Opinion January 31, 1982, Forty Years Ago: Peace with Pak

🔴 The Prime Minister has offered to sign a treaty of peace and friendship with Pakistan. Surprisingly, Mrs Gandhi made her offer at the end of her hour-long meeting with Pakistani journalists and not at the formal Indo-Pakistan talks that began on January 30.

Indira Gandhi, India-Pakistan, India-Pakistan relations, CPM, Billa Ranga, Paiden Thondup Namgyal, Peace with Pak, Indian express, Opinion, Editorial

While Indian officials were attaching considerable importance to Mrs Gandhi’s remarks, the Pakistani delegation did not appear to be impressed by it.

By: Editorial

January 31, 2022 03:35 AM IST First published on: Jan 31, 2022 at 03:35 AM IST

The Prime Minister has offered to sign a treaty of peace and friendship with Pakistan. Surprisingly, Mrs Gandhi made her offer at the end of her hour-long meeting with Pakistani journalists and not at the formal Indo-Pakistan talks that began on January 30. While Indian officials were attaching considerable importance to Mrs Gandhi’s remarks, the Pakistani delegation did not appear to be impressed by it. Pakistani journalists, who heard Mrs Gandhi, said her offer came too casually and in response to a question by journalist on the Indo-Soviet friendship treaty. It’s possible that Prime Minister Gandhi made the offer to see how the Pakistani side would react to it. Perhaps, it was an attempt to recover lost ground after initial opposition to talks on Pakistan’s proposal for a no-war pact.

CPM’s line

At the end of the 11th party Congress, the pro-Moscow view of the central leadership of the CPM succeeded in reversing the pro-Chinese line that had been adopted after the 1964 split with the CPI. The Vijayawada Congress adopted a political resolution taking a strong pro-Soviet and anti-China stand. Even till the 10th Congress in Jullundur in 1978, the CPM had criticised and praised China and Soviet Union in equal measure.

Billa, Ranga to hang

Barely 18 hours before his execution, condemned prisoner Billa admitted to having murdered seven persons in Bombay but remained non-committal on his role in the murder of Sanjay and Gita Chopra. “It’s better that I am dying. What’s the purpose of living in a society that does not trust you,” he said. Meanwhile, Ranga “confessed” innocence and regretted he couldn’t get justice.

Ex-Chogyal dead

Former Chogyal of Sikkim, Paiden Thondup Namgyal has died of cancer. He was 59.