Miscellaneous - This Day That Age   

dated July 5, 1952: India Govt. Policies

Prime Minister Nehru faced a hostile Communist opposition and a volley of bitter interjections and challenges when he condemned, in the severest terms, those who had accused the Government of Fascist or dictatorial tendencies and subservience to the United States.

Mr. Nehru said: "Such influence as I have and such affection as I have received from the Indian people are due to the fact that I take them into confidence about my innermost thoughts. We cannot carry on this Government in a secret way of deals with foreign powers. This Government would deserve to be washed off and smashed up if it did that behind the back of the Indian people and this Parliament."

Mr. Nehru was replying to Prof. Hiren Mukherjee who had said under the American Mutual Security Act, the United States aid to other countries was given in the interests of American security and in furtherance of the U.S. foreign policy.Mr. Nehru asked his critics to point out anything, which the Government of India had done, which appeared to have been dictated or governed by some other Government's advice or direction."At every stage and at every step," Mr. Nehru emphasised, "I have made it clear to every country we have dealt with that we are not going to change our domestic or foreign policies. If at any time that is not accepted there the matter ends. We part company from the aid or from that country if necessary."

Prof. Mukherjee asked: "What is the intelligent deduction to be made from the process of acceptance of foreign aid from a particular country which very specifically lays down conditions on Mutual Security Act, representing the wishes of the American administration or Congress in the matter. No doubt they wanted such help or support from other Governments. But the point was what the Government of India had done regarding the acceptance of the aid?"

The Prime Minister replied: "It is a question of our own strength. Ultimately it is your own strength which counts."Mr. Nehru quoted from the Indo American Technical Co-operation Agreement to show that no such condition as contained in the Mutual Security Act was accepted.

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