বাংলাদেশের স্বাধীনতা যুদ্ধ দলিলপত্র (দ্বাদশ খণ্ড)/৬৭
| শিরোনাম | সূত্র | তারিখ |
|---|---|---|
| ‘নিউজউইক’-এর সাথে প্রধানমন্ত্রী ইন্দিরা গান্ধীর সাক্ষাৎকার | ভারত সরকারের পররাষ্ট্র মন্ত্রণালয় | ১৫ নভেম্বর, ১৯৭১ |
'PRIME MINISTER INDIRA GANDHI’S INTERVIEW TO NEWSWEEK
MAGAZINE, NOVEMBER 15, 1971
On war with Pakistan
For a long time, even thought there were very provocative and threatening actions and speeches by the President of Pakistan, India did not do anything. Now, when we feel that we are being threatened, we simply can't leave our border undefended. I don’t know any country in the world that would say, “We will leave our border undefended” What should we do when this is happening on our border? Do we just sit quietly and say, “Do whatever you like, even if its consequences to us are so great?”. This I would say: by and large, the Indian people don't want war. We do have vocal elements who have been wanting war, certain extremist parties who have been wanting war. But we don’t have among the people an anti-Pakistan movement as (Pakistan has) a hate-India movement I sincerely hope that there will not be a war, and I am doing everything possible to keep it from happening. The threat of war is considerably less since we moved our troops to the border of West Pakistan. But, of course, as the situation heals up in the east, that is where that threat is. We feel every day the danger to eastern India is increasing.
On supporting the Bengalis
Only when the refugees started coming can you say that India had a hand in the Pakistan crisis. Only after all (the Pakistani Army terror) can you say, “Well, maybe some of the guerrillas come over from India” ..... Some of the training may be taking place on our side, but certainly not all of it. Even now the guerrillas are not dependent on India. As you know, the majority of the guerrillas are the paramilitary forces of East Bengal...... And they’re the ones who are training new people..... What the Bengalis consider to be the spirit of their people has been very deeply wounded. And while that spirit is there, the Pakistani Army will have to kill all the 75 million people in East Bengal before they can have control over them.... India can only prevent such a massacre in small and indirect ways. And I have absolutely no hesitation in saying that if I were placed in a situation like the Bengalis’, I certainly would fight. After all, we did fight the British and we have encouraged independence struggles all over the world.
On the Bengali refugees
Taking care of the refugees means cutting a lot of our programmes, it means a certain austerity in living, cutting government spending and re-orienting various schemes and programmes. It is indeed a very, very heavy (burden). I don’t think it will cripple our economy, we won’t go under with it..... But the major danger is not this burden, which is heavy enough. It is the social and political tensions which are growing out of this problem. And, we feel that there even a very real threat to our security.
On the breakup of Pakistan
I don’t think any country in its right mind would want its neighbor to disintegrate. We have enough problems of our own without having a weak neighbor; its’ not a healthy situation... (But) it is our assessment that East Bengal cannot remain united with Pakistan ever again in the same way it has been.
On Soviet aid to India
I’ve never asked for help at any age. Not even as a small child did I ask any person, “Will you do this for me or will you give me this”? I have not as ked the Soviet Union for help. I have explained to them as I have to other countries what the situation is. Now, it is up to the Soviet Union and other countries-to decide; is the stability of India important to our region or not?.. We certainly welcome help from whatever quarter it will come. We welcome support, we welcome sympathy. But I have-always stood on my own two feet and I want India always to stand on its feet. We don’t want to be dependent on any country in the world.
On Yahya Khan
(He is) one man who could not get elected in his own country if there were a fair election. I would say he would not even get elected in province if there were a fair election..... (Asked to reply to a statement by President Yahya in last week’s Newsweek interview, Mrs. Gandhi noted that Yahya had referred to her as “that woman.”) That woman! I’m not concerned with the remark, but it shows the mentality of the person. I mean, how well has he judged his own capacity to deal with East Pakistan? If he can’t judge a very small section of what was his own country, what weight has his judgment on India? What does he know about it? It’s a world which is quite outside his ken.