S/PV.289 Security Council

The first item on our agenda is the discussion of the Palestine question. 1 propose to devote ouly a short time to this question today. Sir Mohammed Zafrullah Khan, the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, has to leave New York today; it is therefore desirable that we should finish today with item 3 on our agenda.

1 had the Palestine question placed on the agenda of this meeting in order to be able to put before the COlJIlcil a telegram 1 have received from the Jewish Agency representative, which has been distributed to you [document S/730]. This telegram lodged a complaint regarding the news of an invasion of Palestine by foreign forces. On receiving the telegram, 1 cabled to our Truce Commission in Palestine in order to obtain h-llOrmation from it confirming or refuting the Jewish Agency's telegram. In reply, 1 received a telegram which is included among the documents before you as document S/732. Mter consulting with the Manclatory Power, 1 received from Mr, Creech Jones the document ·that has also been put before you as document S/733. . 1 call upon the representative of the Jewish Agency, who has asked me to allow him to make a very short statement. M;. EBAN (Jewish Agency for Palestine): The Security Council has before it document. 8/736, containing the te~rt of a letter addressed by the Jewish Agency for Palestine on 5 May 1948 to the President of the Security Council. This letter refers to a telegram dated 1 May 1948 [document 8/730J, in which the Jewish Agency conveyed to the Security Council the infonnation which it had receiv€d from Palestine on that date.' The reports which we received on 1 May concerning a crossing of Palestine's southem frontiers by units of the Egyptian Anny, have not heen confirmed. We venture to think, however, that it would be prudent for the Security Council to note the statement by the Egyptian Minister of Communications on 27 April ta the effect that Egyptian forces had been dispatched to the Palestine frontier. In the general atmosphere surrounding the intentions of Arab States towards Palestine at this time, such movements of troops deserve attention, especially as no threat to Egyptian territory from the north exists or has ever been claimed to exist. The infonnation which we received on 1 May of attacks by Syrian and Lebanese troops on Jewish villages in Upper Galilee have since been amplified by reports from 'lIle inhabitants and defenders of those villages. These attacks did undoubtedly occur, and the relevant circumstances are set forth in paragraphs 4 to 9 of the letter reproduced in document S/736. It appears that these operations were intended not as movements in a sustained invasion but as a reconnaissance action preparatory to full-scale invasions at sorne future date. The re1ative1y limited scope of these frontier violations does not alter the fact that they are contrary ta the Charter, but their real interest lies in what they portend for the future. We submit that the time has now arrived for the Security Council to prevent the full unfolding of an aggressive design whereby certain States hope to achievê political ends by the use of force on territory in which their armïes have no right ?f access or jurisdiction at all. This telegram, in fact, records not an'assur-l'En ance of peaceful intention, but an implicit threat of violence, combined with a statement of the rime after which the violence will take place; and the threat should be read in conjunction ~th preparations now being made to carry it out. In paragraph 10 of its letter, dated 5 May [document 8/736], the Jewish Agency refers to the arrival of Iraqi forces in Mafrak, Tran~or­ dan, and reports their intention to invade Palestine after 15 May. . . The 8ecurity Council Truce Commission in its cable dated 4 May, wmch appears in document 8/733, confirms the arrival of these Iraqi forces. We are, however, frankly perplexed to account for the Truce Commission's belief that these forces have arrived "... rather tu reinforce the Transjordanian forces than to invade Palestine". This belief seems to us unconvincing in the light of the Iraqi ministerial announcement elicited by the British Ambassador in Baghdad. Transjordan is not in the slightest danger of any attack against which it requires the reinforcement of its already considerable army. If it were in such danger, Transjordan would presumably have immediately concerted the necessary measures of defence with the United Kingdom Government in accordance with article 5 of the Anglo-Transjordan Treaty of 1946, or article 3 of the Anglo-Transjordan Treaty of 1948-if the latter is already ratified. On the other hand, there are no treaty arrangements between Iraq and Transjordan such as woulc1. offer an innocent explanation for the arrivaI of Iraqi forces in Transjordan at this time: AIl the available evidence shows that their arrivaI is connected with repeated threats by the King of Transjordan and by ministers of other Arab States of their intention to launch an invasion of 'Palestine V/hen the Mandate ends. If the 8ecurity Council Truce Commission has definite information that these Iraqi forces do intend to respect the Palestinian frontier, and h~ve no purpose of attacking the Jewish population, it would perform a genuine service In an enclosure ta its letter of 5 May, the Jewish· Agency quotes numerous and repeated declarations by official Arab leaders of their plans for concerting an invasion of Palestine at an early date. These declarations echo many similar threats by official Arab spokesmen in previous months. Indeed, we' submitted voluminous documentary evidence ta this effect on 22 February [document 8/710] and 13 March [document 8/721]. It is simply no answer ta dismiss al! this evidence by the mere assertion that much of lt is taken from re:(lorts of Arab journalists or foreign Press correspondents in Arab capitals.

1 apologize for having ta interrupt you, but 1 thought that your statement would he very short. If it is to be any longer, 1 suggest that you be good enough tô submit it in writing; it will he distributed in the same way as aIl the other documents YOll have submitted. MI'. EBAN (Jewish Agency): My statement will 1;ake approximately four minutes, but 1 am entiIdy at the disposal of the President.

In that case, 1 would prefer you ta submit the document to me in writing, like the others. As the very short statement that has .i'1st been made will be communicated ta us in writing, 1 will ask the representatives of Egypt and of the Arab Higher Committee to reserve any explanations they wish to make for a later meeting, unless they have any objection. Mahmoud Bey FAWZI (Egypt): 1 understand completely the reason why we should not pralong the discussion of the Palestine question. In deference to that reason, ;:md since certain things h~ve already been said at this meeting, 1 should like the President ta permit me to speak for not more than three minutes. 1want merely ta refer to what the spokesmaIl. of the Jewish Agency has just said in connexion ~ith a purported declaration made by the Egyptian Minister of Communications. 1 have no information, official or otherwise, about such a As for the rcierence of the spokesman of the Jewish Agency to what those rumours and purported news accounts portend for the future, 1 can more than duplicate such rumours by rumours attributed ta the Zionist side. We can obtain many volumes of collected matter from newspapers and other sources about the activities of the Zionists, representing world Zionism against a handful of Arabs in Palestine itself, and enforcing the Zionist spearhead in. Palestine. We hear, equal1y, rumours about ships being ch~rtercd and made ready, in certain eastern European ports, for invading Palestine. We have been hearing a loud noise here in the United States, continued up ta the present time, against the embargo on armaments by the United States. Those loud protests come mainly-in fact, totally-from Zionist sources. Thus, it is not our side which is causing uneasiness with regard ta the future and which is disturbing the otherwise peaceful atmosphere of the Middle East. 1 do not want ta say any more for the time being. 1 thank the President for having given me this opportunity ta speak and 1 reserve my right to speak again in the future.

Before finishing ;vith item 2 on our agenda, T think I should again refer ta the difficulty in respêct of communications that is being experienced by our Truce Commission in Palestine. In a telegram we previously received, the Commission stressed its difficulty in co~respond­ ing witli New York. 1 wish ta ask the United Kingdom representa-. tive whether he thinks an effort can be made to improve this situation. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom) : I can give the Security Council sorne information on the subject of communications which will show the difficultiel:. that exist, but which will also, I hope, give sorne assurance that the service will be maintained at the best possible level. Normal1y, cable commullication with Palestine is undertaken by Cable and Wireless, Ltd. It was proposed that after 28 April, Cable and Wireless, Ltd. should operate a mobile set in Jerusalem while making arrangements for the transfer of its activities ta Amman. That would produce something of a break in the ~ervices from 6 to 8 May. From 8 May onwards, Cable and Wireless, Ltd. is proposing to operate from Amman. From 5 May, a small Foreign Office unit was to be in operation in Jerusalem for As regards communication by airmail, this service to Palestine was suspended "'.vith effect from 26 April. Most of the British staff left Lydda on 15 April, and the air field has been used, with interruption, only by daylight since then. The use of Lydda and Ha~fa airports after 15 May is highly speculative. \ I That is the information 1 have in regard to the existing state of communications. 1 hope that we may infer from it that there will be a service; though one operating, as will be seen, under difficulties. .

1 thank the United Kingdom representative. 1 ask hi.m to be so kind as to intervene in Palestine, in order that the communications we have to exchange with the Truce Commission lliay be considered as having the highest priority. Our Truce Commission has very great difficu1tiet: 0: which we are fully aware and which derive from the nature of the problems it has to deal with. But it is also greatly hampered by these material problems, and 1 ask the United Kingdom representative to be so good as to assist us in this matter. If there is no objection, 1 propose that the Couneil should now turn to item 3 on the agenda. Continuation of the discussion on the india-Pàkistan question 42.

You have before you the letters addressed to me, as President of the Security Council, by the representatives of Pakistan and of India, conœrning the resolution adopted by the Council on 21 Aprillast [document 8/726]. In spite of the reservations inc1uded in the letter from Sir Mohammed Zafrullah Khan, dated 30 April [document 8/735], the xepresentative of Pakistan has chosen Argentina to represent ms country on the Commission, and he has expressed the wish that the membership of tms Commission be completed. The Indian representative, for bis part, informed me on 5 May [document 8/734] _ ~hat his Government was again taking up, on 1 lts own account, the objections raised by the The exchanges of views that have taken place between the representatives of Argentina and Czechoslovakia, with a view ta completing the membership of the Commission, have been without result. As the resolution of 21 April sets a time limit for the conclusion of t.llls formality and makes the President of the Security Council responsible for it, 1 have nominated the United States of America to complete the membership of the Commission. It seems ta me-and 1 think that mpmbers of the Council will share my opinion after having read the letters from the parties-that it is essential that the Commission we have decided ta appoint be sent to the scene of the dispute, sa that we may be kept informed of any action undertaken to implement the resolution of 21 April with a view ta the restoration of peace and order in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Moreover, the two parties are prepared ta study with the Commission the settlement of questions within its competence. Mr. AUSTIN (United States of America): 1 wish ta say that the United States accepts the responsibility which the President of the Security Council has conferred upon it. We shall be glad to begin service as saon as possible.

1 ask the United States representative kindly ta transmit to his. Government our thanks for its willingness to collaborate in this matter. Sir Mohammed ZAFRULLAH KHAN (Paki- stan): It is a matter of gratification that a cer- tain definite stage has been reached with regard to the Security Council's efforts to bring about a settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir ques- tion between the Dominion of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. In view of the announcement which the Presi- dent has just made regarding the nomination of the United States .:;.::- a member of the Commis- sion, thus completing the formation· of the five- member Commission, it is not necessary for me .to make any comments IJ.OW with regard to one or two declarations that appeared in the Press on behalf of the GovelT'..IDmt of India since this matter was last considered by the Security Council. Speaking for the moment completely as an individual keenly and passionately desirous of peace between the two Dominions and of peace aIl over the world, may 1 be permitted to give expression to the following hope and conviction: that il the Commissior~ proceeds immediate1y ta 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 thè interpretation of its meaning placed upon it by the members of the Security Council-this will be the most effective way of convincing bath 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 1 have said, 1 make this observation not as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, and not even as a person connected with one sicle or the other, but out of my pa>sionate desire ta see that peace should be restored as early as possible to these distracted areas, and also, as a result of the effort of the United Nations, to other areas whkh are at present in a disturbed state. Â.s the President is aware, 1 had requested an opportunity, before 1 start on my return journey to Pakistan, to place before the 'Security Coun- cil such aspects of the remaining questions in difference between Pakistan and India as have yet to be brought to the notice of the Security Council, so that after hearing what the repre- sentative of India may have to sayon them, the Security Council may be abk to proceed to con- sider such steps as may be .1ecessary for the set- tlement of those differences. As the members of the Council are aware, there are three questions beside that of Kashmir which have been brought before the Security Council on behalf of Pakistan and which were set out in the documents that accompanied my letter of 15 January aâdressed to the Secretary- GeneraI [document 8/646]. The first of these three matters is the question of the accession of Junagadh and other States in Kathiawar to Pak- istan or to India. The two other States particu- larly involved in this matter aTe Manavadar and Mangrol. The second question is that of geno- cide. The third is that of the non-ïmplementa- tion on the part of the Government of India of obligations undertaken by it and agreements entered into with Pakistan as a consequence of the partition. With regard to the tlùrd of these items, the Government of Pakistan is setting up its own State Bank with effect from 1 July 1948, and that being so, 1 do not tlùnk that any useful purpose would be served by reviving before the Security Couneil a controversy which has ceased ta be of any practical significance today. 1 ha.-ve no desire mere1y to blame the Government of India for what may have beendone in the past, sa that that matter may be regarded as adjusted, or as no longer being a live issue. With regard ta the division of cash balances, out of the 550 million rupees which were due ta Pakistan at the time when this matter was brought to the notice of the Security Couneil by Pakistan-which payment was then being wrongfully withhe1d-500 million rupees have since been paid, leaving orny 50 million rupees which India has agam wrongfully, from our point of view, withheld as an advance adjust- ment of certain claims by her against Pakistan. We do not accept that action as correct, but the amount involved is sa small, and in any case the question is one of adjustment at sorne date or other which may soon be reached, that with referenc:e ta tlùs question aIso 1 have no desire ta 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, tlie Security Council is left to deal with one question only: the division of military stores. Paragraph 27, part III of document S/646, ta which 1 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, Gover- nor-General of India, as Chairman; representa- tives of the'two successor authorities, India and Pakistan; and Field-Marshal Auchinleck, the Supreme Commander, ~s impartial authority ta 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 an atmosphere in Delhi that the Supreme Commander found it impossitile ta discharge his responsibilities and was forced to l'ecommend the abolition of his headquarters 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 16.1,000 tons of ordnance stores 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 de- livered. In engineering and canteen stores, the pro- portion delivered is somewhat higher, but the really vital stores for the efLciency and useful- ness of an anny 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 aIso proceeding very slowly and, according to a telegram dated 17 April, the Prime Minister of Pakistan has been forced ta draw the attention of the Prime Minister of India to this facto Despite repeated representations by the Pakistan Post and Tele- graph 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 Il million rupees due to Pakistan. That is less than approximately nine per cent. Of this small amount of released stores, only one-third have actually been re- ceived. ,No laboratory equipment, testing equip- ment, carrier terminaIs and repeaters have 50 far been released by India despite the repetition of the protest. . Similarly, De: copiesôf workshop specifiCa- tions and drav; ~llgs have so far been supplied. From this brief account, the Security Council will realize that PaUstan has been plaœd under a very,serious handicap by the non-delivery of these stores. Neither its military services nor its For some time the excuse put forward was the lack of and disruption in communications. Fortunate1y, those considerations do not con- tinue to apply, at least not in the same degree. But unfortunately, no eagerness has been noticed on the part of India ta fulfil these obligations, and this is a matter which is causing a good deal of irritation and friction, and which continues ta produce bad feeling, between the two Gov- ernments. In respect of this matter, what is de- sired is-and one way of dealing with the mat- ter may be-that the Commission that has been set up, sinceit 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 puty of supervising the implementation of the agree- ments 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. 1 trust that there will be no objection on behalf of India to this suggestion. 1 shall now refer to the question of Junagadh, Manavadar, and Mangrol. This question has actually been submitted to the consiàeration 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 out- standing feature is that these States acceded to Pakistan; subsequently, they have been occupied by the armed forces of India and, since that oc- cupation, it has been announced that a plebiscite has been held the result of which shows that an overwhelming majority of the peoples of theS€ States are desirous o~ acçeding 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 re- quest 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 bis Govern- ment, 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 representàtive 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 acces- sion. 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 pf 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. "1. That the Government of India should withdraw their forces from these States and re- store the administration to their lawful rulers. "2. That the Government of Pakistan should agree that a nominee of the Secretary-GeneraI of the United Nations be appointed to be the administrator of these States." l might explain that that means not merely an administrator for the purpose of the plebi- scite, but an administrator to, take the place of the present administrator appointed by the Gov- ernor of India; that is, he would be responsible for the, complete administration, inc1uding the admi.11Ïstration 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 ad- ministration of thè States and shall have aIl pow- ers necessary for holding a fair and impartial plebiscite under the supervision of the United Nations Oommission to decide whethcr these States are to accede to India or to Pakistan. "4. That the Government of Pakistan should, at the request of the administrator, make avail- able such forces as the latter may require for the performance of his functions. "S. 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 consti- tutionally in accession with Pakistan. In particu- lar, all citizens of these States who have left them on account of disturbances, should be re- stored to their homes, lands and properties, and should be free to exercise their rights as citizens of the States. .suite "6. That the Government of India should. agree to pay compensation for losses and dam- age caused by the unlawful actions and activi- ties of the military forces, civil and administra- tive officers, a.r~d nationaIs of the Indian Union in these States." It will be appreciated that this is, mutatis mu- tandis, the scheme the Security Counci! adopted with reference to Kashmir, except that the Com- mission, as weIl as the aàministrator, are pro- posed to be given the widest possible powers. Pakistan seeks to make no reservations in re- spect 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, le en l'on pour l'administrateur, que muler genre pouvoirs de "1 write ta say that after the illegal occupa- tion of Manavadar by India, the Muslims there were terrorized by Indian armed troops and many of them rushed ta Karachi, leaving their homes and hearths. Sorne of the Muslims re- centIy returned ta Manavadar, while others went to Veraval"--a port in Junagadh-"but it is re- ported that they were not allowed to enter the territory of Manavadar by the authorities there. 1 have ta request you ta move' this matter with the Govemmen:t of India so that the Muslims retuming to Manavadar will not be harassed. "1 have also received information that the Muslims of Manavadar were forced by the au- thorities ta send a cabled message ta the United Nations Security Council, Lake Success, that the situation in Manavadar is peaceful and nor- mal and that Muslims are not terrorized and harassed. Those who refused to sign this message were harassed by the authorities. 1 may also say that Muslims are still terrorized in Manava- dar and they are threatened that if they go to Pakistan, their properties will be confiscated. The Begun,\ Saheba of Manavadar"-that is ta say, the wi!e of the ruler-"desires me tore- quest you ta do something effective ta secure the freedom of the rulèr of Manavadar. 1 shall be grateful if you would kindly let me know whether anything has been done in the matter." The second letter, as 1 have said, is from the Diwan of Mangrol, dated 22 April, and is ad· dressed ta me here. It says: "The following teîegra..'ll was sent to the Hon- -ourable Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and the Hon- ourable Sirdar Vallabhbhai Patel on March 8, 1948: "'Sheikh Sahib of Mangrol's'" - meaning again the ruler of Mangrol-" 'simple impris- onment at Porbandar changed to rigorous. Neither allowed to stir out of bis room ner hear any news. Cannot see visitors or even bis fam- ily members. Stipends ta ruling family for main- tenance discontinued. If you hate communalism andbelieve in non-violence, why this barbarous treatment under your Premiership, for the only crime that he is a Muslim who wanted acces- sion to Pakistan? Kindly accord' him treatment at least humane.' : 1 have drawn the attention of the Security Council to these two communications in con- nexion 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. Assum- ing that these States ultimately decide to accede to India, there will be nothing to stop these rul- ers or their people from aligning themse1ves, in the scheme of the futùre administration of the Indian States, in the same manner as the re- maining States have done. What 1 want to em- phasizeand 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 ~eir p08ition will no doubt correspond to the position of the other mlers. But that they are entitled to be restored to the position of rulers, to whatever the in- a:dministration des Etats indiens, comme l'ont fait souverains cessairement résultat ont exercés jusqu'au accepter certainement je droit que rieures même mettre, ~ignia of that ·position might now be reduced, 18 a matter which admits, 1 trust, of no contro- versy; and, as an inIlmediate step, even before a l'hat brings me to the second question: geno- cide. Though this matter has not yel; formally been moved and discussed in the Security Coun- cil, a good deal of the material upon which my 8ubmission 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 PUIijab, out of which the situation in Kash- mir had çlirectly men [228th and 229th meet- ings]. 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 1 have no doubt tha~ the representa- tives 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 1 shall try, briefly, to sam 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 1 addressed the Security Council on this matter, 1 have received certain authentic documents dealing with these matters issued by the West Punjab Government as government publications. 1 regret that 1 do not have enbugh copies here to supply every member of the Coun- cil, but 1 shall, be able ta, 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 bookletsis called Note on the Sikh Plan. It will contribute towards shorten- ing my submission to the Security Council if 1 read aloud certain brief portions from this ,booklet. The fust, second and last paragraphs of the foreword will show what these booklets contain. These paragraphs read as follows: "In the year 1947, between haH a million and ,one million Muslims-men~ women and children -were murdered in the Pupjab and Kashmir State by. Hindus and Sikhs.' Some were mur- dered in Delhi and the other parts of India. Five million of those who escaped these genocidal massacres were chased out of their homes; dis- possessed of their .lands, their household goods, their ,ploughs, and their cattle, they found ref- uge in Pakistan. The last paragraph reads as follows: "Thesè accounts have been prepared from au- thentic records and frdm the statements of eye- witnesses. They are, for the most part, purely factual. They contain no speculation and the minimum of comment." The first two paragraphs of the Note itself are also in;1portant. They read as follows: "This account of Sikh preparations on mili- tary, terrorist and aggressive lines is recon- structed from official records. These records were filed during a period when the govern- ment in power was either the UnionistGovern- ment in which Hindus and Sikhs participated or was dir~ctly under the control of the Gov- ernor 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 emphati- cally and vigorously opposed to either govern- ment. 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 aIl parts of Pakistan, may therefore be reasonably ruled out. "The ultimate goal which the Sikhs had set before them seems to have been the establish': ment of Sikh rule in the Punjab. Their prepara- tions to this end were aimed directly and exclu- siyely against the Muslims. Whether the Hin- dus, who formed the bigger minority in the Pun,. jab, wouldultimately have acquiesced 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 twa, therefore, run paral- lel to each other and even where active con- spiracy between them is not evident, the fact that they regarded the Muslims as their com- mon enemy created a mutual disposition towards ~'Hindu-Sikh preparations on these Unes con- tinued throughout Jtùy and weIl into August, but by theu the plan that had been maturing for months, and perhaps longer, had already begun to be traIl$lated into action. The manner in which the plan was implemented forms the subject of another note, but enough material has been given in the foregoiug pages to leave littlê 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, au- thentic, the best informed and most carefully siftc::d body of evidence available on the subject of Sikh secret activities during the first half of 1947. These facts emerge from a mass of de- tails which have been put down at sorne length and with the minimum of comment because in their accumulative effect they constitute over- whelming and incontrovertible evidence. It is cleàr from this evidence that, as part of the more ambitious irredentist dream of Sikh sovereignty, the ,inunediate 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 SilQl belt along the eastern border of West Punjab. l "ThIs plan was conceived by the Sikhs, though a section of the Hindus was not only'aware of its general outlines and implications, butaided and'abetted them at many points. The central figures of the conspiracy were Master Tara Singh, Giani Kartar Singh, Udham Singh Na- .goke and other leaders of the Akali Party. The main lines of the preparations were: (a) the collection of funds; (b) the collection, manu- facture and import of arms; (c) wide-spread and large-scale eiJ.listment of Sikhs in private armies such as the Akal Fauj and the Shahidi Jath~; and (d) the development of a well-knit organization capable of swift murderous action according to a centralized plan. "AlI sections of the Sikh c01l'.ll1umty-the in- telligentsia, religious andpolitical leaders, ex- INA2 men, peasants, teachers and students-- were mobilized to perfect the plan and exten- sive,and in sorne 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 weIl as that contained in the appen- dices to this note places the responsibility for' the plan unmistakably on the Sikh leaders (no- tably Master Tara Singh) who through these Appendix 1 of the booklet caJ.ed The Sikhs in Action, to which l 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 kiIling, looting and burning of property, and committing other outrages upon the Muslim population. The second booklet is titled RSSS in the Punjah. The RSSS is a Hindu organization. On page Il of that document the folluwing is stated: "The link between the Akalis and the Rash- triya Swayam Sewak Sangh became doser 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 Mus- lim domination in the Punjab. Master Tara Singh reciprocated this gesture by issuing in- structions to the Akal Sena that henceforth the two hodies were to collaborate with each other. From now onwards, the·Muslim was the com- mon enemy aimed at by both." . Chand The two men referred to by name, Rai Baha- dur Badri Das and Bakhshi Sir Tek Chand, occupy a very eminl-.' position among the Hin- dus in thePunjab: Rai Bahadur Badri Das was the leader of the Hindu Bar in the High Court; Bakhshi S;.r Tek Chand is a retired judge of the same High Court. As an illustration, pages 18 and 19 of the same document give sorne account of the prep- arations 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 aflll..8 from the North-West F.rontier Province and had alsomanufactured bombs at Rawalpindi and Lahore." This was before the partition took effect. This document contains a very interesting circular drawn up by the RSSS, with the object of obtaining Hindu doniination in certain parts of the Punjab, after the division should come into effect. The third bboklet is caUed The Sikhs in Ac- tion, and sets out what was actually done. This document, in appendix 1, contains the 107 c~ses of atrocities, and sets out the date, the time (where ascertainable), the place of occurrence, the natur~ of the atrocity committed, the per- sonnel 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 rnilitary, with the attackers and the looters,'; and sets out instances of it. Now, with reference to this matte., Ml'. Gopalaswami Ayyangar drew my attention- both outside the Security Council and, on one occasion, l believe, in the Council-to the fact that atrocities and ,massacres had also occurred in West Punjab against Sikhs and Hindus. That There was the further distinction that in West Punjab a wave of persecution of that kind would arise whenever a wave of refugi;;es came in from East Punjab. There was no plan; there Was no preparation; there was no conspiracy. Never- theless, what occurred in West Punjab is, as l have always said, equally deplorable and equally to be condemned. The point l wish to stress is this. l 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 that 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, l wish "' .. ta draw attention to a passage on page 49. "This is as accurate and comprehensive a picture of the situation in the West Punjab in the month of September as can be given in a few paragraphs. It does not present the Muslims as entirely inn0cent, but there are sorne features of this picture which sharply contrast with the general pattern of events in the EastPunjab during the same period. Muslim excesses, apart from isolated stabbings and sporadic-compara- tively minor-happenipgs, occurred in· waves, each wave being caused by sorne provocation from the Sikhs, who were still x:esiding in the West Punjab districts, or by news of sorne major atrocity in the East Punjab. Train and truck loads of Muslim corpses from across the border created reactions wlûch it was not easy, éther ~'Convoys of Muslims arriving from East Pun- jab presented a pathetic spectacle, whereas con- voys 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 Punjah, be it noted, were able almost up to the last minute to be active1y aggressive, an.d 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 t.~e 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 e1se, the comparison will at least show that the Muslims were not nearly so efficient in the art of large-scale killings as the non-Mus- lims 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 feU again into a state of depression, puzzled at what had befallen them, until they were pro- voked again. "Unlike the Sikhs and the Hindus, they did not have to go through a programme drawn up forthem in a wàr room, a programme which ôey must carry out, provocation or no provo- cation." That is the essential distinction. Section 13 deals with what happened in the Indian States which are now in accession to the Dominion o~ India. Section 14 contains the summary, and l shall read it to the Security Couneil. "This note is not intended to be a tale of hor;ror. Gruesome details of rapes and tortures, and sickening accounts of brutalities and atroci- ties, of liInbs tom and wombs ripped open, of maimings, beheadings and nauseating obscen- ities, have been deliberately avoided. Most of the thousands of refugee stories contain one or more of thesé details. But although they add enormously ta the human sufIering and humili- ation which these events have caused, an intelligent reader can well imagine them for hin1self. 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 "The purpose of this note is merely to show that the crime of the Sheiks 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 men- tioned here have been with this end alone in view and do not claim to constitute an ex- haustive picture, either in time or space, of the entire scene." Later on, it is stated: "In the East Punjab, however, the plan suc- ceeded remarkably weIl. 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 preach- ings, the organization and steady growth of the Akal Fauj, the close co-ordination with the Sikh States, the active help-with men, meney and material-rendered by the Sikh rulers, the pact with the Hindus and their militant organi- zation, the RSSS, the unity of purpose which inspired' Hindus and Sikhs in aIl wa1ks of life including civilian offic!aIs and the· ar.rn.y-all these yielded an aJJ;).ple return. These elements of the plan manifested themselves in aIl 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." 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. Bu[ that the situation has not radically changed sa far as danger and fear are concerned, is perfectly obvious from what continues to happen. The Security Couneil is aware, as the material was placed before it, of the seven points on which the late Mr. Gandhi succeeded in obtain- ing the agreement of the Sikhs and the Hindus for helping the Mùslims 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 con- tained 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 tb 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 Com- missioner in Delhi to the Foreign Office at Karachi, dated 17 April 1948: "1 have just completed a tour of the States of Faridkot, Nabha, Patiala, Bharatpur and Alwar, where 1 have seen things with my own eyes. ln every State they received me properly, and 1 h,ad long discussionswith 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 1 am making a separate report. In "In my opinion, the Prime Minister of Paki- stan should approach the Prime Minister of India to have a commission of inquiry set up to punish the evil-doers. A visit to A1war will show the amount of hatred that developed in this particular State against the Muslims and their monuments. "When inquiries are held, 1 am sure that the misdeeds of this particular State will be con- demned throughout Inàia and ~akistan. "Large-scale forced conversions with the as- sistance of the army took place aIl 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 1 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 ta 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 standard- ized 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 Commis- sioner in India. 1 leave out the blanks which, of course, would be filled in, in each case. The order runs as' fol1ows: 'l'hindquisme " , son of , having app1ied for permission to remain in his house in village ......, through the head of the village, after conversion to Hinduism or Sikhism, Ï3 hereby permitted to retain his oid house in the said village and keep with him the following mem- bers of his family( 1) ; (2) ; (3) ; (4) ; (5) " The order proceeds: . "He shall, after conversion to Hinduisrn or Sikhisrn, be permitted the ownership of his house and household mova:ble 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 seal this second dayof , "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 corne into this town pulled down and destroyed a Muslim flag on 21 March 1948. This incident caused a certain amount of pavic 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 clea:r how gross an act of provocation that was. These attempts were resisted by the local Muslims. In the afternoonof 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 looting and massacre of men, women and children. The fire continued to blaze for aIrnost a. week and over 3,000 Muslim dwellings were reduced to ashes. Muslims began leaving the town and neighbour- ing areas in.great panic, so that by the end of the week the entire .area became almost com- pletely denuded of the Muslim population. Tlle official statement made by the Prime Minister of Bombay places the figure of Muslims killed at as low as sÏxteen. But there is good reason and evidence to believe that, unfortunate- ly, 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 ~aterial from which these conclusions have been dra'wn, with which 1 need not weary the SecUrity Council. From time to time conferences take place between the two Dominions to bring about sorne settlement of this very unfortunate problem. Recently an agreement was arrived at, 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 massa.cres 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 sorne evidence with regard to the atti- tude of leaders of Hindu society, of the Indian National Congress, which is the Hindu political orga!lization, and of people in authority as min· isters 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; "1 would ask Muslims to prove by action that their expressed loyalty to India is genuine and unequivocal." That is aIl right; nobody takes any objection to that. But 1 would request the Security Coun- cil to note how that proof is to be afforded: "They should surrender aIl arms, even licensed arms, as an earnest of complete faith in the Government to whkh they owe allegiance." The Muslims are called upon to prove their loyalty to the Dominion of India by surrender- ing aIl their arms, even those he1d 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 madevictims of communal aggression they should not have even the means of self-defence available to them. And that is an Mr. Charan Singh, Parliamentary Secretary to the United Provinces Government, in a state- 'ment issued from LucknoW' gave this advice ta the Muslims: "If Leaguers"-that is to say, followers of the Muslim League--"believe that they acted rightly in working for the achievement of Paki- stan, then they must, in honesty, voluntarily leave for Pakistan today, as tomorrow circumstances will compel them to do so." What i<; that if not a threat of a repetition of the kind of thing which had already occurred? The President of the United Provinces Con- gress Committee, Mr. Algurai Shastri, after describing the Muslim Leaguers as fifth column- ists 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 l quote from his statement, 1 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 befooled by the pro- fessions of loyalty to India so freely and fre- quently 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 shàre of the administration. But 1 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. Sorne .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 1 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 practi- cally no rights.If you seek to join the Congress, then y,0u are doin it with ulterior motives." ,Mr. VaIlabhbhai Patel, the Deputy Prime Minister of India, addressing the Muslims of the United Provinc~s on 6 January 1948, said: "1 believe in plain speaking. 1 do not know how tü mince matters. 1 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, "WeIl, 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 Secur- ity Council has aIready seen, that is also ascribed to "ulterior motives"-to hypocrisy and a de- sire to infiltrate. Yet the Muslims are told that mere declarations of loyalty to the Union will not do. On 14 April 1948, Acharya Kirpalani, who was at one time President of the All-India Con- gress 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 Mus- lirns 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 Tandom, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the United Pro'vinces, has said: "1 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 tri- bunaIs, which hold proceedings in camera, have absolute power to accept or reject any part of the evldence they wish, and their orders are not subject to appeal. About one thousand Mus- Hm officers in the United Provinces alone are at resent undergoing this investigation. It is aIl l want to tum now for a moment to the human element involved in this matter. Con- fining myself for the time being to the occur- rences in East and West Punjab, which form the main subject matter of this part of our case, 1 desire to draw attention to portions of two letters which 1 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: "1 have been reading with keen interest the proceedings of the United Nations. The latest is that Gopal~wami Ayyangar is hopeful that you will give up the question of genocide. 1 do hope it·is just wishful thinking on his pan:, 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 ~herever they happen to be. Gopalaswami Ayyangar and Co. and leaders from Bengal and Karachi. have oruy an academic interest in the happenings of the Punjab, perhaps not even that. Punjabis alone know what genocide means, because there is hardly a person who has not suffered directly or indirectly." ln his letter of 1 March, th~ young Sikh lawyer says as follows: "1 do hope that the United Nations is doing something useful and trying to bring about a co:nciliation 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 Jaw.Inu and Kashmir. "Have they not a right to go backto their homes? Have they not 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 fouI. Please consider the case of one crore of humanity and fight for them too, just as YOll 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 persans to go back to their original homes. In your speeches you have mentioneè the case of such persons, Please see that this question is not shelved. The oruy so·lT=_-+-C..,...,.rriitions tion of the displaced humanity is the one out- In a letter published in the Civil and Military Gazette of Wednesday, 10 March, the following appears, ~lso in a letter by a non-Muslim: "Sir, one crore of refugees are displaced today. What about this one crore of suffering hrtmanity? Whose concem are they? Who wor- ries about them? None at present in the Indian Dominion. The only person who felt for them and who' had the right solution-settling refu- gees 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 Zafrul1ah Khan, representative of the Dominion of Pakistan. AlI 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 Zaf- rullah 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 thF. happenings of the East and the West Pun- jai '~ 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 aU those in power who, when their help was most needed, failed to give adequate protection to the minor- ,ities. The non-Muslims of the West and the Muslims of the East Punjab speak the same language-the language of sorrow and suffer- ing. 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. "( 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 com- pelled to leave the Indian Union and seek refuge in Pakistan; to assist in the relief and rehabili- tation of such refugees; to secure the payment to them by the Indian Union of due compen- sation 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 corres- pondent of the Civil and lYlilitary Gazette, is, or may sound, one-sided. It is not one-sided. The busine~ of my Government, wherr it came to the Security Council to ask for redress, was to put forward the grievance that it had in tJ;lls connexion and to asI: for appropriate redress. But, as 1 have stated before and as 1- have stated this morning, Pakistan would welcome reciprocal investigation, arrangements and settle- ments for achieving the objectives that we have set out here. After a stay of nearly four months in this grea~ city, 1 am now compelled, having regard ta the duties with which 1 have the honour to be charged in my own country, to take my departure. The delegation of Pakistan will con- tinue to be continuously represented before the Securi~l Co'.mcil. 'fTe are extremely anxious and keen that these remaining matterc; should be settled as quickly as P9ssible and that the matter of Kashmir should be expedited immptÜately. We believe that these t!:,.ee m,:ters wtuch we have raised may perhaps quite conveniently be committed to the same Commission which, no doubt, will have more than one principal·dele- gate from each country on it and a certain amount of staff. Thus, while the plebiscite is being organized and held in Kashmir, the pleb- iscite in Junagadh, Manavadar; and Mangrol may also be organized and held; the implemen- tation with regard to the delivery of military stores and telegraph stores may be supervised; sorne plan may be devised and put into opera- tion to secure·the restoration to their homes and la l'égard les Conseil cette à férends de leur situation géographique, de 1 am dee~ly indebted to the President and to the Security Council for the great courtesy and the indulgence that 1 and my delegation have received throughout the discussions. Pakistan is grateful to the Security Council for its devoted labours on these questions with the single- minded purpose of arriving at some settlement which would clear out of the way these unfortu- nate differences which are, at the moment, dividing two Dominions which, having regard to thèir position, their economy, and their common interests in alm03t every field, ought to be the closest friends and coUaborators. ses les Conseil que paix Nations sécurité nir 1 hop~ that the Security Council will con- tinue 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 Secllrity Council is the principal organ charged with the duty of maintaining international peace and order. avancée, de tendre celui-ci nerai

In view of the late hour and the need for meeting again this afternoon to discuss other matters, 1 do not think that we can hear the Indian r~presentative now. If he has no objection, 1 will cali upon him to speak at a later meeting. sentant ques données, pays Before closing the meeting 1 must thank the representative of Pakistan, as he is leaving in a few hours, for the explanations he has given us and for the manner in which he has represented his country before the Security Council. .alphabétique aussitôt remerciements d'ailleurs, réunion. la très présidence s'attachent, lui à sa personnalité. de les sentant 1 will avail myself of the privilege conferred on me by my position in the alphabetical order, which has made me President immediately after Mr. L6pez, to convey to him the thanks of the Council, which were also expressed at the last meeting. l must convey to him our gratitude for the way in which he brought to bear--u the difficult questions with which he had ~v deal while hewas President, aU the experience and authority that derive both from the high offices he has held in his country and, even more, from his own per~onality. In particular, it is only fair that the Colombian representative should receive th~ thanks just expressed by therepresentative of Pakistan. Consequently, 1 am sm;e that 1 speak for the whole Council when 1 express the wish that we ma; continue to have the very valuable collaboration of Mr. L6pez for as long as possi~le. semble la soit Je h~d aIready done-made arrangements ta depart for India tomorrow. Now, however, 1 notice that the President has suggested that this matter might be held over until such time as the Security Council is inclined ta meet to discuss the India-Pakistan question. 1 do not want to create any difficulties for the Security Council, as the Security Council Should decide its business and 1 have no right ta impose my desires upon it, but 1 do wish ta submit that as the President has been sa very kind as ta take up this matter this morning and ta hear the version of the story preserited by the representative of Pakistan, 1 might have been given the opportunity and shawn the same courtesy and consideration shawn ta the representative of Pakistan and permîtted ta make my statement today.

1 should like to tell the representative of India that 1 had not understood that he, too, had ta leave New York. Since this is sa, 1 believe tlfat the impartiality and courtesy that prevail in our meetings oblige us to hear the Indian representative and 1 will ask the Council ta take the trouble ta sit a litile longer. Our meetings this afternoon are scheduled for 3 o'clock, so we can still devote half an hour or three-quarters of an hour to hearing the Indian representative. However, 1 would like ta ask the latter if he thinks that we shan be able ta hear hiscomments within that time and if this procedure is agreeable ta him in view of the time limit. Mr. VELLODI (India): 1 am very grateful ta the President for this concession. However, 1 do not really know how long 1 shall take. It isvery difficult ta say, as 1 do not have before me a prepared speech. 1 have been listening ta the representative of Pakistan,and 1 notice that he took at least one and one-half hours ta make bis statement. 1 do not think tha,t my statement will be· anything ·like as long, but 1 cannat promise that 1 shan stop exactly at the fortyfifth minute. That task would be impossible for me ta undertake. 1. shan endeavour ta be brief; 1 shall do my best ta avoidcontentious problems .andmatters that can be decided elsewhere. However, 1 think the President is aski.'1g tao ml.;1ch whenhe asks me to confine my speech within a particular .toutes

We cannot postpone the meetings of other organs arranged for this aftemoon, which already have been delayed once. We can only choose between postponing the meeting and continuing now. 1 wish to shorten the discussion on the procedure to be adopted. Time is passing, so 1 will calI upon the Indian re:.'resentative to speak and request him to be so good as to submit all his observations briefly enough for the meeting to end by 2 o'clock. Mr. ARCE (Argentina) (translated trom Spanish): 1 snould like to point out that the representative of India has asked for time ta prepare his speech and, in that case, perhaps it would be preferable for us to suspend the meeting and resume shortly, or tomorrow, if he tells us that it is possible for him to attend a meeting tomorrow, Saturq,ay.

Will the Indian representative kindly answer that question? Mr. VELLODI (India): The question, as 1 understand it, is: How long do 1 propose to stay in the City of New York? My intention was to leave at Il tomorrow moming, at which rime my plane takes off. 1 have tobe at the airport at approximately 9.15 a.m. That was my intention. If this information that 1 have given assists the Security Council în determining their future course of action, 1 shall be happy.

If the representative of Argentina agrees, we shall continue the discussion. Mr. ARCE (Argentina) (translated trom Spanish) : 1 think it would be better, in that case, ta apply the judgment of Solomon by dividing the Council into two parts, 50 that one can' continue with the other matters under consideration and the other can go on hearing the comments on this case. 1 Mr. EL KHOURI (Syria): 1 think we might hold another meeting in the evening, after we finish with the Atomic Energy Commission in the afternoon. We might hold a meeting in the evening at about 6 or 7 a'dock, for about one hour, togive the representative of India the opportunity to express his views. The PRESID:n:NT (translated trom French): It is difficùlt for me to consult aU the n'lembers Mr. VELLODI (India): As the President was discussing the matter with the other members of the Security Council, 1 was thinking that perhaps the best thing to do would be for me to go on now and, if possible, finish what 1 have to say. If that will suit the convenience of the Security Council, 1 must say again that l cannot promise that I shall stop within a few minutes or thirty-five minutes or forty minutes. r simply cannot guarantee that, but subject to that I am quite prepared, as the matter seems to be very difficult for the Security Council to decide, to go on now and hope for the best. Sir Alexander CADOGAN (United Kingdom) : There is one other alternative, which 1 tlrink the representative of India himself suggested a short while back, and that is that we adjourn for a half-hour and retum at 2 o'C:)ck. That would give us a full hour before the other meeting begins.

If the Council finds this solution preferable we can adopt it, and in that case I shall ask my col1eagues to make haste with their lunch. As there is no objection, the discussion is adjourned until 2 p.m. The meeting rose at 1.28 p.m. TWOHUNDRED AND NINETIETH MEETING . Held at Lake Success, New York, on Friday, 7 May 1948, at 2.30 p.m. President: Ml'. A. PARODI (France) Present: The representatives of the fol1owing countries: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Syria, Ukrainian Soviet Soeialist Republic, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom, United States of America. .