CHAPTER - 28

DEMANDS FOR GRANTS MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Lok Sabha , 31 March 1981

EDITORIAL NOTE

This is the last speech on Foreign Affairs that Y. B. Chavan delivered in the Lok Sabha. He strongly advocated strengthening of non-aligned movement, and economic co-operation among the third world countries to achieve greater self-reliance.

Shri Y. B. Chavan (Satara) : Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am speaking at the end of the day. But there is one advantage that I am speaking after many people placed their points of view before this hon. House and I will have my share of putting my point of view.

Prof. Madhu Dandavate : All is well that ends well.

Shri Y. B. Chavan : As far as the day is concerned, what Mr. Dandavate says is correct, all is well that ends well. That apart, I think that when we discussed this demand last year and when we are discussing this demand today, my mind goes back to the last one year, to what happened in the world in the neighbouring countries and in India’s itself. And there we see a considerable change of situation, in the world situation, in the original situation and in the Indian neighbourhood. Things are getting troublesome. I would like to use some stronger terms for it, but I am using rather very soft term. It is a dangerous situation that we are facing today. Therefore, Mr. Foreign Minister, you have got a very tough job, and I must say at the beginning that it is the duty of this House and every one of us, to support you and sustain you, in this troublesome and difficult job. I am sorry, my friend, Mr. Ram Jethmalani, is not here. When I was hearing his speech, I felt that I was hearing a speech of the Republican

Senator of the .USA. We have always considered the foreign policy of India to be a sort of policy of national consensus, and it has been so. I think, the House, last year, by and large supported this point of view - when I also spoke on this and the House welcomed this. Now, what has happened in one year that the situation has so changed? Let us go into the whole matter.

Let us take the question of Afghanistan. I am not going to pay any compliments to an individual; I am trying to pay compliments to the country as a whole, as a national policy. Have we departed from our basic approach on nonalignment in this particular matter. No, we have not justified the Soviet armed intervention in Afghanistan. My Party has asked for its early withdrawal. I was seeing the Annual Report of this ministry; as far as Afghanistan is concerned, it has said the same thing there. We do not want the intervention of any country in any other country. We want a sovereign Afghanistan. Mark the word ‘friendly’ also. When we want a friendly Afghanistan, naturally the Soviet Russia also would expect that they should have a friendly Afghanistan. That is a different matter. We have not justified the Russian intervention. We have not also created a row, a meaningless row, about it. That is where the skill of running the foreign policy of a country comes in. Had we just merely joined the chorus of ‘withdraw the Army’ of some of the Western countries who, fir the sake of formality, go on saying but who in private agree with what we are doing.