Siding with India?
From Lieut-Col H. R. Petty (Retd.) Sir: Your leading article "Siding with India" is one-sided and mischievous. You seem to ignore the fact that India, by encouraging rebellion and harbouring rebels, has brought this trouble upon herself. She must now get out of it as best she can. Any policy on our part, other than one of strict neutrality and impartiality, would be fatal, and would end by us incurring the enmity of both sides.
But there is one way in which we could and should help both India and Pakistan. We should provide them with the means of dealing effectively with the basic cause of all their troubles: namely over-population. In the past our own well-meaning efforts resulted in almost eradicating such diseases as malaria, smallpox and cholera. The consequence has been the terrible problem of over-population with which both countries are now faced. We should supply them, free of charge, with all the latest and best contraceptive devices. We should provide them with the best possible scientific and medical aid and advice. We should encourage the return to them of all their fully qualified doctors and nurses now working in this country: they are a thousand times more urgently needed there than here. The policy of ' shovelling ' out food to over-populated countries is a mistaken one, It is bound to lead to ever-increasing misery. To call it ' humanitarian ' is hypocritical nonsense.
H. R. Petty Novar, Edgar Road, Winchester
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