a war-about ten years ago-with China and suffered, I believe, a rather bad defeat. Are you still concerned about the Chinese military presence? Do you feel that this represents a continuing threat to India?
Prime Minister: I think the Chinese attitude towards the world has changed, and I personally feel that they may not now want to be involved in any such conflict. But of course it is very difficult to prophecy so far as they are concerned.
Mr. Rosenthal: Has that lessened your military problems do you feel you have to keep a lesser, or less powerful watch in the areas?
Prime Minister: I think we have to keep a very vigilant attitude on all out frontiers.
M. Harison: Madam Prime Minister, you have been accused of applying a divided standard toward the Pakistan problem and the problem of Kashmir. On the one hand that accusation has been made by the Kashmir political leader Sheikh Abdullah. On the one hadn he says you criticize Pakistan for keeping the Bengali leaders in prison, such as Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On the other hand you have restricted the movements of Sheikh Abdullah. He hasn’t been permitted to go the Kashmir for the past nine months, and he wasn’t permitted to take part in the elections in Kashmir. Why are you restricting his movements?
Prime Minister: Firstly I wonder whether you see no difference between the sort of massacre, the suppression of democratic rights, the rape of women, the killing of the students, university faculty, the driving out of millions of citizens of East Bengal onto our territory, do you see no difference between that and a very peaceful Kashmir, where today there is free education, there is progress in every field, and there is an elected government. It is true that we have some restrictions of Sheikh Abdullah, but he is a free man. He can go anywhere he likes except to Kashmir, and that is because it is peaceful there and naturally at the moment-which is politically so sensitive now with the present security problems and so on, we can’t risk any kind of, you know, somebody trying to make trouble there.
Mr. Jhabvala: I would like to come back, Madam Prime Minister, to an answer you just gave to Miss Frederick's question. If the U.S. does halt all military supplies and economic assistance to Pakistan, what would be the immediate consequences in the context of the political solution that you believe might be helpful?
Prime Minister: You mean if they don’t urge talks with Sheikh Mujib or some elected representative?
Mr. Jhabvala: Well, no. What I mean is if there is no military aid given to Pakistan, what would be the solution in terms of the solution? Do you think it would force President Yahya Khan to move into talks with Sheikh Mujib?
Prime Minister: Well, I certainly think that the U.S. and some of the other big powers are in a position to persuade the leaders of West Pakistan to talk to some of the people concerned with this problem in the East.
