| শিরোনাম | সূত্র | তারিখ |
|---|---|---|
| বনস্থ বিথোভেন হলে প্রধানমন্ত্রী ইন্দিরা গান্ধীর ভাষণ | ভারত সরকারের পররাষ্ট্র মন্ত্রণালয় | ২১ নভেম্বর, ১৯৭১ |
PRIME MINISTER INDIRA GANDHI’S SPEECH IN BEETHOVEN HALL,
BONN, NOVEMBER 21, 1971
Following are excerpts from the speech:
.... When we thought that the path was cleared-and after the elections, as you all know, we were busy congratulating one another, patting each other on the back, suddenly a new burden, without any warning, without any fault of our own descended upon us, and that is the crisis which took place across our borders. Now, normally, I do not like speaking about other countries, but, in order that you may understand the situation, I would like to say something. When there was the independence struggle in the Indian sub-continent, the movement or the struggle was all over the sub-continent, even in that part which is now Pakistan. But when independence was achieved, the country was divided; we accepted that division, unhappily perhaps, but we accepted it, and we have not by any word or deed done anything to change that situation. In India, those who have fought for freedom stood for elections and have formed the government; but on the other side those who had fought for freedom remained in the prison, by and large, and the Government was formed by those who had collaborated with the foreign rulers, either in the military or in their civil service. This was a major difference between the Governments of the two countries, and this is what has made it so difficult for us to see alike.
India was twice attacked by Pakistan, and today there is a danger of war. We have done, and we will continue to do, nothing which will provoke a war, but the conditions are very war-like even today because our troops are facing each other on the border. I was asked this question a little while ago on TV: Why is it that India is not willing to withdraw her troops when this proposal has been made? It was India which approached the United Nations when the crisis firs began brewing.
You know, just as we had elections in India, there were elections in Pakistan after a very long time, because the people were getting tired of military rule and there was a general demand for elections. In Pakistan, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of the Awami League Party, got a majority that was even much bigger than my majority in India. Almost to a man, the people in East Bengal-man or woman-voted for him. But whereas in India it was a logical conclusion-you win an election, you from the Government-on the other side this did not happen. The six-point programme was not a new programme, it was the programme which Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had put before the people before the elections. This was his election campaign, his election programme. And if anybody had any objection, whether the leaders or anybody else, the time to raise the objections was before the elections. They should have said we cannot have elections on the basis of this six-point programme. But nobody and anything. It was when the
