The War in the Commonwealth
SIR,—Mr. A. Yasamee views India with such a 'distempered appetite,' that his letter (Spectator, September 17) makes little sense, if any. To begin with, that absurd statement he makes, that 'Mr. Chagla and Dr. Zakir Husain are merely being used as instruments of Indian propaganda and have no real power,' is dangerously wrong. They both hold very important offices in our set-up and are of great importance. Mr. Chagla holds our brief before the UN and it lies largely with him either to make or mar our case. Surely this is a weighty responsi- bility. Mr. Yasamec goes on to say that in our country we have non-Hindus holding high-sounding positions but playing no part in policy-making. It would surprise him to know that Mr. Chagla is fighting for us the greatest war that India has to fight—its war against illiteracy. Our Education Minister has to make some of the most decisive yet delicate decisions, such as those concerned with our language issue.' Our economy, progress and pros- perity depend largely on our standard of literacy. Surely, then. Mr. Yasamee is badly informed.
Then, again, was there any need to draw that pointless parallel between the Vice-President and Education Minister of one country and the Chief Justice of another?
And, finally, it would interest Mr. Yasamee to know that Sheikh Abdullah is in confinement in Ootacamund not because he was not 'prepared to toe the Hindu line over Kashmir,' as he implies. His confinement is due to his leaving India to make a ha) (pilgrimage), and having returned after having made a wide tour spreading anti-Indian propaganda all the way. We could not have given him a fairer dealing, considering that he even con- tacted Mr. Chou En-lai on March 30, 1965, in Algeria. Need I say more? HOMI K. BHABHA
49 Cage Parade. Colaba, Bombay S
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