Evening star., 1961-09-19
Lawrence on NeutroIs

W - w - - = - -
In a letter, H. r. Vohra,
special representative of the
Times Of India, said that if
David Lawrence's abuse were
a good substitute for policy
"all the clouds that hang on
the horizon would have dis
appeared" That was giving
Mr.. Lawrence a lot more
credit than he deserves. To
suggest that if Mr.. Lawrence
were to adopt a tone of
sweetness and light all the
worlds problems would van
ish is a monumental exag-
geration.
Mr.. Vohra doesn't like
Lawrence'S "crudity" or
abusive language" Probably
because Mr.. Lawrence tells
the plain truth now and then
in his column and doesn't
bother to sugar-coat it. Nat
urally he annoys quite a
number of foreigners. When
Mr.. Lawrence wrote that 1.-The
unaligned nations play the
West against the East" he
told the plain truth, and In
dia has been a fairly assid-
uous player of that racket.
Mr.. Vohra doesn't know It,
but there are a lot of Amer
leans, millions of them, who
don't give hoot what India
or any other neutral" ma
tion does. They Just heartily
wish that their Government
would adopt the same atti-
tude, and quit shoveling out
billions in foreign aid"
to "undeveloped countries"
most of whom would cheer
fully stab us in the back if
they got the chance. I don't
know precisely what India's
quota of those billions has
been, but it has been sub
Stantial. And some of those
millions were spent digging a
lot of wells near Indian viii
lagos so the villagers could
get some water. 1t wasn't all
spent to force India to "join
the arms race"
AS for Mr.. Vohra's final
Sneer, that 1--WE Qndia) can't
save ourselves without first
attempting to save you"
That isn't even funny. India
hasn't always done so well
about even protecting itself.
Mr.. Nehru couldn't prevent
the Chinese Reds from slic-
ing off pieces of Indian from
tier territory and appropri-
ating them. A nation that
can't defend it's own terri
torial integrity is in no posi-
ton to save" any other
country. Alaska in one of the
States of our Union, and not
far from Soviet Russia; but
so far the Soviets haven't
tried to grab a few chunks of
Alaska.
Eugene S. Guild.
4 y
A recent colloquoy between
one of your readers and Da-
vid Lawrence seems to have
hinged upon the objectivity
and effort for peace of Mr..
Nehru. There seems, also, to
have been some intimation
concerning Mr.. Nehru's in
terest in the free self-deter-
HllIlaIlOn OF naClOnS.
1t is interesting to note, in
this connection, that accord
ing to a recent issue of HUI
man Events, the Washington
Newsletter, Mr.. Nehru's Am
baSSador to the United Ma
tionS has voted with the
United States or free world
interests on six occasions and
with the Soviet or Commu-
mist world SO times.
An interesting question at
this point becomes concerned
with the dollars of American
aid poured into India.
The voting statistics of
other heavily aided countries
are similarly shameful as a
testimony to the effective
ness of United States aid dol
lars in behalf of the people
who are footing the bill.
Perhaps, however, this
whole situation can be justly
regarded as a succinct COM
ment on the stature of our
reputation in the estimation
of the peoples of the world.
Which" they fairly ask, "is
the strongest, most impor-
ia t, most-to- respected
nation in the world?"
Nnil PhnInn NAm