort of United Nations, to other areas which are at present in a disturbed state,

As the President is aware, I had requested an opportunity, before I start on my return journey to Pakistan, to place before the Security Council such aspects of the remaining questions in difference between Pakistan and India as have had to be brought to the notice of the Security Council, so that after hearing what the representative of India may have to say on them, the Security Council may be able to proceed to contain such steps as may be necessary for the settlement of those differences.

In order to dispose of as many comparatively non-country version matters as possible, I would, with permission, deal first with this third question, namely, the non-implementation of agreements. In paragraph 26 of part III of document S/646J three matters are set out:

"1. Division of military stores;

"2. Division of cash balances;

1. Interference with the Reserve Bank so as to destroy the monetary and currency fabric of Pakistan. “With regard to the third of these items, the Government of Pakistan is setting up its own State Bank with effect from 1 July 1948 and that being so, I do not think that any useful purpose would be served by reviving before the Security Council a controversy which has ceased to be of any practical significance today. I have no desire merely to blame the Government of India for what may have been done in the past, so that that matter may be regarded as adjusted, or as no longer being a live issue.

With regard to the division of cash balances, out of the 550 million rupees which were due to Pakistan at the time when this matter was brought to the notice of the Security Council by Pakistan—which payment was then being wrongfully with­held—500 million rupees have since been paid, leaving only 50 million rupees which India has again wrongfully, from our point of view, withheld as an advance adjustment of certain claims by her against Pakistan. We do not accept that action as correct, but the amount involved is so small, and in any case the question is one of adjustment at some date or other which may soon be reached, that with reference to this question also I have no desire to trouble the Security Council this morning. It, too, may be considered as a matter which is no longer of any practical significance, so that under this heading of non-implementation of agreements, the Security Council is left to deal with one question only: the division of Military stores.

Paragraph 27, part III of document S/646, to which I have already drawn attention, reads:

"To supervise the division of armed forces and military stores, a Joint Defence Council was set up consisting of Lord Mountbatten, Governor-General of India, as Chairman;

representatives of the two successor authorities, India and Pakistan ; and Field-Marshal Auchinleck, the Supreme commander, as impartial authority to implement the decisions of the Joint Defence Council. It was estimated that the Supreme Commander would be able to complete his task by 31 March 1948. Within a very short time of the setting up of the Supreme Command, India created so hostile atmosphere in Delhi that the Supreme Commander found it impossible to discharge his responsibilities and was forced to recommend the abolition of his headquarters long before he had completed his task. In spite of the protests of Pakistan, the Government of India succeeded in doing away with this impartial organization which could have ensured equitable distribution of the stores and proper reorganization of the armed forces. The India Government pledged their word at the time that Pakistan would get its due share of

military stores"—within a short period—"These assurances were supported by Lord Mountbatten who, at a meeting of the Joint Defence Council held on 8 November, stated that

'he believed that in view of the unanimous endorsement given by the Indian Cabinet to the pledge that India would deliver to Pakistan the latter's full share of stores, Pakistan's

principal objection had been met/ This pledge, like other similar pledges of the India Government, has not been honoured and the slight trickle of military stores to Pakistan

shows signs of stopping altogether."

That was the position set out in the document of 15 January 1948. The delivery of military stores due to Pakistan from India is still in a most unsatisfactory condition. The exceedingly slow rate of this delivery may be judged from the fact that of 165,000 tons of ordnance stored due to Pakistan from India, only 4,703 tons had been delivered by 31 March 1948, leaving a balance of over 160,000 tons still to be delivered.

In engineering and canteen stores, the proportion delivered is somewhat higher, but the really vital stores for the efficiency and usefulness of an army are ordnance stores, and so far as those are concerned, over a period of seven-and-a-half months, less than three per cent of the stores due have so far been delivered. The delivery of telegraph stores is also proceeding very slowly and, according to a telegram dated 17 April, the Prime Minister of Pakistan has been forced to draw the atten­tion of the Prime Minister of India to this fact. Despite repeated representations by the Pakistan Post and Telegraph Department and the appointment of a special staff to attend to this work, stores valued at less than one million rupees have

been released out of stores worth 11 million rupees due to Pakistan. That is less than approximately nine per cent. Of this small number of released stores, only one-third have actually been received. No laboratory equipment, testing equipment, carrier terminals and repeaters have so far been used. released by India despite the repetition of the protest.

Similarly, no copies of workshop specifications and drawings have so far been supplied. From this brief account, the Security Council will realize that Pakistan has been placed under a very serious handicap by the non-delivery of these stores. Neither its military services nor its telegraph services can be maintained at any adequate level in the absence of the delivery of these stores. There is no denial, I believe, on the part of India that these stores are due to Pakistan and ought to be delivered at as early a date as possible.

For some time the excuse put forward was the lack of and disruption in communications. Fortunately, those considerations do not continue to apply, at least not to the same degree. But unfortunately, no eagerness has been noticed on the part of India to fulfil these obligations, and this is a matter which is causing a good deal of friction and friction, and which continues to produce bad feeling, between the two Governments. In respect of this matter, what is desired is-and one way of dealing with the matter may be-that the Commission that has been set up, since it was clearly envisaged that it might be charged with other duties in addition to the settling of the question of Jammu and Kashmir, might be charged with the duty of supervising the implementation of the agreements between India and Pakistan to which attention has been drawn, so that, under the supervision of an international authority, this matter can be amicably adjusted and settled. I trust that there will be no objection on behalf of India to this suggestion.

I shall now refer to the question of Junagadh, Manavadar, and Mangrol. This question has actually been submitted to the consideration of the Security Council in speeches made by me, and on behalf of India by Mr. Vellodi and Mr. Gopalaswami Ayyangar, so that the Council is in possession of its principal features. The outstanding feature is that these States acceded to Pakistan; subsequently, they have been occupied by the armed forces of India and, since that occupation, it has been announced that a plebiscite has been held the result of shows that an overwhelming majority of the peoples of States are desirous of acceding to India.

The Security Council is aware that, before this alleged plebiscite was held, protests were made on behalf of Pakistan and a request was made that the plebiscite be postponed. The request was conveyed, through the then President of the Security Council, to the Chairman of the Indian delegation, and he himself not only promised to convey the request to his Govern­ment, but expressed the view that there should be no difficulty in complying with that request. The request was not actually complied with but, on a later occasion, the representative of India stated that the Government of India would be quite willing to carry out an impartial plebiscite in these States regarding the question of accession. That being so, without going at this stage into unnecessary details, the question to be dealt with in connexion with Junagadh, Manavadar, Mangrol, and other States of Kathiawar which lawfully acceded to Pakistan but have since been forcibly occupied by India, is the settling of conditions under which a plebiscite could and may be held.

In this connexion the1 Pakistan delegation addressed to the then President of the Security Council, on 26 April, a communication containing the outline of a settlement of this problem* : This brief document recommended:

"1. That the Government of India should withdraw their forces from these States and reclaim the administration of their lawful rulers.

1. That the Government of Pakistan should agree that a nominee of the Secretary-General of the United Nations be appointed to be the administrator of these Stales. I might explain that that means not merely an administrator for the purpose of the plebiscite, but an administrator to ta/ the place of the present administrator appointed by Government of India; that is, he would be responsible for the complete administration, including the administration of the plebiscite.

"3. That the Government of Pakistan should agree that the administrator acting as an officer of the States shall be in charge of the entire administration of the States and shall have all power necessary for holding a fair and impartial plebiscite under the supervision of the United Nations Commission to decide whether these States are to accede to India or to Pakistan.

"4. That the Government of Pakistan should, at the request of the administrator, make available such forces as the latter may require for the performance of his functions.

"5. That the system of safeguards adopted in the case of Kashmir for ensuring a free and impartial plebiscite should be applied to these States with suitable modifications arising from the fact that these States, although at present in the unlawful occupation of India, are constitutionally in accession with Pakistan. In particular, all citizens of these States who have left them on account of disturbances, should be restored to their homes, lands and properties, and should be free to exercise their rights as citizens of the States.

6. That the Government of India should agree to pay compensation for losses and damage caused by the unlawful actions and activities of the military forces, civil and administrative officers, and nationals of the Indian Union in these States."

 

It will be appreciated that this is, mutatis mutandis, the scheme the Security Council adopted with reference to Kashmir, except that the Commission, as well as the administrator, are proposed to be given the widest possible powers. Pakistan seeks to make no reservations in respect of its powers, such as have been made in respect to the powers of the Commission and the Plebiscite Administrator in the case of Kashmir, or such as have been sought by the Government of India in this case.

In this connexion, I may draw the attention of the Security Council to two communications received, the first from the private secretary to the ruler of Manavadar, and the second from the Diwan of Mangrol. The first, dated 5 April and addressed to the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Karachi, reads as follows:

"I write to say that after the illegal occupation of Manavadar by India, the Muslims there were terrorized by Indian armed troops and many of them rushed to Karachi, leaving their homes and hearths. Some of the Muslims recently returned to Manavadar, while others went to Veraval"-a port in Junagadh-"but it is reported that they were not allowed to enter the territory of Manavadar by the authorities there. I have to request you to move this matter with the Government of India so that the Muslims returning to Manavadar will not be harassed.

"I have also received information that the Muslims of Manavadar were forced by the authorities to send a cable. message to the United Nations Security Council, Lake Success, that the situation in Manavadar is peaceful and normal and that Muslims are not terrorized and harassed, Those who refused to sign this message were harassed by the authorities. I may also say that Muslims are still terrorized in Manavadar and they are threatened that if they go to Pakistan, their properties will be confiscated. The Begum Saheba of Manavadar"-that is to say, the wife of the ruler-"desires me to request you to do something effective to secure the freedom of the ruler of Manavadar. I shall be grateful if you would kindly let me know whether anything has been done in the matter."

The second letter, as I have said, is from the Diwan of Mangrol, dated 22 April, and is addressed to me here. It says:

"The following telegram was sent to the Honourable Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and the Honourable Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on March 8, 1948:

"Sheikh Sahib of Mangrol"-meaning again the ruler of Mangrol-" 'simple imprisonment at Porbandar changed to rigorous imprisonment. Neither allowed to stir out of his room nor hear any news. Cannot see visitors or even his family members. Stipends to ruling family for maintenance discontinued. If you hate communalism and believe in non-violence, why this barbarous treatment under your Premierhip, for the only crime that he is a Muslim who wanted accession to Pakistan? Kindly accord him treatment at least humane." President, Mangrol Refugees"

The letter continues:

"I am sorry to tell you that neither was any reply received nor had it any effect to change the attitude of the Government of India. Sheikh Sahib is no longer a guest of the Indian Dominion. He was taken prisoner on 1 November 1947 and was subsequently removed to Porbandar. Now. he is confined to a house strictly guarded by the Indian military. Incarcerating a Muslim ruling prince for no other reason than that of accession is a clear sign of communal antagonism tantamount to breach of international law. If India, after victimizing and maltreating the ruling princes of Manavadar and Mangrol behind the bars for a protracted period of six months to coerce their surrender to the forcible demand of India to accede to India, poses at Lake Success to be the host of these princes, such becomes India. Nevertheless, the Sheikh Sahib is still ill, resisting and patiently undergoing the grim ordeal. Now the hour of his trial is knocking at the door of the Security Council. He is anxiously awaiting the result of the discussions at Lake Success, which perhaps might be prolonged for an indefinite period. I request you, therefore, to kindly move the members of the Security Council to exert influence on the Indian delegation to secure, at least at this stage, the Sheikh Sahib's release until the matter is finally decided."

I have drawn the attention of the Security Council to these two communications in connexion with the suggestion which has been put forward by us that the very first step to be taken, after the withdrawal of India's armed forces from the States, is to restore the lawful rulers to their due position in these States It may be urged that since the division of India into the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan, a great change has taken place in the status of the rulers of Indian States which are in accession to the Dominion of India. That, no doubt, is a matter dependent upon accession to one side or the other. Assuming that these States ultimately decide to accede to India, there will be nothing to stop these rulers or their people from aligning themselves, in the scheme of the future administration of the Indian States, in the same manner as the remaining States have done. What I want to emphasize and to make clear is that the demand for the restoration of these rulers does not mean that they must necessarily thereafter, whatever the result of the plebiscite may be, continue in the autocratic position in which they were up to 15 August 1947. They will have to take their chance with the rest, and their position will no doubt correspond to the position of the other rulers. But they are entitled to be restored to the position. of rulers, to whatever the insignia of that position might now be reduced, is a matter which admits, I trust, of no controversy; and as an immediate step, even before a resolution is passed here, I would, through the Security Council, convey the suggestion and the request of these people who have addressed these letters to us, to the effect that these two unfortunate rulers should be released, set at liberty, and restored to the ordinary, normal life of a free, respectable person. That concludes my submission on the question of these States.

That brings me to the second question: genocide. Though this matter has not yet formally been moved and discussed in the Security Council, a good deal of the material upon which my submission is to be based had, of necessity, to be placed before the Council in my very first submission to it, in order to furnish the Council with the background of the unfortunate events that had occurred across the borders of East and West Punjab, out of which the situation in Kashmir had directly arisen [228th and 229th meetings).

That material was placed before the Security Council in order to enable it to appreciate the Kashmir problem against its proper background. However, the material is there and therefore it is unnecessary to go over the gruesome details again, as I have no doubt that the representatives will be able to revive and refresh their memories with regard to this matter by a perusal of that portion of the record which relates to it. But I shall try, briefly, to sum up the matter today, so that the Security Council receives a view of the principal aspects of the problem, and of what is required to be done with regard to it.

Since I addressed the Security Council on this matter, I have received certain authentic documents dealing with these matters issued by the West Punjab Government as government publications. I regret that I do not have enough copies here to supply every member of the Council, but I shall be able to supply at least three copies to the Secretariat for such use as the members of the Council might wish to make of them.

The first of these booklets is called Note on the Sikh Plan. It will contribute towards shortening my submission to the Security Council if I read aloud certain brief portions from this booklet. The first, second and last paragraphs of the foreword will show what these booklets contain. These paragraphs read as follows:

"In the year 1947, between half a million and one million Muslims-men, women and children-were murdered in the Punjab and Kashmir State by Hindus and Sikhs. Some were murdered in Delhi and the other parts of India. Five million of those who escaped these genocidal massacres were chased out of their homes; dispossessed of their lands, their household goods, their ploughs, and their cattle, they found refuge in Pakistan.

"Most of this destruction took place in a few weeks. It was swift and widespread because it was planned. The manufacture and collection of arms had been going on for a long time. Two vast secret armies, the Akal Fauj of the Sikhs and the RSSS of the Hindus, had been organized for it. Many Hindu and Sikh political leaders were at the back of it. So were many Hindus and Sikhs among the officials, the police and the army. So were the rulers of Sikh States in the Punjab, and the Maharajah of Kashmir."

The last paragraph reads as follows:

"These accounts have been prepared from authentic records and from the statements of eyewitnesses. They are, for the most part, purely factual. They contain no speculation and the minimum amount of comment."

The first two paragraphs of the Note itself are also important. They read as follows:

"This account of Sikh preparations on military, terrorist and aggressive lines is reconstructed from official records. These records were filed during a period when the government in power was either the Unionist Government in which Hindus and Sikhs participated or was directly under the control of the Governor of the Province under section 93 of the Government of India Act. In neither of these governments did the Muslim League have any share. Indeed, the Muslim League was emphatically and vigorously opposed to either government. The official machinery to which we owe the collation of these records and the collection of intelligence and information on which they are based was in no sense under the control of the Muslim League and, in fact, in many cases was the target of their disapproval and protest. The possibility that the official machinery was inspired by, or biased in favour of, the Muslim League, which is the party in power today in all parts of Pakistan, may therefore be reasonably ruled out.

"The ultimate goal which the Sikhs had set before them seems to have been the establishment of Sikh rule in the Punjab. Their preparations to this end were aimed directly and exclusively against the Muslims. Whether the Hindus, who formed the bigger minority in the Punjab, would

ultimately acquiescing in the fulfilment of Sikh ambitions at their expense is doubtful; but, for the time being they made common cause with the Sikhs. The activities and preparation of the two, therefore, run parallel to each other and even where active conspiracy between them is not evident, the fact that they regarded the Muslims as their common enemy created a mutual disposition towards collaboration which virtually amounted to a conspiracy and led to concerted effort. The concluding section may also be submitted to the Security Council. It reads as follows:"Hindu-Sikh preparations on these lines continued throughout July and well into August, but by then the plan that had been maturing for months, and perhaps longer, had already. begun to be translated into action. The manner in which the plan was implemented forms the subject of another note, but enough material has been given in the foregoing pages to leave little doubt of the existence of a plan. The facts presented above are based on official reports which, whatever their shortcomings, remain, comparatively speaking, the most reliable, authentic, the best informed and most carefully sifted body of evidence available on the subject of Sikh secret activities during the first half of 1947. These facts emerge from a mass of details which have been put down at some length and with the minimum of comment because in their accumulative effect they constitute overwhelming and incontrovertible evidence. It is clear from this evidence that, as part of the more ambitious irredentist dream of Sikh sovereignty, the immediate objectives of the plan were: (a) extensive sabotage and destruction of Muslim life and property; and (b) the elimination, if possible, of Muslims. from the Sikh belt along the eastern border of West Punjab."This plan was conceived by the Sikhs, though a section of the Hindus was not only aware of its general outlines and implications, but aided and abetted them at many points.The central figures of the conspiracy were Master Tara Singh, Giani Kartar Singh, Udham Singh Nagoke and other leaders of the Akali Party. The main lines of the preparations were: (a) the collection of funds, (b) the collection, manufacture and import of arms; (c) widespread and large-scale enlistment of Sikhs in private armies such as the Akal Fauf and the Shahidi Jahas; and (d) the development of a well-knit organization capable of swift murderous action according to a centralized plan.

"All sections of the Sikh community-the intelligentsia, religious and political leaders, ex-INA men, peasants, teachers and students were mobilized to perfect the plan and extensive, and in some cases elaborate, arrangements were taken in hand to train men both for staff work and for murder, looting and arson.

"The evidence presented in the foregoing pages as well as that contained in the appendices to this note places the responsibility for the plan unmistakably on the Sikh leaders (notably Master Tara Singh) who through these fateful months feverishly toured the Province penetrating to the remotest rural areas, preaching hatred and strife either openly or in the precincts of their gurdwaras, and hysterically preparing and equipping their followers to the highest pitch, for the perpetration of the massacres that followed. It also makes it clear that the Sikh States no less than the Sikh leaders of British Punjab were active members of the conspiracy and that the militant section of the Hindus (in some cases inspired, guided and trained by Hindu apostles of violence in other provinces of India) helped their designs throughout by carrying on underground terrorist activity and by organizing useful information and intelligence."

Appendix I of the booklet called The Sikhs in Action, to which I shall draw attention, sets out 107 cases of massacre, arson and looting, in which the police and military, or one of them, took an active part along with the Sikh raiders, in killing, looting and burning of property, and committing other outrages upon the Muslim population.

The second booklet is titled RSSS in the Punjab. The RSSS is a Hindu organization. On page 11 of that document the following is stated:"The link between the Akalis and the Rashiriya Swayam Sewak Sangh became closer when Rai Bahadur Badri Das and Bakhshi Sir Tek Chand assured Master Tara Singh of the support of the Sangh, in combatting the threat of Muslim domination in the Punjab, Master Tara Singh reciprocated this gesture by issuing instructions to Akal Sena that henceforth the two bodies were to collaborate with each other. From now onwards, the Muslim was the com mon enemy aimed at by both."The two men referred to by name, Rai Bahadur Badri Das and Bakhshi Sir Tek Chand, occupy a very eminent position among the Hindus in Punjab. Rai Bahadur Badri Das was the leader of the Hindu Bar in the High Court; Bakhshi Sir Tek Chand is a retired judge of the same High Court. As an illustration, pages 18 and 19 of the same document give some account of the preparations made by the RSSS with regard to its nefarious purposes. The following is stated:

"A Hindu, who was detained by the police and interrogated at Rawalpindi, confessed that he and his associates had been procuring arms from the North-West Frontier Province and had also manufactured bombs at Rawalpindi and Lahore,"

This was before the partition took effect. Then it goes on to state the following:"He said that the arms and bombs procured were sent to Amritsar and Lahore for distribution to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh workers. He also confessed that among the persons who had obtained illicit fire-arms through him, was Captain I.N. Bali, Adviser to the Punjab National Bank, and that R.B. Badri Das of Lahore had visited Rawalpindi and had given 10,000 rupees to a local Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh worker for the purchase of arms. According to him the method employed for smuggling arms was to pack them in boxes and to mark them as containing medicines. Mention was also made about the establishment of secret bomb manufacturing factories in the Patiala and Faridkot States. The two-lakh fund, which was collected by Golwalkar during his tour, was probably used for the purchase of arms and for the manufacture of bombs. The Deputy Leader of the Congress Assembly party, now Prime Minister in the East Punjab, came to notice for giving a letter of introduction to a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worker to Master Tara Singh for procuring bombs. After the March riots, the Congress influence amongst the masses began to wane and instead the RSSS and the Hindu Mahasabha became increasingly popular.``

This document contains a very interesting circular drawn up by the RSSS, with the object of obtaining Hindu domination in certain parts of the Punjab, after the division should come into effect.The third booklet is called The Sikhs in Action, and sets out what was actually done. This document, in appendix 1, contains the 107 cases of atrocities, and sets out the date, the time (where ascertainable), the place of occurrence, the nature of the atrocity committed, the personnel involved, and the name of the force or unit of the military or the police involved (if known), of the 107 cases where the rioters were supported in their activities of massacre and other atrocities by the troops and the police of the Indian States or of the Government of India. It also sets out, in the same form, an account of the atrocities committed. It draws attention, on page 28, to the fact that, "The most despicable feature of the East Punjab massacres was the active collaboration of the civil authorities, the police and the military, with the attackers and the looters," and sets out instances of it.

Now, with reference to this matter, Mr. Gopalaswami Ayyangar drew my attention-both outside the Security Council and, on one occasion, I believe, in the Council-to the fact that atrocities and massacres had also occurred in West Punjab against Sikhs and Hindus. That is a fact which we have neither tried to conceal nor to suppress when placing this matter before the Security Council or condemning it outside the Council. But there is this distinction to be drawn between what happened in West Punjab and what happened in East Punjab: in East Punjab the massacre of the Muslims, and the atrocities committed against them, were the result of a plan, of a conspiracy, which was systematically carried out. And it was only when. this plan began to be put into operation, and the Muslim refugees from East Punjab carried their tales of horror into West Punjab, that the population there was provoked into committing similar deplorable acts and atrocities.

There was the further distinction that in West Punjab a wave of persecution of that kind would arise whenever a wave of refugees came in from East Punjab. There was no plan; there was no preparation; there was no conspiracy. Nevertheless, what occurred in West Punjab is, as I have always said, equally deplorable and equally to be condemned.

The point I wish to stress is this. I shall presently show that conditions continue within the Dominion of India which cause a great deal of anxiety with regard to the future security, the safeguarding of life and property, and the procuring of a normal existence for the 35 million to 40 million Muslim population of India. If similar conditions are alleged to exist in any part of Pakistan, or if it is even feared that they exist, we are equally willing to take measures which are to be taken in respect. of East Punjab and in the Dominion of India may be applied equally, wherever applicable, to West Punjab. We do not shirk any inquiry and we should welcome any kind of machinery that may be set up to supervise the settlement of the solution.

which may be arrived at. In this booklet, The Sikhs in Action, I wish to draw attention to a passage on page 49:

"This is as accurate and comprehensive a picture of the situation in West Punjab in the month of September as can be given in a few paragraphs. It does not present the Muslims as entirely innocent, but there are some features of This picture sharply contrasts with the general pattern of events in East Punjab during the same period. Muslim excesses, apart from isolated stabbings and sporadic -comparatively minor-happenings, occurred in waves, each wave being caused by some provocation from the Sikhs, who were still residing in the West Punjab districts, or by news of some major atrocity in the East Punjab. Train and truck loads of Muslim corpses from across the border created reactions which it was not easy, either for the individuals directly affected or for the authorities, to control.

"Convoys of Muslims arriving from East Punjab presented a pathetic spectacle, whereas convoys of Sikhs evacuating West Punjab left their villages defiantly killing and pillaging on the way. Hardly any attack by the Muslims went unpunished by the military or the police. The non-Muslim minority in the West Punjab, be it noted, were able almost up to the last minute to be actively aggressive, and even when they were massed together in large concentrations, presumably for self-protection, to rush out at night and inflict casualties. on the Muslims.

"A list of attacks in West Punjab on refugee trains is given as an appendix. It will not be without interest to compare it with the statement of attacks on Muslim refugee trains. If nothing else, the comparison will at least show that the Muslims were not nearly so efficient in the art of large-scale killings as the non-Muslims across the border. They had no plan, no method, no organization. They acted as their natural impulses prompted them from time to time. When they were angry, they killed and looted and burned. When the anger passed, they fell again into a state of depression, puzzled at what had befallen them, until they were provoked again.

"Unlike the Sikhs and the Hindus, they did not have to go through a programme drawn up for them in a war room, a programme which they must carry out, provocation or no provocation."

That is the essential distinction.

Section 13 deals with what happened in the Indian States which are now in accession to the Dominion of India. Section 14 contains the summary, and I shall read it to the Security Council:

"This note is not intended to be a tale of horror. Gruesome details of rapes and tortures, and sickening accounts of brutalities and atrocities, of limbs torn and wombs ripped open, of maimings, beheadings and nauseating obscenities, have been deliberately avoided. Most of the thousands of refugee stories contain one or more of these details. But although they add enormously to the human suffering and humiliation which these events have caused, an intelligent reader can well imagine them for himself. It is enough for such a reader to be told that the loss of human lives from genocidal attacks and from lack of food, exposure and floods has been so great that it is difficult to find a parallel to outside a large-scale war.

"The Muslim population of the East Punjab districts and States, allowing for a normal increase since the 1941 census, has been calculated at about 6 million. A census of refugees is already in progress in West Punjab, and is about to be taken in other parts of West Pakistan. Until that is concluded it is not possible to give the accurate number of those from East Punjab who have been forced to take refuge in Pakistan. But provisional calculations put the figure at about 5 million. And there are some Muslims still stranded in East Punjab. The remainder-that is, half a million to one million Muslims-either rest beneath the earth's surface in unknown fields, ditches, drains, wells and rivers, or their bodies have been eaten up by dogs and vultures. Nor was it the intention to include all the events-even all the major events-in this note. There are too many of them, and too many others. which will never be known, as those who could truthfully relate them are dead.

"The purpose of this note is merely to show that the crime of the Sikhs and their Hindu instigators and accomplices was a premeditated crime, that these murders and massacres were planned, and that even as the secret preparations presaged an organized annihilation of Muslims, the methods of annihilation reveal previous preparations. The incidents That have been mentioned here have been with this end alone in view and do not claim to constitute an exhaustive picture, either in time or space, of the entire scene,"

Later on, it is stated:

"In East Punjab, however, the plan succeeded remarkably well. Within a few weeks an enormous population of Muslims that had been living there for generations were either wiped out or turned out completely and thoroughly. The fire-arms and other lethal weapons collected and manufactured over a number of months, the persistent conditioning of the Sikh masses by ceaseless propaganda and fanatical preachings, the organization and steady growth of the Akal Fauj, the close coordination with the Sikh States, the active help-with men, money and material rendered by the Sikh rulers, the pact with the Hindus and their militant organization, the RSSS, the unity of purpose which inspired Hindus and Sikhs in all walks of life including civilian officials and the army-all these yielded an ample return. These elements of the plan manifested themselves in all parts of the province and where they found the fullest scope and encountered the least obstacles, as in the East Punjab and the Sikh States, their success was phenomenal."

That is what happened. That the provocation continues and has not come to an end may be gathered from the particulars set out in two further publications, Aerial and Land Incursions from East Punjab into West Punjab, including Incursions by the Military and the Police, parts I and II. These are also official government documents.

It may be said that this is an old story; that since then efforts have been made by the Government of India to put an end to all the horrors; that the situation is much improved; that there is nothing further to fear in the way of genocidal activities.

For such efforts as have been made and for such results as have been achieved by private endeavour or through the Government, we are grateful. But that the situation has not radically changed so far as danger and fear are concerned, is perfectly obvious from what continues to happen.

The Security Council is aware, as the material was placed before it, of the seven points on which the late Mr. Gandhi succeeded in obtaining the agreement of the Sikhs and the Hindus for helping the Muslims of Delhi in the way of vacating the mosques and Muslim shrines that had been forcibly occupied, and in permitting the Muslims to live in peace wherever they wanted to live, and other similar matters.

With regard to the most important item contained in those seven points-that is to say, the vacating of Muslim mosques, tombs and shrines, the occupation of which obviously was a matter that would cause the greatest amount of distress to the Muslims the position is that on 7 April, 167 mosques and shrines in Delhi, the capital city of India, were still occupied by non-Muslims, and had not been restored to the Muslims or to their proper use.

This is reinforced by official information sent to me by my own Government, obtained through our High Commissioner residing in Delhi. What the conditions in the Indian States have been and are may be gathered from this official report sent by our Deputy High Commissioner in Delhi to the Foreign Office at Karachi, dated 17 April 1948:

"I have just completed a tour of the States of Faridkot, Nabha, Patiala, Bharatpur and Alwar, where I have seen things with my own eyes. In every State they received me properly, and I had long discussions with the rulers. Patiala and Alwar took special measures to see that the people had no access to me during my stay. In Patiala there has been much killing of Muslims on which I am making a separate report. In Alwar, every single mosque, tomb, and graveyard, including those in military areas and in government custody, has been destroyed by the State by employing contractors, and roads have been constructed over these areas. Planned destruction of places of worship, graveyards, mausoleums, and so on, are acts of vandalism on the part of the State and State officials. "In my opinion, the Prime Minister of Pakistan should approach the Prime Minister of India to have a commission of inquiry set up to punish the evil-doers. A visit to Alwar will show the amount of hatred that developed in this.

particular State against the Muslims and their monuments. "When inquiries are held, I am sure that the misdeeds of this particular State will be condemned throughout India and Pakistan.

"Large-scale forced conversions with the assistance of the army took place all over the State. The converted persons residing in Alwar town are in great distress. In February last, at my insistence, the Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi took up the question of the destruction of Muslim places of worship in Alwar with the Minister of External Affairs, New Delhi, and their reply is that they passed on the reference to the United States of Matsank for such action as they consider necessary. This is not enough and I propose that the matter should be taken up at the highest level by both the Dominions so that evil-doers are punished and damage done to the places of worship is made good out of the State Exchequer or at the expense of those responsible for planning deliberate destruction."

A very illuminating document is a standardized order issued by the district authorities in the Nabha State to the Muslims who, after these massacres and atrocities, were forcibly converted to Hinduism or Sikhism. A copy of this standardized order has been supplied to my Government by the office of our High Commissioner in India. I leave out the blanks which, of course, would be filled in, in each case. The order runs as follows:

", son of....., having applied for permission to remain in his house in village....., through the head of the village, after conversion to Hinduism or Sikhism, is hereby permitted to retain his old house in the said village and keep with him the following members of his family 2. 3. 4. 5.

The indication is-by including their names-that the members of the family must also be converted to Hinduism or Sikhism.

The order proceeds:

"He shall, after conversion to Hinduism or Sikhism, be permitted to the ownership of his house and household movable property and he shall have the same status of a kamin" that is to say, a servitor-"as he was enjoying before conversion.

"Given under my hand and sealed this second day of ....

District Magistrate of..."

That is the kind of thing that is still going on.

The latest occurrence that has taken place in the Dominion of India itself was at a place called Godhra during the last week of March 1948. Godhra is a town about a couple of hundred miles north of Bombay in which the majority of the population was Muslim. This is what occurred. Sikh and Hindu refugees who had come into this town pulled down and destroyed a Muslim flag on 21 March 1948. This incident caused a certain amount of panic and tension among the Muslims. On 25 March, attempts were made by certain Hindu and Sikh refugees to install idols in a mosque. To those who are familiar with Muslim sentiment, it would be clear how gross an act of provocation that was.

These attempts were resisted by the local Muslims. In the afternoon of the same day, attacks were made on Muslims throughout the city. The next day, 26 March, large mobs of Hindus and Sikhs launched organized attacks on Muslim localities and set fire to them. This was followed by indiscriminate shooting and massacre of men, women and children. The fire continued to blaze for almost a week and over 3,000 Muslim dwellings were reduced to ashes. Muslims began leaving the town and neighbouring areas in great panic, so that by the end of the week the entire area became almost completely denuded of the Muslim population.

The official statement made by the Prime Minister of Bombay places the figure of Muslims killed at as low as sixteen. But there is good reason and evidence to believe that, unfortunately, the actual casualty list runs into four figures. Newspaper and other eyewitness reports indicate that there was definite official connivance, if not active support, in this outburst of communal hatred against Muslims. There is a good deal of material from which these conclusions have been drawn, with which I need not worry the Security Council.

Further east the attitude of the Hindus towards the Muslims might be judged from this English translation of a Bengali leaflet headed "Secret directive of all parties which believe in the cult of force and are in favour of annihilating Pakistan." It is not necessary to read the whole of this document to the Security Council. But every possible form of persecution and direct action that can be imagined is here. out as a guide for the Hindus, who should be ever alert to seize every chance to bring Pakistan to an end-not merely with regard to the treatment of minorities within their own areas, but to make it impossible for Pakistan to carry on.

From time to time conferences take place between the two Dominions to bring about some settlement of this very unfortunate problem. Recently an agreement was reached, mainly with reference to East and West Bengal, as to what should be the treatment to be accorded to the minorities in each Dominion. But what actually goes on happening leaves very little room for hope, unless the question is dealt with at the international level, that massacres and atrocities of the kind to which attention has been drawn will not continue to occur in various parts of the Indian Dominion. Here is some evidence with regard to the attitude of leaders of Hindu society, of the Indian National Congress, which is the Hindu political organization, and of people in authority as ministers or as presidents of legislatures, with regard to what should be done to the Muslims and how they should be treated.

Mr. A.G. Kher, Minister for Local Self-Government in the United Provinces, said at a press conference:

"I would ask Muslims to prove by action that their expressed loyalty to India is genuine and unequivocal."

That is all right; nobody takes any objection to that. But I would request the Security Council to note how that proof is to be afforded:

"They should surrender all arms, even licensed arms, as an earnest of complete faith in the Government to which they owe allegiance."

The Muslims are called upon to prove their loyalty to the Dominion of India by surrendering all their arms, even those held under licences granted by the Government, as a proof that they have confidence in that Government. That is to say, they are voluntarily to disarm themselves so that when they are made victims of communal aggression they should not have even the means of self-defence available to them. And that is an invitation issued by the Minister for Local Self-Government.

in the United Provinces. Mr. Charan Singh, Parliamentary Secretary to the United Provinces Government, in a statement issued from Lucknow, gave this advice to the Muslims:

"If Leaguers"-that is to say, followers of the Muslim League "believe that they acted rightly in working for the achievement of Pakistan, then they must, in honesty, voluntarily leave for Pakistan today, as tomorrow circumstances will compel them to do so."

What is that if not a threat of a repetition of the kind of thing which had already occurred?

The President of the United Provinces Congress Committee, Mr. Algurai Shastri, after describing the Muslim Leaguers as fifth columnists and denouncing them for making efforts to infiltrate into the Congress ranks with the ulterior objective of weakening the Congress Party, warned the Muslims in a statement. Before I quote from his statement, I want to draw the Security Council's attention to the fact that, on the one hand, continuous pressure is being put on the Muslims within the Dominion of India to the end that they should dissolve their own political associations and merge with the Congress. On the other hand, this is what the President of the United Provinces Congress Committee said on the subject:

"Congress cannot be fooled by the professions of loyalty to India so freely and frequently made by Muslim leaders. Nowadays, their sole aim seems to be to enter Congress" exactly what they have been exhorted to do by the Congress "by back door methods and get their share of the administration. But I warn them that we will have no truck with them. We will fight their views and fight their designs. The Leaguers know it, but they are out to befool Congress and Hindus. Some top-ranking Leaguers have assumed the role of defenders of Hindu rights and have appealed to Muslims to stop the slaughter. By this device they want to win the confidence of Hindus and get success in the elections which would be fought this time on the basis of joint electorates. But I want to tell the Leaguers that their tactics of infiltration and sabotage would not succeed. We also know that they have always betrayed the country."

What does this statement indicate? It says, "If you remain outside the Congress, you are disloyal because you do not join the political association of the Hindus; therefore, you will be discriminated against; you will receive practically no rights. If you seek to join the Congress, then you are doing it with ulterior motives." What are those "ulterior motives"? The "ulterior motives" are that one wants to be elected in the elections that might be held and to receive a share in the administration. But is that an "ulterior motive"? For what purpose does a person join a political organization at all? Obviously, so that others who think in similar terms with him and have similar policies, will have his support in the elections, and also that people should receive their due share in themsetting up of the administration. These are the "ulterior motives" alleged here, and the Muslims are told, "You may remain outside the Congress or you may join the Congress, but you will have no standing whatsoever in these matters."

 

Mr. Vallabh bhai Patel, the Deputy Prime Minister of India, addressing the Muslims of the United Provinces on 6 January 1948, said: "I believe in plain speaking. I do not know how to mince matters. I want to tell the Muslims frankly that mere declarations of loyalty to the Indian Union will not help them at this critical juncture."

If one makes a declaration of loyalty, that is nothing. Even if one says, "Well, the eating of beef irritates and offends the feelings of our Hindu brothers, so we who live in India should give up eating beef," nevertheless, as the Security Council has already seen, that is also ascribed to "ulterior motives"-to hypocrisy and a desire to infiltrate. Yet the Muslims are told that mere declarations of loyalty to the Union will not do.

On 14 April 1948, Acharya Kripalani, who was at one time. President of the All-India Congress Committee, suggested that the best way for the Indian Muslims to demonstrate their loyalty to India was for them to go in large numbers to Hyderabad and make the Hyderabad Muslims see reason, that is to say, that they should persuade the Hyderabad Muslims. that they should accept accession to the Dominion of India.

That is the kind of proof that is being required, and if one does not provide it, one is barred.

Babu Purshottamdas Tandon, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the United Provinces, has said: "I appeal to the Hindus to organize themselves and prepare for the emergency which may arise in the near future." He went on to warn the Government of the United Provinces of "the danger of keeping Muslim officers in responsible posts." That is to say, Muslim officers in the Indian Administration should be got rid of. In the United Provinces, special tribunals have been set up to inquire into the loyalty of Muslim officers of the Government. These tribunals, which hold proceedings in camera, have absolute power to accept or reject any part of the evidence they wish, and their orders are not subject to appeal. About one thousand Muslim officers in the United Provinces alone are at present undergoing this investigation. It is all very well to investigate the loyalty of any particular government officer, but this is obviously a device to get rid of Muslim officers from the Administration.

I want to turn now for a moment to the human element involved in this matter. Confining myself for the time being to the occurrences in East and West Punjab, which form the main subject matter of this part of our case, I desire to draw attention to portions of two letters which I have received from a young Sikh lawyer who, as a consequence of these happenings, had to move from West Punjab to Delhi.

He is a non-Muslim, but he is one of the displaced ones. He has had to leave his home. He is now in Delhi. From these circumstances the Security Council will be able to judge the feeling of the average person on either side. In his letter of 13 March 1948 addressed to me, he says:

"I have been reading with keen interest the proceedings of the United Nations. The latest is that Gopalaswami Ayyangar is hopeful that you will give up the question of genocide. I do hope it is just wishful thinking on his part, and that you have no mind to do anything of the kind. No honest man should be interested in screening the enemies of humanity, whoever and wherever they happen to be. Gopalaswami Ayyangar and Co. and leaders from Bengal and Karachi have only an academic interest in the happenings of Punjab, perhaps not even that. Punjabis alone know what genocide means, because there is hardly a person who has not suffered directly or indirectly."

In his letter of 1 March, the young Sikh lawyer says as follows:

"I do hope that the United Nations is doing something useful and trying to bring about a conciliation between the two Dominions. What about the displaced persons of the East and the West Punjab? They are more than a crore" -a crore is 10 million-which is almost double the population of Jammu and Kashmir. "Have they not a right to go back to their homes? Do they not have a right to put their case before the United Nations and claim a redress of their grievances? The displaced persons are anxious to get back, except, of course, those who have improved their position by fair means or foul-mostly foul. Please consider the case of one crore of humanity and fight for them too, just as you are fighting for the rights of the people of Kashmir. The people want the guilty to be punished and the return of conditions that would enable displaced persons to go back. to their original homes. In your speeches you have mentioned the case of such persons. Please see that this question is not shelved. The only solution for the displaced humanity is the one outlined by Mahatmaji and supported by Hazrat Kahfat. Your own views are the same. The majority of displaced persons have reached a stage where they consider that those killed in the riots were more fortunate than themselves. You can well imagine the rest.``

In a letter published in the Civil and Military Gazette of Wednesday, 10 March, the following appears, also in a letter by a non-Muslim:

"Sir, one crore of refugees are displaced today. What about this one crore of suffering humanity? Whose concern are they? Who worries about them? None at present in the Indian Dominion. The only person who felt for them and who had the right solution-settling refugees in their original homes and who was working toward that end, was Mr. Gandhi. Is there now no help, no hope? I think there is. The question has been taken up in the United Nations by Sir Mohammed Zafrullah Khan, representative. of the Dominion of Pakistan. All honour to him. He is advocating exactly the same cause as the Mahatma did. Those people who have been compelled to leave their homes should be restored to them and conditions should be established in which they can live in peace and security without being subjected to any kind of discrimination. Sir Mohammed Zafrullah Khan said: 'Is it not a sad commentary on the Dominion of India that none from here has carried or dared to carry on the noble task left unfinished by Mr. Gandhi? Has he left no spiritual or political descendants in India?

"Sir Mohammed has raised the question of genocide in the East Punjab. Perhaps it would have been better and nobler for him not to confine the issue to the East Punjab, but then he is a lawyer representing one side only. Why should India fight shy of an open inquiry into the happenings of the East and the West Punjab? Let the world know the naked truth. The non-Muslims of the West and the Muslims of the East Punjab must combine on the spot and demand not only restoration of their homes, but also exemplary punishment of all those in power who, when their help was most needed, failed to give adequate protection to the minorities. The non-Muslims of the West and the Muslims of the East Punjab speak the same language-the language of sorrow and suffering. They are the people without a home. They must now make a common front and seek the aid of the United Nations."

This letter also was written from Delhi. That is the problem as it is presented today.

In part II of document S/646, we have said that the Security Council should appoint a commission:

"(a) To investigate the charges of mass destruction of Muslims in the areas now included in the Indian Union, to compile a list of the rulers, officials, and other persons guilty of 'genocide', and other crimes against humanity and abetment thereof, and to suggest steps for bringing these persons to trial before an international tribunal;

"(b) To devise and implement plans for the restoration to their homes, lands, and properties of Muslim residents of the Indian Union who have been driven out of or have been compelled to leave the Indian Union and seek refuge in Pakistan; to assist in the relief and rehabilitation of such refugees; to secure the payment to them by the Indian Union of due compensation for the damage and injuries suffered by them; and to take effective steps for the future security, freedom and well-being of Muslims in India and for the protection of their religion, culture and language."

That, as has been remarked by this correspondent of the Civil and Military Gazette, is, or may sound, one-sided. It is not one-sided. The business of my Government, when it came to the Security Council to ask for redress, was to put forward the grievance that it had in this connexion and to ask for appropriate redress. But, as I have stated before and as I have stated this morning, Pakistan would welcome reciprocal investigation, arrangements and settlements for achieving the objectives that we have set out here.

After a stay of nearly four months in this great city, I am now compelled, having regard to the duties with which I have the honour to be charged in my own country, to take my departure. The delegation of Pakistan will continue to be continuously represented before the Security Council. We are extremely anxious and keen that these remaining matters should be settled as quickly as possible and that the matter of Kashmir should be expedited immediately. We believe that these three matters which we have raised may perhaps quite conveniently be committed to the same Commission which, no doubt, will have more than one principal delegate from each country on it and a certain amount of staff. Thus, while the plebiscite is being organized and held in Kashmir, the plebiscite in Junagadh, Manavadar, and Mangrol may also be organized and held; the implementation with regard to the delivery of military stores and telegraph stores may be supervised; some plan may be devised and put into operation to secure the restoration to their homes and properties of refugees from either side; compensation may be given to those who have suffered; and some scheme may be devised for bringing to trial and punishment those who have been guilty of these horrors and atrocities.

I am deeply indebted to the President and to the Security Council for the great courtesy and the indulgence that I and Pakistan are grateful to the Security Council for its devotion my delegation have received throughout the discussions.

labours on these questions with the single-minded purpose of arriving at some settlement which would clear out of the way these unfortunate differences which are, at the moment, dividing two Dominions which, having regard to their position, their economy, and their common interests in almost every field, ought to be the closest friends and collaborators.

I hope that the Security Council will continue its efforts and will, at least in this sphere which promises to be so hopeful, achieve their objective and thus demonstrate that the only hope of humanity with regard to peace and security in the future lies in the United Nations, of which the Security Council is the principal organ charged with the duty of maintaining international peace and order.