Evening star., 1951-02-04

Fr1me Minister Nehru'S Leadership
of the fight against branding Rec
China the aggreSsor in Korea will
be remembered.
On the other hand. assisting the
prospective legislation on its way
through both houses of Congress
will be recognition of Indias ex.
tremely powerful position amone
the Asian peoples and the neces-
sity to avoid doing anything
which resembles retaliation or de-
privation of needy Indians of the
food they will have to obtain
abroad if famine is to be averted
In response to fhdia's formal
request for 2 million tons of grain,
American Government agencies
are now engaged in an intensive
study of all phases of such relief
measure. The factors being in
quired into are manifold and ex-
tremely complicated. What ex-
actly is India's food situation?
Is there real or only potential
danger of starvation? Does 2 mil
lion tons represent the actual
need? Can India reasonably be
expected to pay for such a guam
tity Of grain-the value of which
will run between $3.50 million and
5000 million-even if long-term
credits are provided? Or would il
be better to make an outright
grant-in-aid and avoid the ILL
feeling and recriminations which
accompany pressure to collect a
bill that may be defaulted?
Uncertainties and Facts
Furthermore, can the American
Government readily spare such a
quantity of grain? If so, what
problems of transportation are in
volved9 With our pressure on
Europe to do more for its own
rearmament, what demand will be
made on America to make up loss
Of food production through di-
version of manpower into war in
dustries?
Congress will want to be salts
ned both on the wisdom of rally
Ing to India's assistance after
what Americans regard as her
strange behavior at the United
Nations, and on the international
political aspects of leaving suseep-
tible to Russian intervention a
sore spot in Asia.
Congress will want to be salts
ned not only on the extent of the
natural calamities which the In
dian government claims are re-
sponsible for the plight of its
people, but also on the character
and extent of any man-made fac
tors which have contributed to the
food shortage.
There will be close scrutiny, too
OF 1ndla's economic conflict with
Paklstan and whether American
1ood aid at this time would weight
the scales against India's relatively
small Moslem neighbor-popula-
ton 30 million-which won parti-
ton from India in 1947.
In the maze of uncertaintie,
which beset the whole problem
certain facts are clear. There i.
, no question that there has beer
series of natural calamitie!
which have cut into India's owr
food production. There is M
question about the existence of 6
1ood shortage, although no famine
yet. There is no question thai
India has had to import vastly
more food this year than it usual,
imports.
Outside these few certainties
however, the field is open and the
path Of the searcher for facts /,
beset with BOBBY traps of al
kids.
Partition Boosted Deficit
In support of it's request fol
American food the Indian govern
ment presents a case substantially
as follows:
The people of India-now total
ing $50 million and increasing at
the rate of 4 million annually
consume each year approximately
46 million tons of food grains
wheat. rice millet, corn, barley
and gran" which Is something
Like split peas. Indian diets vary