Lal Bahadur Shashtri

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October 05, 2004
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Seven miles from Kashi in Uttar

Pradesh [ Images ] is
Mughalsarai. A hundred years
ago, Lal Bahadur, India's second
prime minister, was born there
on October 2, 1904, the same
day as India's greatest
statesman Mohandas
Karamchand Gandhi, born 35
years before Shastriji.
Though his parents Sharada Prasad and Ramdulari Devi were Srivastavas, Shastri dropped his caste
identity in his early years. In 1921, inspired by Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Gandhi, he cut short his
studies to join India's freedom movement.
Later he joined the Kashi Vidyapeeth and earned the epithet 'Shastri' by obtaining a degree on
philosophy.
He won the hearts of Indians when he showed exemplary courage in taking quick decisions as prime
minister June 1964 to January 1966) during the India-Pakistan war in 1965. His leadership in war was
an answer to that most often asked question at that time: 'After Nehru, who?'
http://news.rediff.com/special/2004/oct/06/spec1.htm (1 of 5)8/6/2009 6:12:23 PM

Why has history forgotten this giant?: Rediff.com news
But his untimely death on January 10, 1966 in Tashkent, in suspicious circumstances, deprived him
the chance for history to sit in judgement.
In a haphazardly taken decision, the central government has formed a committee to celebrate Shastri's
life and work in the year of his centenary.
In an ongoing series rediff.com salutes the 'gentle giant' who led India through the critical years after
succeeding Nehru.
Has the nation forgotten Shastri? Is Shastri, who epitomised honesty and sincerity in public life,
relevant today?
Anil Shastri, one of the late prime minister's six children and member of the Congress party, recounts
memories of his father in a conversation with Senior Editor Sheela Bhatt.
On the Congress treatment of Shastri
I don't think India has forgotten Lal Bahadur Shastri. Whatever he did is remembered even today. I
must say since Sonia Gandhi [ Images ] has taken charge Shastriji's portraits are displayed in all the
annual sessions of the party.
Many people have observed that there was a conspiracy to underplay Shastri's legacy within the
Congress. This serious charge is untrue for the simple reason that due to his untimely death his
contribution to the nation was confined to those 18 to 19 months when he was PM.
Nehru ruled the country for 17 years, Indira Gandhi [ Images ] for 16 years and Rajiv Gandhi [ Images ]
for 5 years. Obviously the Nehru-Gandhi contribution is unparalleled because nobody got this
opportunity. And remember Shastriji considered him as a protégé of Pandit Nehru [ Images ]. He was
never outside the sphere of the Nehru ideology which is the Congress ideology.
Our nation is going to celebrate his birth centenary throughout the year. The committee is formed
under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [ Images ].
Even in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, celebrations have been organised on a big scale. E Ahmed, minister of
state for external affairs, was in Tashkent to participate in the celebrations.

Shastriji who represented a certain value system is more relevant today than before because a
majority of us today have no value systems. I feel difficult to contest elections. I feel a little out of place
but for my lineage I have survived in politics.
His father
I still miss him although I was just 16 years old when he died. If he would have lived 10 more years he
would have done much more for the country.
He was down to earth. A real son of the soil. His grounding was from the grassroots level. He was a
practical man too. He strongly believed the laws of the land should be changed because the British
formed them to rule over India.
He did make an attempt by constituting the administrative reforms commission and made Morarji Desai
its chairman. But after he died the idea was shelved.
The most cherished memory I have is the verses of Guru Nanak, which were displayed on his table. As
Nehru kept Robert Frost's lines -- 'Miles to go before I sleep', on his desk, my father kept Nanak's
quotes in Gurmukhi.
When translated into English they mean -- 'O Nanak! Be tiny like the grass, for other plants will whither
away, but grass will remain ever green.'
When under the PL 480 programme, America was going to send inferior quality of wheat to India, he
opposed it. He asked the nation to go hungry once a day than accept poor quality food from US.
Before making this announcement he asked my mother not to cook evening meals. He himself
followed what he recommended.
The 1965 war with Pakistan
He appeared very modest but was a man of steel. He had the ability to take quick decisions. It was
demonstrated on August 31, 1965. On that day he came home for an early dinner. One of his
secretaries told him that the three chiefs of the defence services had come to see him. He immediately
left for his office next door at 10, Janpath.

The three chiefs visited him to inform him that the Pakistan army [ Images ] had crossed the
international border with 100 battle tanks in the Chamb sector of Jammu. They told him that in a short
span of time the Pakistan army would cut off Kashmir [ Images ] from the rest of India.
Without losing time he asked for the opening of a new front including Lahore [ Images ]. Retaliate with
full force, he said. What I remember is that the historic meeting lasted less than five minutes. Arjan
Singh, the then chief of the air force was present. He is the only surviving member from that meeting.
He told them, "Be prepared for war." He called Defence Minister Y B Chavan and informed him of the
decision. He responded positively and expressed his support. He didn't wait for international reactions.
The next day, newspapers reported that the Indian army [ Images ] was marching towards Lahore. It
was a big morale booster for the country.
During those tense days, in his address to the nation from Red Fort [ Images ] on Independence day, he
said: "Hathiyaron ka jawab hathiyaron se denge. (Force will be met with force.) Hamara desh rahega
to hamara tiranga rahega. (Our flag will survive only if our country does)"
On Shastri and the Nehru-Gandhi family
Pandit Nehru was very found of him. Shastriji was around 15 years younger but he trusted him fully. In
1956, when a train accident killed 144 passengers near Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu, Shastriji resigned.
Panditji refused to accept the resignation but he prevailed upon Panditji to accept it.
On the following day in Parliament, Nehru said no one could wish for a better comrade than Lal
Bahadur. A man of the highest integrity and devoted to ideas is called Lal Bahadur, said Nehru.
Once he was sent to Kashmir by Nehru to help resolve the theft in the Hazaratbal shrine. Nehru asked
him whether he had enough woollens for the trip.
"Are you aware Kashmir must be having snowfall at this time?" asked Nehru.
Shastri showed him the jacket he was wearing and Nehru immediately gave his own mink overcoat.
My father was short in stature so he told Nehru the coat was quite long. But Nehru said woollen
overcoats were always longer. That no one would know it was a borrowed one.

On his return from Kashmir when father went to him to return the overcoat, Nehru asked him to keep it.
The next day newspapers reported: Nehru's Mantle Falls on Shastri.
Shastriji and Indiraji also enjoyed a close relationship. She had the highest personal regard for him.
After Nehru's death in 1964, the Congress chose him as a consensus candidate. He did make an
attempt to persuade Indira Gandhi to take over as prime minister. He went to see her and asked her to
become prime minister.
She put her foot down and said no. "You become PM and I'll totally support you," she said. When he
was PM he would drop by at 1, Safdarjung Road (Indira Gandhi's home) without intimation just to chat
with her.
Image: Uday Kuckian
Part II: The politician who made no money
Sheela Bhatt
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The politician who made no money: Rediff.com news
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October 06, 2004
The politician who made no money

Part I: Why has history

forgotten this giant?
Kuldip Nayar was Lal Bahadur

Shastri's press advisor from
1960 to 1964 and travelled with
him extensively. He provides an
insight into the former prime
minister's life.
Shastri and the Congress
Shastri has been forgotten by the nation. He has been pushed into the background. I have no doubt
that there was a Congress conspiracy to underplay Shastri after his death.
The Congress is the party that should have put him to the fore but I remember visiting a Congress
meeting where Shastri's portrait was not even displayed with respect.
He simply didn't fit in. Mrs Gandhi was strongly against the Congress old guard. When he died there
was a strong resistance against his cremation in the area where Gandhi and Nehru had been laid to
rest. Most Congressmen wanted his body taken to Allahabad. When Mrs Lalita Shastri said she would
go public only then did the Congressmen relent.
http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/oct/07spec1.htm (1 of 6)8/6/2009 6:13:02 PM

They even protested against inscribing the slogan -- Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan on his samadhi. Then again,
only when Mrs Shastri threatened to go on a hunger strike was it was allowed.
After leaving the Press Information Bureau I became a reporter. Wherever I went to meet Congress
leaders, I was labelled as 'Shastri ka aadmi' [Shastri's man].
Now, a committee has been set up by the Congress-led government to celebrate his birth centenary
but it seems like an afterthought. I think after the death of Shastri, the Congress did not know where to
fit him. When Mrs Gandhi succeeded him, the Congress didn't know where to put his legacy in the
scheme of things then.
Shastri stands for austerity.
Shastri stands for simplicity and consensus.
Shastri represents an ideology that was right of Centre but not left of Centre. After all, he is the man
who said we need the five-year plan but let us have a one year holiday from plan.
I remember vividly a small incident that brought out the stark difference between the two (Shastri and
Indira Gandhi [ Images ]) leaders.
During Shastri's tenure his home in Janpath was upgraded quite a bit to suit the status of a PM.
After his death, while searching for a suitable home Mrs Gandhi went to see Shastri's home. She
entered the home, had a round inside and said, "middle class!"
The making of Shastri
Shastri was selected by veteran Congress leaders K Kamaraj, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy [ Images ] and
S Nijalingappa to lead the nation. Moments after Nehru's death I asked him who should become PM,
he said it should be the unanimous decision of the Congress.
He gave two names in order. First, Jayaprakash Narayan and second, Indira Gandhi. He told me he
wanted a unanimous decision over the selection. "But if there is a contest (which Morarji Desai
contemplated) then I can defeat Morarji Desai but not Indira Gandhi," he told me.

Probably he was right. However, the question didn't arise because Kamaraj was asked to talk to
members informally. Shastri was made PM but Morarjibhai never accepted the decision.
After Shastri became PM he had to face the war with Pakistan. When the Chamb border was attacked
Shastri was asked to take a tough decision whether to cross the international border. The army chief
said it would be difficult to hold on for long at Chamb. Shastri gave the order saying -- before they can
capture Chamb you should capture Lahore [ Images ].
After the war was over, I asked Indira Gandhi if Nehru would have allowed the crossing of the
international border. Mrs Gandhi said, 'Whatever the generals would have advised him he would have
followed."
But I wonder.
A slight man made of steel
After the war, Shastri's name was all over. Before the war many
people laughed at him for his softness but not after the war. He
came out as a tough hero.
His toughness was evident at Tashkent. When Russian Prime

Minister Alexei Kosygin (left: Shastri with Kosygin and Indian's then
external affairs minister Swaran Singh) wanted Shastri to sign the
agreement for peace with General Ayub Khan of Pakistan after the
1965 war, Shastri insisted on adding the assurance, "never again will weapons be used to sort out
problems between India and Pakistan."
Ayub was maintaining a vague stance by quoting UN resolutions. "Then you will have to find another
PM," said Shastri during the arguments. In the final agreement General Ayub Khan had not mentioned
those words but Shastri continued to press for it.
Ayub finally wrote it at the very last moment. General Ayub's handwritten assurance is still preserved in
the Indian archives. Shastri was a slight person but with a strong mind.

Also read: Kuldip Nayar on the Tashkent summit
Shastri can't be revived
If the Congress wants to celebrate Shastri, it will have to re-emphasis the honesty of Shastri. He stood
for the small men of India.
But the Congress has changed completely. Since Mrs Gandhi said that corruption is a world
phenomenon, Congressmen are not losing sleep over it. Neither can I imagine Shastri imposing the
Emergency.
All those Congressmen seen active during the Emergency are part of this government. Ambika Soni is
a confidante of Sonia Gandhi [ Images ], Pranab Mukherjee [ Images ], Arjun Singh [ Images ], Kamal
Nath all were part of the establishment then.
How can these leaders bring in the values of Shastri?
The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty culture has also played a role in minimising Shastri's legacy. When Shastri
was made a minister without portfolio in the Nehru's Cabinet, he was uncomfortable. Once in a huff he
told me, "I shall quit and retire to Allahabad."
While cajoling him not to entertain an such idea I said, "Nehru has you in his mind."
Shastri said, "Unke dimag main to unki putri hai. (He has his daughter in his mind as successor.)"
As soon as Shastri died the dynasty culture returned to the Congress. Shastri's message of life was
that if he could become PM anybody could because he was a common man. As the Bible says the
meekest shall inherit the earth, he proved it.
In 1942 (during the Quit India Movement), when he was in a jail, his daughter was ill and he was
released on parole. But he could not save her life because doctors had recommended costly drugs.
Shastri never made money. In 1963, on the day when he was dropped under the Kamaraj plan I went
to meet him. He was sitting in his home without a light.
"Why are you sitting in the dark?" I asked. He said, "From today all expenses will be borne by me." He

told me as a MP and minister he didn't earn enough to save for his rainy day.
On that evening, I told him to turn a columnist to earn some money. So he wrote a column on Lala
Lajpat Rai. That was the first syndicated column in India.
I syndicated it to four newspapers and collected Rs 500 from each. Quite a hefty sum!
The second column was on Nehru but before he could write more he was recalled to the Cabinet.
I don't see the revival of the values Shastri stood for. A day before his first press conference after
becoming PM I asked him what will be your message tomorrow?
He said: "I'll tell them that during my tenure there will not be any increase in food price and as PM of
India I would ask members of the Planning Commission to have one more column in their charts to
show me how many jobs will be created after spending thousands of crores of rupees."
He was a man concerned about the common man of India. Can these values return to this country?
I don't think so.
As told to Senior Editor Sheela Bhatt
Image: Uday Kuckian
Kuldip Nayar
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rediff.com Special: Kuldip Nayar remembers the Tashkent summit
HOME | NEWS | SPECIALS
July 14, 2001

Search the Internet
The Rediff Special/ Kuldip Nayar
NEWSLINKS India Pak Peace
US EDITION Tips
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
THE STATES
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES Kuldip Nayar, the veteran journalist and MP, worked Recent Specials
SEARCH REDIFF closely with Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. He A Solution for Siachen
shares his memories of the Indo-Pak summit in Tashkent When India and
in January 1966 with Sheela Bhatt. Pakistan almost made
peace
War in cyberspace
Lal Bahadur Shastri always believed we must have good Ram, Jesus, Allah
relations with Pakistan. Besides, he believed they were Much hype, small gains
our own people; after all, we are from the same stock, Born to run
spoke the same language, etc. Weak, distressed,
accident-prone
'We will open our cards
Shortly, after he became prime minister, India and
in court
Pakistan clashed in Kutch. Shastri was always inclined My Flag, My Country
towards peace, so he agreed to participate in the Escape from
arbitration announced by then British prime minister Kathmandu
Harold Wilson. At the same time, he issued a stern MORE SPECIALS...
warning to Pakistan: "If you still want to fight, I shall hit
you badly."
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, then Pakistan's foreign minister, had been told if Pakistan
attacked India, it could win the war. Later, India would start building many more
armament factories and become stronger. Bhutto sent infiltrators into Indian
territory. Field Marshall Ayub Khan, who was then Pakistan's president, did not
know about Bhutto's plan.
After the 1971 war, when I met Ayub Khan, I asked if I could speak to him about
the 1965 war. He said, "Why talk to me? Talk to Bhutto. It was Bhutto's war."
It was sensational. The Pakistani plan was to cut off the road which connects
http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jul/14spec.htm (1 of 4)8/6/2009 6:13:34 PM

India and the Kashmir Valley. I remember the army chief called Shastri at
midnight. He sought an appointment. At that midnight meeting, army officers
spread maps and showed Shastri how the Pakistani pressure was building up.
They sought permission to relieve the pressure.
The prime minister asked, "Why don't you do that?" The commanders replied,
"We should start another front to attract their forces on this side. This means we
will have to move towards Lahore. But, that's an international border."
"The other is also an international border (Kashmir where the infiltrators had
sneaked in)," Shastri said. "Cross it!" After Independence, this was the first time
India had crossed an international border and the rest is history. We won the
war. We hit their weaponry badly.
After the war, Alexei Kosygin, the Soviet premier, wrote to Shastri, 'Have pulao
and the kababs of Tashkent.' Russia provided a forum. In a way, it was not a
tripartite discussion.
I was then heading the United News of India. Before that I was Shastri's press
officer, so I was quite close to him. Before leaving for Tashkent, Shastri hosted a
small meeting of editors. He explained the background to the Tashkent talks and
the agenda. He said the USSR is our friend and the issue is pending before the
UN Security Council. All the editors agreed, but there was a major issue
important to India.
We had won two posts. Haji Pir and Tithwa. Our army had captured these posts
which were part of Pakistan occupied Kashmir. The editors argued that these
two posts were very important because they overlooked Indian territory. Shastri
said, "Yes, you have a point. I shall try." He wanted to talk to Pakistan because
he had already shown India's superiority. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was then in
the Jan Sangh, opposed the Tashkent talks.
Two plane loads of Indians went to Tashkent. Pakistan was enemy country so
we flew over Iran to get there. Along with Shastri, there were Foreign Minister
Sardar Swaran Singh, Defence Minister Y B Chavan, General P P
Kumaramangalam, deputy chief of the army staff, many diplomats and
journalists.
Shastri and Ayub Khan were given dachas almost 12 km away from the hotel
where the respective delegations stayed. On the first day, they met alone. They
agreed to the exchange of territory. Then, Shastri said, "We won't return Haji Pir
and Tithwa which was won in the war." Pakistan said, "It's the result of
aggression."
Shastri wanted a promise from Ayub Khan that Pakistan would never use force

in the future. So the talks did not proceed. Kosygin was trying his best. But the
difficult person was Bhutto. At one stage, Kosygin turned to Bhutto and asked,
"Do you want to destroy your country?" Bhutto replied, "This would amount to
surrender."
The talks used to be held late at

night. At one point, Kosygin told
Shastri, "You will have to give up
Haji Pir and Tithwa." Shastri said,
"In that case, you will have to talk
to some other prime minister." The
Soviets said the issue would go to
the Security Council. Shastri said,
"We may return them, but they
must say specifically that
whatever differences we have
should not be sorted through war
At the Tashkent summit: Y B Chavan,
or violence, but only through
Swaran Singh, Shastri, Ayub Khan
negotiations." Ayub Khan agreed,
and Kosygin
but Bhutto opposed this.
Our Pakistani friends were packing their luggage. They were told it was all over.
Then Kosygin intervened and a formula was reached. Pakistan would say it
would never resort to arms and India would return Haji Pir and Tithwa. When the
last meeting took place Shastri did not find the specific reference to arms.
Shastri showed his displeasure. Ayub Khan, at that very moment, wrote in his
handwriting, "Without resort to arms." That document is still in the ministry of
external affairs' archives.
After the settlement, Shastri met Indian journalists. Shastri explained the
clauses of the agreement reached with Pakistan. Some journalists inquired
about the two posts. He said, "Yes, but we have got this assurance." At that
point, one journalist alleged, "You have sold the country." The press conference
became quite bitter. Others joined in the criticism. I pacified them.
I went back to the hotel and retired early. I was dreaming about Shastri's death
when someone knocked at the door. "Your prime minister is dying," a fat lady
said. I rushed to Shastri's dacha. As soon as I entered, I saw Kosygin speak to
somebody. In a large room, a small man's body was lying, crumbled. I could see
he had struggled with the thermos.
We were informed that Shastri came in at 9.30 pm and called for a doctor. Later,
Dr Chugh, his personal doctor, said, "Shastriji did not give me time."
Later, we discovered that Shastri spoke to his family in Delhi every day. That
evening, he had called Delhi and asked for Ammaji, his wife Lalita. His daughter

came on the line. It is said his daughter said, "Amma won't come on the line.
You have given away Haji Pir and Tithwa." It is said she was very upset. Of
course, former defence minister V K Krishna Menon and Vajpayee also criticized
him. He then asked his daughter to send him all the newspapers to Afghanistan
where he would halt for some time.
It is said he tried to reach Delhi again, but Ammaji never came on line.
It was around midnight. I used the hotline on which Kumarmangalam was

speaking to someone in Delhi. When he hung up, I called the UNI office in Delhi.
I dictated my biggest scoop, "Shastri dead." The journalist at the other end
asked, "How is it possible sir? I am subbing his speech."
Late that night, Ayub Khan came to the dacha. He prayed. He told me, "If this
man had lived, there was a possibility of India and Pakistan coming together to
live in peace."
India honoured the Tashkent accord. But Pakistan never implemented it. Bhutto
was against it.
There was a political tussle within Pakistan. And Tashkent failed.
'I have been betrayed.' Thirty-five years after Shastri's death, his family
breaks its silence. Pick up the next copy of India Abroad for a world
exclusive!
Part II: The Errors of Simla
Part III: When Rajiv met Zia
The Rediff Specials
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rediff.com Special: J N Dixit on the Simla Summit
July 15, 2001

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US EDITION The Errors of Simla Tips
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Mohammed Ali Jinnah had tried to take over Jammu and
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ELECTIONS the relationship between India and Pakistan. Even after
ARCHIVES his death and that of prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan, the Recent Specials
SEARCH REDIFF Trouble in Tashkent
relations between the two nations did not stabilise.
A Solution for Siachen
When India and
Jawaharlal Nehru did try for normalcy. He signed an Pakistan almost made
agreement with Pakistan's prime minister Mohammad Ali peace
Bogda. With the World Bank's help, we signed an Indus War in cyberspace
water treaty with Ayub Khan. That was some marginal Ram, Jesus, Allah
development. But Pakistan's hostility did not go away and Much hype, small gains
this resulted in the 1965 war. Pakistan did not succeed in Born to run
its objectives, which was primarily aiming Kashmir. The Weak, distressed,
interesting thing is Pakistan did not feel it was militarily accident-prone
defeated in 1965. America and the Soviet Union 'We will open our cards
persuaded India to sign the Tashkent agreement. India in court
had not won the war decisively, and was in difficulty. My Flag, My Country
Escape from
Kathmandu
The crisis in East Pakistan was a qualitatively different
Man on the Moon
proposition. First of all, Pakistan thought that Chinese and
MORE SPECIALS...
American support would ensure the failure of the
liberation struggle. President Yahya Khan thought if India launched a military
operation in the east, he could do something in Kashmir and take it away. That
is why he carried out a surprise, but it was no surprise to us.
We defeated them for the first and perhaps only time on both, the eastern and
western fronts. We help the liberation of Bangladesh and captured large areas of
Sind and southern Punjab. They didn't succeed in Kashmir, and we took 93,000
prisoners of war.
For the first time, Pakistan could not escape accepting the fact that it was

politically throttled and militarily defeated. The result was the erosion and then,
fading away of the Yahya Khan regime. The defeat also convinced Pakistan it
must have conversations with India. Why we agreed to negotiations in Simla is
worth analyzing. We had no political and military objectives, we had no desire to
capture West Pakistan nor did we want to capture Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
The military regime in Pakistan had disappeared and a civilian -- Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto -- had taken over, so we were at ease talking to him. Holding onto
another nation's territory is a politically and financially expensive proposition.
You have to appoint a military governor and you have to permanently station
your troops. The population will be hostile. The age of aggressive imperialism is
over. It is not in our tradition, so we decided to talk.
Remember Simla occurred after a series of meetings in Dhaka. P N Haksar,

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's principal secretary, and Foreign Secretary T N
Kaul had detailed discussion with Mujibur Rahman in Dhaka. Indira Gandhi
conveyed to Mujib that India want normalcy in the sub-continent. Mujib, I
suspect, had some informal contact with Bhutto when he was released in
January 1972. Bhutto asked Mujib to help in the release of the Pakistani POWs
and, if possible, not initiate war crime trials.
I was then director of the War desk at the ministry of external affairs. I was the
first acting ambassador to Bangladesh. My frank analysis is Mujib was not keen
on independence. He wanted to be prime minister of the whole of Pakistan. It is
only because of the obstinate stand of the military regime and Bhutto that he
was compelled to declare independence. He was willing to negotiate even then.
It was the Awami League's youth wing who remained firm. He was not an active
participant in the freedom struggle, as he was in prison.
India told him if you don't want to release the POWs, Bangladesh could keep
them. Mujib was not prepared for that because he could not afford it. Bhutto was
a clever man, he anticipated the pressure on us.
At Simla we had many objectives.
First, we wanted to stabilise the relationship and tell Pakistan: The war is over,
you provoked it, we were compelled to respond, but that does not mean we have
any ambitions, territorial or otherwise.
Second, we want the Kashmir issue to be resolved to the maximum extent.
Third, we wanted Bhutto to recognise Bangladesh. Not only had Pakistan not
recognised Bangladesh, Islamabad was obstructing Dhaka getting UN
membership.

Four, we wanted him to take back non-Biharis and non-Bengalis from

Bangladesh. This was a demand on Bangladesh's behalf. All these was
discussed first in Dhaka, then in Delhi and Murree in Pakistan. P N Haksar, D P
Dhar, chairman of the policy planning committee, and T N Kaul were involved in
the negotiations. Swaran Singh was our foreign minister, Jagjivan Ram the
defence minister.
In January 1972 I was appointed acting ambassador to Bangladesh. I was in

Simla for the first day-and-a-half. K P S Menon Jr, who later became foreign
secretary, was also involved in the negotiations. India's strength was that we
had won the war, but importantly, we had gone through internal discussions to
decide what we want to achieve.
It was decided if Pakistan agreed to the new border and recognised Bangladesh,
we would release the POWs.
We also told Pakistan if they recognised Bangladesh, we would persuade

Bangladesh not to initiate a war crimes trial.
Mrs Gandhi went to Simla with Sardar Swaran Singh, Haksar, Dhar and Kaul.
There was a business-like atmosphere in Simla. The chemistry of cooperation

was absent between the two leaders. Mrs Gandhi was not there to forget and
forgive. Bhutto's stand was, "Whatever you say is right, but I was not
responsible." He was a clever man.
The discussions were very difficult. Bhutto kept harping, "Look, I am in a weak
position. I have just taken over. If you make very harsh demands and if I
concede them I may not survive back home. Already, there is a lot of anger and
frustration in Pakistan. We don't want an extremist Muslim or military
government to come back. So please help me stabilise myself in office."
People often ask why did we give back the territory we won? Holding foreign
territory is expensive militarily. It would also have not been acceptable to the
international community. The 93,000 POWs lived in pucca housing. Our troops
guarding them lived in tents. For a year they lived in tents. Under the Geneva
Convention you have to give certain facilities to POWs. It affected the morale of
our soldiers. They thought we defeated the Pakistanis, but they are living
comfortably while we are in slums. There was the tension of keeping 93,000
hostile soldiers. It was a complex predicament and we wanted to get rid of them.
We talked about Kashmir in Simla; we wanted to settle it once and all.
Till the last day we kept saying the military commanders would draw a new line.
It would not be called a cease-fire line, but the Line of Control. It would be the

first step towards making it an international boundary. Kashmir would not be

considered a dispute. We discussed this at a formal meeting too. Bhutto said, "I
have no problem. I will do it, but please don't put it in the agreement, formally."
Mrs Gandhi insisted upon this, but internal differences surfaced in our
delegation. Jagjivan Ram, Dhar and Kaul wanted Bhutto to put this in the
agreement, but Swaran Singh and Haksar cited history. If you put this in the
agreement, they said, it would be in the manner of an imposed clause. The last
time such an agreement was signed was after the first world war. After Hitler
came to power he said this is an imposed agreement, it has no validity, he
violated it and there was war.
This was the argument Mrs Gandhi was given. They said, "If Bhutto says he will
do it, then don't insist on including it (Bhutto’s promise on Kashmir to India) in
the agreement."
My personal view is we should have insisted that Bhutto's promise on Kashmir

be included in the Simla agreement. I don't know what was working in their
minds, what the compulsions were. On the last night, at the meeting with Mrs
Gandhi, Bhutto agreed he would formally declare the Line of Control as an
acceptable boundary in four years' time. This too was not put on record. The
Simla agreement just said Kashmir is an issue which should be discussed, and
has to be resolved peacefully and bilaterally. We made another mistake by
writing 'other means;' we agreed to solve it 'by other means.'
Till the last day it was certain the meeting would be a failure. There was great
anxiety. The mood was tense. If the talks failed, it would mean we would have to
keep 93.000 POWs and Pakistan territory. The overriding feeling was that it is
okay, if he is giving us this assurance on Kashmir, maybe it will lead to a durable
peace. The agreement was signed on the very last day.
From July 1972 to 1974, Bhutto did take steps confirming his promise to Mrs
Gandhi. The level of violence on the border was not high. He merged the
northern areas into the Pakistan federation. He created a separate Kashmir
ministry. Of course, he started the nuclear weapons programme, saying
Pakistan would never again be defeated in war.
By 1974, Mrs Gandhi was in trouble because of the Navnirman agitation. Bhutto
had become very strong by then. Even the military was subject to his influence.
The Emergency made Mrs Gandhi unpopular. She had to concentrate on
internal problems.
Bhutto was a political opportunist. He saw Mrs Gandhi was weak and reduced
by 50% the value of the Simla agreement by 1976. He said, "Kashmir is a
dispute." He didn't fulfill the other parts of the agreement.

The value judgement of Simla that we didn't take advantage of our position is in
the light of much later developments. It did improve our credibility. Henry
Kissinger, who was our greatest critic during the Bangladesh war, signed an
agreement with us on economic cooperation. The Simla agreement provided the
framework of some peace for a decade-and-a-half.
Part I: Trouble in Tashkent
Part III: When Rajiv met Zia
The Rediff Specials


rediff.com Special: Former foreign secretary Romesh Bhandari recalls the Rajiv-Zia talks
July 16, 2001

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Former foreign secretary Romesh Bhandari was born
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and educated in Lahore. He joined the Indian Foreign Errors of Simla
SEARCH REDIFF Service in 1950. During his tenure, Pakistan President Trouble in Tashkent
Zia-ul Haq visited New Delhi. He recalls the encounter A Solution for Siachen
between then premier Rajiv Gandhi and General Zia: When India and
Pakistan almost made
President Zia and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi met in peace
War in cyberspace
Moscow in February 1985 at the funeral of the late Soviet Ram, Jesus, Allah
president Yuri Andropov. During their talks, both men Much hype, small gains
agreed they should do something to establish good Born to run
relations between their countries. Weak, distressed,
accident-prone
Rajiv proposed to send me to Pakistan. Zia happily 'We will open our cards
agreed because his foreign minister Shabzada Yakub in court
Khan and foreign secretary Niaz Naik were pro-India. My Flag, My Country
Escape from
Kathmandu
I went to Pakistan and Zia's visit was finalised. In the
Man on the Moon
middle of December, Zia came on a working visit. He and
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Rajiv agreed for a step-by-step approach. The
compulsions of that meeting were by and large the same. Zia realised that as
long as both countries remained hostile development would be elusive.
Remittances from the Gulf had started declining, so Zia had economic
compulsions. Zia, being a military man, realised there could be no military
solution. India had a clear advantage in conventional warfare. He knew he could
not fight a war and get Kashmir. The best way was dialogue. There was also an
agreement that ruled out the use of force.

There was no euphoria when Rajiv and Zia met. Because, people did not trust
Pakistan. They had heard so often that peace would arrive, but it always
remained far away. There was a feeling in India that many within the Pakistan
armed forces wanted to take revenge for Bangladesh. So there was no hype.
The talk took place in the Yellow Room of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Zia stayed over
that night at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Zia was the most courteous and polite leader I have ever met. He would always
come right out to the car to see off his visitor.
There was good personal chemistry between Rajiv and Zia. There was no
tension. No one was present when they spoke to each other for over two hours.
We were in the committee room. Both came out, sat with us and told us what
they had agreed upon.
Rajiv took me aside and said, "Zia was pushing and pushing me to commit
myself to a visit to Pakistan."
Nothing came out on Kashmir. We know the stated positions. Zia was very keen
that Rajiv should visit Pakistan. Rajiv said we would do it step by step; let the
finance and foreign secretaries visit first.
Rajiv had a very mature view on Indo-Pak relations. But he was influenced by
others. People told him Zia should not be trusted. Initially it prejudiced his
approach. But later, people like us said, "Zia is saying something, test him out."
Zia's cricket diplomacy was part of getting credibility because, after all, he was a
military man.
To follow up on the Rajiv-Zia talks, then finance minister V P Singh went to

Pakistan. He had a productive dialogue with his counterpart, the pragmatic
economist Maqbool Haque.
Later, I went for the foreign secretary-level talks .The day I landed in Rawalpindi
the political forces had started their game. The Muslim League passed a
resolution that economic exchanges between India and Pakistan were
detrimental to Pakistan, and the Kashmir issue could be solved only on the basis
of the United Nations resolution.
I was naturally very upset. My first meeting was with then prime minister
Mohammad Junejo, who was from the League. I told him, "I better pack up and
go home."
To which his answer was, "This was a political resolution and if President Zia

has said he wants better relations with India, we are committed to it."
Next, I met the president. We had a one-on-one. Our talk went on for over an
hour. I mentioned the League's resolution. He agreed that was a problem and
asked me to continue our efforts.
At that point, we wanted Zia to show some gesture that could be interpreted as a
friendly one. I can't tell you what we wanted. That's too loaded. I'll reveal that in
my memoir. I told Zia if I go back empty-handed Rajiv would believe Zia was
sincere, but not the people of India.
Three days later, when I was in Karachi I was whisked away in a car and told the
president would like to talk to me. Zia told me, "I have done the best I can.
Please go back, rest assured."
Subsequently, the third step -- a meeting of sub-groups -- got stalled. Forces in

Pakistan that were against the normalisation of relations overwhelmed Zia's
desire.
Rajiv said he and Zia had come to some agreement over Kashmir. It could have
solved the issue, but unfortunately Zia died in the 1988 plane crash and the
hope of an Indo-Pak agreement got crushed. That solution was to keep talking
on the border issue. In the meantime we would go ahead with our economical
and cultural discussions, almost freezing the Kashmir issue and allowing a better
life to Kashmiris.
I firmly believe it is in the interest of the armed forces of Pakistan to keep the
Kashmir issue alive. Only thus can they remain a determining factor in Pakistan.
If there is peace there will be no need for the type of military establishment they
have now. They would need an army the size of Bangladesh, which has a
border problem but no fear of aggression from India.
Today, Pakistan is on the verge of bankruptcy. There is resentment against the

dominance of the Punjabis from Sindhis and Baluchis. Therefore, there is much
greater hope that Pervez Musharraf would agree to keep Kashmir on the
backburner to keep Pakistan united.
With international emphasis on democracy, the armed forces realise that in the
long run they will have to function under a democratic set-up. Under such
circumstances, the hope to solve Kashmir increases -- but only in a long run.
Tomorrow: The Lahore Declaration
Part 1: Trouble in Tashkent

Part 2: The errors of Simla

The Rediff Specials


Lal Bahadur Shashtri

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Why has history forgotten this giant?: Rediff.

October 05, 2004

Why has history forgotten this giant?

Seven miles from Kashi in Uttar

http://news.rediff.com/special/2004/oct/06/spec1.htm (1 of 5)8/6/2009 6:12:23 PM

On the Congress treatment of Shastri

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The 1965 war with Pakistan

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On Shastri and the Nehru-Gandhi family

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Image: Uday Kuckian

Part II: The politician who made no money

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Stars spotted! What's this?

Spotted: Mandira Bedi in KolkataReader Sudarshan Gupta has sent us a photograph.

Met a celebrity?Email us photos & videos

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October 06, 2004

The politician who made no money

Part I: Why has history

Kuldip Nayar was Lal Bahadur

Shastri and the Congress

http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/oct/07spec1.htm (1 of 6)8/6/2009 6:13:02 PM

Shastri stands for austerity.

Shastri stands for simplicity and consensus.

The making of Shastri

http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/oct/07spec1.htm (2 of 6)8/6/2009 6:13:02 PM

A slight man made of steel

His toughness was evident at Tashkent. When Russian Prime

http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/oct/07spec1.htm (3 of 6)8/6/2009 6:13:02 PM

Also read: Kuldip Nayar on the Tashkent summit

Shastri can't be revived

How can these leaders bring in the values of Shastri?

http://www.rediff.com/news/2004/oct/07spec1.htm (4 of 6)8/6/2009 6:13:02 PM

I don't think so.

As told to Senior Editor Sheela Bhatt

Image: Uday Kuckian

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Stars spotted! What's this?

Met a celebrity?Email us photos & videos

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HOME | NEWS | SPECIALS

July 14, 2001

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The talks used to be held late at

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It was around midnight. I used the hotline on which Kumarmangalam was

There was a political tussle within Pakistan. And Tashkent failed.

Part II: The Errors of Simla

Part III: When Rajiv met Zia

The Rediff Specials

Do tell us what you think of this feature

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HOME | NEWS | SPECIALS

July 15, 2001

http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jul/15spec.htm (1 of 5)8/6/2009 6:15:12 PM

Remember Simla occurred after a series of meetings in Dhaka. P N Haksar,

At Simla we had many objectives.

Second, we want the Kashmir issue to be resolved to the maximum extent.