S/PV.359 Security Council

Since we last discusS'ed this question a few days ago, we have, aIl of us, seen a number of press reports and broadcast statements concerning the situation in Hyderabad. But, as far as 1 myself am concerned, 1 have received no official statement from either of the parties to confirm those statements. thes~ press statements was action alleged ta have been taken by the Government of Hyderabad, 1 should like to ask the representative of Hyderabad if he has anything fo tell us officially on this question. Mf. ZAHIR AHMED (Hyderabad): With the permission of the President, 1 desire to make a brief statement to the Security Council on the situation which has arisen $ince the last meeting of the Council. No instructions emanating directly from the Nizam have ·reache.d our delegation. It appears from reports in the Press that the Nizam has or.dered the cessa1tion of hostilities; that the forees of Hyderabad have surrendered; that Indian troops have .entered the capital; that a Military Governor of Hyderabad has been appointed, and that martial law has been proclaimed throughout the country. In addition, the news has been circulated-..,.and the Council will probably hear a statement on this-to the effect that the Nizam has given instructions to the Hyderabad delegation not to press the complaint before the Security Couneil. In !Pe l3.·bsence ofany direct, official instructions to the delegation of Hy.doerabad, the Couneil may not wish to dismiss the matter from the agenda at this stage. The situation is confused and the Council may find it convenient to postpone the discussion for a few days. t1 note that, 50 far, no communal disorders have hroken out as the resuIt· of the invasion of Hyderabad. We pray that the attitude and the conduct of the Indian authorities may remain ·such as to remove aIl cause of bitterness now and in the future and a11 danger of communal conflagration throughout the Indian cOlitinent. Our delegation expresses the fervent hope that at this moment, so decisive for the future of Hyderabad and India-and, indeed, for the entire Indian continent-a solution may he found which will take into account the vital interests of both parties, the principles of international justice and morality, and the authority of the United Nations) .Sir Ramaswami MUDALIAR (India) : We have reooived official news from our Government that our troops have entered Seeunderabad, the second city of Hyderabad, thus returning to the position tlw occtiPied before their withdrawallas: ~''l:'t roary in accordanee with the cc Stand:;,~i!.l·· Agreement then concluded with the Go~'e:mment of Hyderabad. . "Our Agent-General in Hyderabad wishcs the following message passed immediately to Nawab Moin Nawaz Jung, Presid'ent of the Hyderabad delegation to the United Nations. Begins: Dated 18 September 1948, addressed to Nawab Moin Nawaz Jung, President Hyderabad delegation United N:ltions, Plaza Hotel, Paris: '1 order you to withdraw 1he Hyderabad case from the Security Council. Signed, Nizam VII':' .As 1 said, we have tried to contact the delegation in order to deliver this message to its leader. Howevei', we were unable to do so, ,and we have left the me:ssage wi'th the Secretary of the Hyderabad delegation. 1 also have a message frOID. my Government regarding the present .position in Hyderabad. The members of the Security Cûuncil may wish to know what the position really is. The telegram reads as follows: "Evidently position in regard to Hyderabad has been greatly misunderstood. Hyderabad's ·complaint was not withdrawn under pressure from us.,. " This has reference to reports in sorne ll'ewspapers in England to the eftiect that the ·eomplaint was withdrawn under pressure and as part of the surrender terms. My Government states emphatically that that was not the case; that there was no question of our asking the Nizam to withdraw the petition, but that the action was taken by the Nizam himself. ,f The telegram continues: l' ~i "...Long before Indian Army reached Hyderabad, Nizam dismissed his Government which had made the reference to the Security Council. Again hefùre our A['my reached Hyderabaù, Nizam alIDounced the withdrawal of the üomplaiut. The Indian Armyentered Se.cunderabad with the consent -of His Exalted Highness the Nizam. The Nizam's State forces are co-operating with the Indian ArnlY in maintaining law and order in the State. Old civil administration also functioning as beforeand fully co-operating with our Army. Hardly any changes have heen made. For thf' present our Army ·Commander is in formaI charge to tide over th:period of trallsiti.on and to maintain ordev l'Etat éloignés dtent nous tion " Order ::s !;(uemUy maintained throughout the S'taIe except for sorne l'azakars in distant places givinp,- trouble. The Nizam's State fm'ces are co-operating in dealing with this ~:Hi1ation... " . overwhelm~ng ,good-will which the people of Hyderabad extended to our for.ces. That is the position at the present Ume. 1 do not know what the desire of the Se.' lrity Council will be in tbis matter. Hcever, we have aIready taken the position that Hyderabad is not competent to bring ·a complaint of this kind before the Security Council, and the instructions which the Nizam has issued to the Hyderahad delegation-which none of us, 1 believe, has any reason to doubt, although the Hy.derabad delega'tion states that il has not yet reéeived those instructions-lll my opinion oConclude the matter. 1 le·avê it to the President to advise us as to the future course of action, and 1 hope 1 shaH he permitted to make any remarks which 1 may find it necessary to make in the light of what may be said by members of the Secur~ty Council. Ml'. JESSUP (United States of Amerka): (The Government of the United States,in ,~his situation, as in aIl situations, views with very deep regret resort to force for the adjustment of a difference. The use of force does not alter legal rights. 1 believe that we would aIl he unanimouson this point. The Government of Indi-a does not predicate any rights upon the use of for.ce. From thispoint of view, therefore, it seems to me that the situation has not bep.n maîerially ,afi'ected hy fhe'eventlS of the last hOUTS nor has it been substantially changed from what it was when the Secl1rity Council took it und€[' consideration at our last meeting) The members of the CouncH de ~'(jt l1C'~d to he l'eminded that, in 'placing~hi;:; mr'~er upon the agenda today, the Se:.mrity Council made it clear that it was notprejudging the case, even with r.egard to the question of"competence or with regard te the merits of the matter. Roth at our prevÎous meeting and at this meeting, the representatives 01 the parties have been'goodenough to give us certain information. On both occasions, '. . As the representative of India has just pointed out, he has not done more than refer ta certain aspects of the views of the Government of India and has not sought to support them at length. 1 do not propose that the Security Council should, a.t this stage, enter into the substance of ·any of these issues which are before it either in regard to competence or in regard tG merits. 1 feel sure that· the parties will desire to keep the Security Council informed and will supply d'etailed information to the Seeurity Council eoncerning the l'ecent events and concerning such events as may transpire now. My Government noted with interest, U numbel' of days ago, a press report of a proclamation of the Indian. Army Command to the people of Hyderabad, in which the following statement was made: ..As soon as our task is completed, the people of Hyderabad will he given the opportunity to decide their future both as regards internaI government and relations with India." The Governm,mt .of the Unïled States has no doubt that the Goy.ernment of India, iTh giving ·effect to tbis dec1aration, will bear in mind that. not only the memhers of the Seeuxity Council but aIl the Members of the United Nations will watch with interest the developments in Hyderabad, :with the hope and with the expectation that the outeome of this affair will demonstrate loyal support of the principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations.

If no other member of thé Council wishes to speak, at this stage, 1 think it is clear that we ,can,not carry the matter much further today. The members of the Co'mcil and the representatives of the two parties will have heard the suggestion made that they should furnish further and fuller information ta the Council, and 1hope that they might he willing ta do that. It has been indicated, 1 thh:.k, to the representative of Hyderabad that he would have the means of obtaining the communication of ·an offil~ial message from his Government. 1 hope that in the course of a clay or tWil he might be able to communicate that instruction, officiaU..·, to the Securit;y Council. 1 do not think there is more that 1 can do at this partiêular. moment than suggest that we should perhàpsadjourn for two or three days. 1 would .undertake ta consult ..~. Sir Ramaswami MUDALIAR {lndia) : lu view of the statement that has been made by the represl.:ntative of the United States .of America, 1 wish ta make a few brief observations. 1 am very glad that the Security Council is not S'eized of this matter in sa far as the competence of Hyderabad ta put such H complaint before it is concerned and that it is not seized of the Il\erits of the case. My Government shares wIth the representatives of oiher Governments deep regret at the resort to the use of force by any country on any occasion, and 1 have already m~de il clear that the resort ta the use or force in this case has been only ta maintain law and order, which had completely br.oken down in several parts of Hy.derabad. 1 am also glad that the representative of the United St·ates drew the attention of this Council ta a message in the prodamation issued by the Commander. If the Couneil will hear with me, 1 should like ta read the whole of that paragraph as it is relevant to an understanding of the objective of my GQyernment in this matter. This is what the para·gra,ph says: "As saon as our task has been completed, the people of Hyderabad will be given an opportunity ta decide their future, both as regards their internaI government ·and theit' relationship with India. We shaH be here no longer than may he absolutely necessary for the effective restoration' of normal conditions of life, in which ·every citizen may go about his business without fear, and for the establishment of a governmœt \. Mch will maintain the mIe of law and conform ta the will of the .people. Till then the administration wiU be c:.lrried on by my operational Commander in collaboration with the 'Civil Administrator whom tpe Governmentof India .have appointed .~() work with me." The'Commander will go further than tha t when he finds that the AdministratIon in Hyderabad is co-operating with our military Commander in the administration of the country. Wc have also repeatedly said that the will of the people will .determine the relationship of Hyderabad with the Dominion of India and the form of government which they wish for their own Dominion. 1 think that is the general desire-I nope it is the general desil1"e, and 1 am sure it is the gencral de~ire-of aIl :the members of the Seçprity COlHlCil and aU the Members of the Unite(1 Naticns. At ~~ian Frn.ll~ir;;:;Q we drew up a Charter beginn.,ing with the ';:\Tords, "We the .peoples of the tidteo' ~aUGns"-not the Govern- 1 do not know what is the intention with reference to the item on the agenda and when it will he taken ofl'. 1 gather that the Hyderabad delegation has not so far received any official instructions. But we arc agreeable to this, that while we maintain the ,domestic character of tllC dispute, wc would nevertheless be preparcd, as an earnest of our desire to work in harmony with the United Nations, ta report in due course ta the Security Council full details of the steps which we propose to take for the restoration of arder and for the ascertaining of -and giving 'effect to the will of ;the Hyderabad people. We are willing tu place aU our cards on the table and voluntarilv, apart from the question of the jurisdiction of theCouncil, to he seized of the matter, to give everyco-operation which will be oÎ help to the Security Council in under.. standing the position as it develops. Our Government is anxious to sec that the will of the people of Hyderabad prevails in thi<: matter.

1 am sure the Securitv Council will have heard with appreciatioÏJ the assurance which has been given by the œpresen:tative of India that ms delegation will supply tlle Security Council, from time to time, with detailed informatiQn with regard to ,.he .proceedings which they may have to take in ,connexion with the establishment of law and order. Unless any other member wishes to speak, 1 propose now ta adjourn the meeting under the cûnditions which 1 indicated eadi~r; namely, that 1 would propose the date of a meeting within the course of thè next day or two. 1 see now that the representative of Argentina has asked to speak. Ml'. ARCE (Argentinà) (translated from Spœnislt): 1 shall make no attempt to conceal my surprise at these 'events and, if 1 may :say so, at the attitude of the CounciL Only two or three days ago, the Indian representative promised us aH the necessarv information to enable us' todedde 1.lpon th~ competence of .he Council and on other matters connected with this subject. He stated that the Council had Ino competence, and we naturallyexpected proof of this contention. It was also natural that he should' promise to produce documents in support of his. case. He has, however, today preferred tn mention facts which we know mo:re or less c?l'Irectly from press re'port~. He has furlllshed noue of the arguments he promised; The Indian representative has repeated emphatically what he said the other day regarding the proclamation issued by the officer commanding the Indian troops in Hy.derabad ter.ritory. This proclamation. made during the mat:eh on the capital oi:' Hyderabad, remind~me of a former Dalian song sung by Musso'Iini's troops when they were advancing on Addis Ababa. 1 believ" it was called Faccetta nera (1i:ttle dark faces), and naturally, in this song the troops promised the people of Abyssinia that they would obtain aIl they wanted as soon as Italy had gained control. The Indian representative has also told us that the Nizam, the ruier of Hyderabact, and his people, were co-operating with the Indian Army, since the civil administration at once began to work with the militm:y and >Civil administrations imposed by India. 1 .do not find it difficult to accept this statemen:t. In fact, lam sUTe il is perfectly true, for it is rather hard to refuse cooperation when it is demanded with èl loaded pistoI and a foot on your neck. The Indian representative has also refen'ed to San Francisco, and 1 must express my pleasure al hearing the Charter quoied by a man of such ability aud intelligence as the Indian representative, and one 50 well-informed on legal matters. In point of fact the Charter does not refer to "the High Contracting Parties", hut l'eads ""'vVe the peoples of :the United Nations... " The Charter does not say, however, that those peoples must have a specified form of. government. They have the fm'm of government they wish. That proviso i'S laid down in paragraph 7 of Article 2. There is nothing that permits the United Nations to interfer.e with the form of governmcnt of States. Thus my form of g("Ui'lTmenl, whether inclining to the left or hè tk righ\. is a matter coming under domeshc jU1'l<}diction and isprotected by the Cln'."k'1'," lld those who signed the San Francisco Cheu'tér did liot insilst on a uniform political system for the countries which accepted H. Two or three days ago, the Indian representative stressed the necessity and desirubility of not .discussing questions lilœly to disturb the internaI political system of States; hut if 1 remember rightly, he has Judging from press reports, no sucll difficulties have been encountered in Hyderabad. The position is that, as the Nizam did not a-ccept the proposaIs presented by the Indian Government, the latter decided ta invade Hyderahad ta see if it could persuade him ta do sa, and this resull nppears ta have been achieved. 1 am seriously disturbed by this matter because 1 have a profound respect for the Governmellb of Illdia, a country recently admitted to the commullity of nations, with a very enlightened and capable GoV'ernment. But 1 have already seen that Government, on fOl'lner occasions, upholding one them'y regarding Junagadh \Vith on'e part of the libuary aiud the .opposite theory on Kashmir with the other part of the library. If the great Powers impose the criterion by which their disputes with small Powers are to be judged, are we not reminded of the old saying that the big fish always makes for the little one? Obviously that is not ta be found in the Charter of the United Nations. That instrument lays down that, juridically, the greatest countries, the United States of America, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United Kingdom, are on exactly the same level as the smallest, such as Finland, Ethiopia, Liberia, or Costa Rica, not to quote other examples. 1. For these reasons 1 wish to express my doubts, and also a feeling of sarrow because -1 sincerely hope that the forthcoming Assembly of the United Nations which opens tomorrow will avoid this dangerthe United Nations are following the same path as the League of Nations; and 1 fear that what 1 have said so often will be shown to be true: :that the Big Five, as they are called, do not require l:!.IlY privilege and do . not require the veto, because in reality they possess a natural veto-the veto of force, of superiority, and the right given by big armies, big f1eets 'and big air forces. 1 agree therefore that this matter should be postponed so that more information may he ohtained and the merits of the question further discussed. Thus II make no proposaI on the subject. But 1 thought it my duty, representing here, as 1 do, aH the United Nations and in particular the small and medium-sized peoples, to make these observations. Ml'. UMANA BERNAL (Colombia) (~l'anslŒted {rom Spani,~h): Although the Presi,dent seemed to me sufficiently explicit in stating that this question would rema-in on the agenda of the Council, l do not quite under- "Vithout going deeply into the question, it must be said that the .disappearanoe of the Government 'and State of Hyderabad WGuld seriously conipl~mise two' of the fundamental principles on which the United Nations is based, namely: the condemnation of any forcible acquisition of territory, and the self-determination of peoples. , ln the name of my Government, therefore, 1 think it desirable to declare that we should make this explicit l'eservation before accepting any solution which implied thal this matter could not be discussed by the Council. General MAcNAUGHTON (Cana.da) : H now appears to us tha1 the situation in Hyderabad has improved, and we may hope that agreement may be reached between India and Hyderabad directly on the question of tJ;,leir relations. The cessation of armed str'ife- >'Y)..1l 'Le welcomed by every member of ihis Council, and in our opinion, the question of competence need not he pursued further, at the present time. No one, we think, will question the righ! of the Security Couneil to continue any discussion which it has commenced concerning any issues that appear to threaten peace. However, since the parties have undertaken to supply us with information, we need not consider further at the moment, and until this inft)!~flationi8 :1Vaïlable, the ·question of whether or not the complaint of Hydera'bad properly belongs on our agenda. Inconsequence, as the representative of the United States of America has suggested, and as 1 understand -U'le President has agreed, we shall await further information. May! say in conclusiOI~ that 1 am sure we rnsy aIl fcel reassured by the statement which has been made to the Couneil thi5 afternoon hy the representative of Indin. Ml'. AZM (Syria) (translated {rom French) : 1 strongly endorse the siatements made by my distinguisheeJ .colleagues and 1 feel that the Security Council should keep L th,e question of Hyderabad on its agenda. 1 think that an ad hoc cammittee might be set up to stndy the .problem and give th", Council guidance.

If no other member Qf the Couneil wishes to speak, 1 will propose to adjourn this discussion. 1 wish to say that 1 did not, in the course of any of my remarks, suggest that the Security Couneil should remove this question from ils agenda. 1 suggested that the Seeurity CouDeil should adjourn nn:til a date to be determined within a day or 50, and then resume the discussion. 1 hope it will he a useful discussion, in the light of any further information which we may then have received. In regard to" what has just been said by the representative of S)Tia, who suggested an ad hoc eommittee to consider the question,I take il that by ad hoc committee he meant perhaps two or three or more members of the Security Couneil who would examine such information as we have, .and submit a report to the Couneil. 1 would suggest to him that at the present stage 1 do not think it would be useful or even logical to appoint a eornmittee of that kind. If, with further inform~ltion before it in a few days' lime, the Security Couneil should decide it wishes to proceed in that manner, 1 should have nothing against if myself. It would he for the Couneil to consider how best it could eonsider the question. The meeting l'Ose at 4.25 p.rn. . FINLAND-flNLANDE Akateemineri ,2. Ke8kuskatu Hnsn'Kl AUSTRAliA-AUST.AUE. Il. A. Goddatd Pty. LtcL 255aGeorge'Street SYDNEY. N. S. W. IElGIUM-SELGlQUf Aitence 1:t Messageries de là' Presse, S. A. 14-22 rue du Penil BRUXELLES 'RANrl Editions A. Pedolle 13, rue SoufBot PARlS. V· GREECE--GRfCE "Eleftheroudakis" Librairie internationale Place de la ConslÎtutioD ATHÈ~ES IOUVIA-IOUVIE Libreria Cienti&èa y Literaria' ·Averiida. 16 de Julio•.216 Casma 972 LA PAZ GUATEMALA José Goubaud Goubaud & Ci SucelOr Sa Av. Sur No. GUATEMALA CANADA The Ryerson Press 299 QueeJ! Street W~sl TORONTO CHILE-CHIU Edmundo Pizarro = ~c_A:~"'èed 846 · S-A:l'lTlACO ... CHINA-eHINE _ . • The CommeteialPress LtcL 211 Honan Road SHANGlIAI HAITI Max Bouchereau Librairie "A la Boite postale PORT-AV·PRlNCE INDIA-INDE Oxford" BoQk Scindis House NEW DEtHï COL()MBIA-COLOMSIE' LibreriaLatin. Uda. Apartado Aéreo 4011' Boco'f! IRAN BongahePiaderow' 731 Shah Avenuè" TEHERAN COSTA RICA-COSfAoIUCA : Trêjos Hermanos . . Apartadt? 1313 '$ANJOSE CUBA La Casa Belg81 RerlédeSmedt O'ReiUy 45S .;tAihBANA ··..E8ANON-USAN Libtail'ie unl JJEY"OL1TH ··:eZeêHOSL()VAKfÂ.... ·tCHEÇOSf,Qt"AQUIE F.Topic· ,NarodniTrida9 · PllAHAl IUXEfABOURG '. :Librairie J. Sçhummer' "~Iace Guillaume . LVUMBOURG I)E"MÀIK---DA.NEMAM'J .Eina.rMuns~gaard ~orregade6 . KJOBEi'fHM'N ...... -.. : ..•: ,' ','-'. DQMiNICAN.REf'UBUc.-- IlEPU8UQYE~.DOMINIC-AINB .. ". Libreria])~minicana .' . CaUeMercedesNo.49 Apartad0656 •....' .. CI1JDAI) TJllflw.o NETHERLANDS-PAYS.SAS 1(. 'f. MartinusNijbofi Lange Voorhout9 ,. S'GRAVENHAGZi: llIEW·Z.ALAND- NOUVELI.E-ZELANDE Gordon •. & Gotch,Ltd. Waring TaylorStreetf WELL,NGTONç,"'; ·.ÊêUADC>IE'QUAr""•••. .•... ~Mu~o:&Jtermanos Y.Ci"' •• ! NÜev.ed~ Qctubre 103" Cllsj)]al0~~4· . . . . !NICAIAGUA ,nandroRamiiez Agencia jiePtiblicac!.Qne,; M.ui~GU~. O, .·ÇVAY.AQl1~.