The Dissenter

The two distinguished Western visitors working for improved understanding were scarcely out of sight before India's Prime Minister Nehru made it clear he had not been charmed out of his old prejudices. British Foreign Minister Selwyn Lloyd had assured him that SEATO is no threat to India. U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles had made a mighty effort to soothe his professed fears about the U.S.'s arming of Pakistan.

The visitors gone, Nehru spoke. The SEATO conference in Karachi "confirmed our worst apprehensions," he told the Indian Parliament, by recommending settlement of the Indo-Pakistani dispute over Kashmir. Said he: "A military alliance is backing one country, namely Pakistan, in its dispute with India." He pointed to the sudden rash of skirmishes on the Pakistan border. These show, he said, that Pakistan wants U.S. arms not to deter an aggressor but to settle its disputes with India "from a position of strength." Arming of Pakistan poses "a terrible problem" for India: it will force India to spend money on defense that is badly needed for economic development.

Between blasts Nehru accepted President Eisenhower's invitation to visit the U.S. in July for four days of informal talks. As he explained after Dulles' visit, "it is useful to have a frank and personal-exchange of views. But the process of conversion cannot be rapid."

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