I told them that if they wanted to prevent a war they should put pressure on the Pakistan President and Government to change their ways. If this were done there would be no war. Otherwise, it would be difficult to avoid war. India cannot tolerate a whole nation being annihilated and that this should be treated as a purely internal matter of another country. The repression in Bangladesh was so great that we were forced to bear a big burden. A situation was thus brought about in which we had to face Livent then, the initiative was not ours.
If we had wanted to begin a war, some of our leaders would have been in the capital. I was away to Calcutta, where there was a very big meeting attended by about a million people. The Defense Minister was in Patna and on way to Bangalore. The Finance Minister was in Poona and did not even know if he was retiring or going elsewhere. At 5-45p.m. we were told about the Pakistani aggression, which had begun at 5 p.m. We all tried to return to the capital as soon as possible. We did not begin the war. Even then, some people abroad accused India of aggression.
We were naturally deeply hurt that people who professed to be upholders of democracy remained quiet when the time came to defend it. They were not worried whether a country had a democratic form of government or was under military rule. They talked of big ideals, but when the time came they ignored them completely. I do not know whether they did so in their own interests or in the interest of somebody else. I told everybody that if they were not concerned with freedom of the people of Bangladesh, or our own difficulties they could do what they liked.
I also said that if they could take a long range view of their self-interest, it was in their own interest that Bangladesh must not be crushed. The annihilation of Bangladesh could not strengthen Pakistan, but only weaken it. The armed forces of many countries might be brought there but they could not build up a strong nation when the people were victims of untold atrocities.
Today we are fighting not against the people of Pakistan who, we know, arc being suppressed. Their voice is not heard and they are not able to hear what others say. They do not know what has happened in Bangladesh. Even the people of Karachi do not know what happening in Baluchistan or in the North-West Frontier province or in their regions. The people there are as poor as our own people. The help their Government is getting does not reach them at all. In any case this help is not being used for development work. The nations of the world are helping a handful of army leaders to remain in power there. We want to ask the people of Pakistan and the armed forces there why they are fighting for a government which is not prepared to do anything for them. Why are the fighting, when it is not going to strengthen their nation, but weaken it?
Now that we are at war, our first effort is to win it. Not for a moment have I lost the confidence that victory shall be ours, and must be ours. We shall win because our army is strong and brave, and also because it is a new type of army. When we were first attacked, our armed forces were similar to those of Pakistan. A wide gulf separated them from the people. But after the war of 1962, and particularly after the war of 1965, the people and
