From the archives - dated January 11, 1967

India for peace with Pakistan

The Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, tonight [January 10, New Delhi] sought Pakistan’s co-operation in resolving mutual differences peacefully and in an atmosphere of friendliness and trust. She also reaffirmed India’s commitment to peace and peaceful methods of settling international differences. “We can prosper only if we live in amity,” she declared in a broadcast to the nation on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Indo-Pakistan Tashkent Declaration. The Prime Minister, who was speaking on “Shastriji and Tashkent”, said that it was a year ago, through the goodwill of the Soviet Union, a historic agreement was signed in Tashkent. “To-day we pledge ourselves anew to the Tashkent Declaration and to the message of peace which it proclaims, almost the last act of a leader (Lal Bahadur Shastri) sadly departed from our midst.” “At this moment the nation remembers Shastriji with special poignancy. We recall the tidings of death which shocked us at dead of night only a few hours after the news of peace from Tashkent,” she said.

Concern at cut in funds for education

Mr. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Education Minister, has voiced concern that the slashing of allocation for his Ministry would seriously retard the tempo built up in the implementation of educational reconstruction programmes. In a letter to Mr. Sachindra Chaudhuri, the Finance Minister, Mr. Ahmed has forcefully pleaded not to enforce any cut in the outlay of Rs. 65 crores proposed by his Ministry for the financial year 1967-68. He has pointed out that during the recent discussions with the Finance Ministry, the Education Ministry had been told that its allocation for next year should not exceed Rs. 40 crores, the same amount provided for the current year (1966-67). The Education Minister is understood to have emphasised that while he fully appreciated the need to make economics, the essential educational programmes should not be subject to heavy cuts. Certain essential schemes determined on priority basis, would suffer serious set-back if finance was not made available. The Fourth Plan for education finalised by the Planning Commission provides for Rs. 320 crores in the Central sector and Rs. 884 crores in the States’ sector. The schemes formulated for the Central sector envisage expansion of technical education, improvements to school and University education and provision of scholarships. Mr. Ahmed has complained that the provision of Rs. 40 crores for the current year representing a bare 12 per cent of the Plan outlay, is very much short of the requirements. He has expressed the view that the first year’s outlay should have been at least 15 per cent. Mr. Ahmed has made the point that a minimum of Rs. 60 crores will be required for the next year to continue the schemes already in progress and to implement those for which details have been formulated and are ready to be launched. He has also emphasised that a number of measures have to be implemented, such as ensuring adequate standards and qualities of education in schools, colleges and Universities in order to eliminate grievances leading to student unrest. The Education Minister has also voiced concern about cuts in scholarship for the current year.

Nigeria to remain united

Nigerian military leaders have announced that they would meet somewhere in Nigeria to settle their country’s problems. Col. Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria’s head of military Government, told reporters after two days of constitutional talks with military leaders last week: “Nigeria will definitely remain united”. A communique issued at the end of the constitutional talks said that agreement had been reached on the reorganisation, administration and control of the Army, and that a committee had been set up to look into the problem of rehabilitation and recovery of displaced persons’ property. It was the first face-to-face meeting between Colonel Gowon and Lieut.-Col. Odumegwu Ojukwu, Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria, since last July’s coup in which eastern officers were deposed from federal power. The communique said that the leaders had agreed that future meetings should be held In Nigeria, at a place to be announced later.