Evening star., 1947-09-04
7 Indian States
On War Shrink,
0fficiiaIsIndicate
Punjob in Anarchy;
500 Said to Be Alive
In District of 10000
By 6. Milton Kelly
Associated Press Sfoff Correspondent


of India and Pakistan, which
went their separate ways as Brit
ish dominions less than a month
ago, found themselves forced
today into joint efforts to pre-
vent their people from precipi-
tating a war between the two
states.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Liza
quat Ali Khan, Prime Ministers, re-
spectively of India and Pakistan
have just returned from a tour of the
Punjab, where thousands have been
killed in fanatic religious fighting
since August 10.
Mr.. Nenru was told that in one
Pakistan area of the Punjab there
were only 1900 known survivors
from community of 100000 Sikhs
and Hindus. Many had fled, but
thousands of bodies Uttered the
area, he was told.
A courier advised him that Indian
troops were demanding an expedi-
ton into Pakistan in search OF
5000 young women they believed tc
have been abducted by Moslems.
Pledged to Restore Order.
Against this background the two
governments pledged themselves al
Lahore yesterday to attempt to re-
store order in the Punjab. to pro-
tect refugees, to evacuate and feed
displaced persons, to repair desc
Grated religious places, to restore
abducted women to their families
and not to recognize illegal seizures
of property.
Meanwhile, communal violence
spread to Karachi, Pakistan's cap
ital. A Pathan sentry of the frontier
constabulary was arrested in the
fatal shootings last night of two
Sikhs, two Moslems and a Hindu at
the Karachi RAF station. A Sikh
was stabbed to death in another
part of the capital.
The two Prime Ministers both
have returned to their capitals
During their tour they saw signs of
virtual anarchy in the vast, fertile
Punjab, reducing civil governments
to impotence. They saw its reper-
cussions in new fighting in Calcutta
the scene of an orgy of killing just
a year ago. The fighting has spread
to Delhi, and the governments OBJ
viously were fearful that both do.
minions would be engulfed on 9
scale few cared to contemplate.
Mohandas K. Gandhi's threat tc
fast to the death in Calcutta II
peace is not restored there raised
new fears in government quarters
Mr.. Gandhi's physician in Calcutta
reporting the Hindu spiritual leader
had been existing on nothing but
water since Monday night, said Mr.
Gandhi was distinctly weaker than
yesterday"
Price I'm Blood Feared.
Highly placed spokesmen told me
they feared that If any i'll befell the
beloved Gandhi in this fast, 100000
600 Moslems inside India would pay
a horrible price in blood, regardless
of what steps the government might
take.
I completed today a full weeks
tour of the Punjab, which is bigger
than Britain. just before leaving
I heard the story of courier who
told Mr.. Nehru of butchery Of
Hindus and Sikhs in remote
Pakistan section of the Funjab. The
courier said that only with diff.
Guilty were Hindu troops restrained
from reprisals.
The courier said a small Hind,
military force was sent into th'
Shakirgarh district, IS miles south
east of Sialkot, to protect 120,O0'
Sikhs and Hindus and found onl!
1,5O0 known survivors. The force
the courier said, found that ZOO
had escaped into the adjoining
Jammu State, and that the road
and fields and villages were lit
tered with thousands of bodies.
Mr.. Nehru was quoted as saying
he expected more survivors woult
be found to have escaped, but tina
he was convinced a shocking trag
edy had occurred in the remote
area, accessible in this rainy sea
son only to military trucks built fol
heavy, muddy going.
The courier said people wer'
trapped on two sides of the distric
by the f1ood-swollen Raw Rive
and on third side by an almos
solid wall of Moslem mobs.
This means war;" was the ex
(See INDIA, Page A-5D