President Yahya Khan was vowing to condemn Sheikh Mujib for treason and sought to normalize the situation in East Bengal by forming a puppet government of politicians sympathetic to the military regime. Martial law was tightening its grip on the cities. and the threat of famine stalked the land. In India. relief workers were struggling to deal with the largest human tide of refugees in modern history: Attemptingbut not succeedingin providing minimal shelter. food and medicine to a hopeless people dying by the thousands under the monsoon rains. As India strained under the refugee burdena cost which has totalled more than all the funds it has received in foreign aid for economic development this yearIndian leaders complained that they could not withstand the pressure much longer. that the refugee flow must be stopped. that it would be cheaper to go to war than suffer this intolerable drain on its society. Such. then. was the desperate situation in South Asia last July. when Mr. Henry Kissinger traveled to India and Pakistan while on a world tour. He was. we were told. the Presidents personal representative to speak to the leaders of India and Pakistan about the conflict in East Bengal. and its repercussions on the stability of the region. Many Americans were gratified that the intensifying conflict in South Asia was finally receiving the attention and the priority it deserved by the highest officials of our Government. Until then. many of us in Congress had worried over the silence and inaction that had characterized our Governments policy toward the crisisa silence and a lethargy made clear to me during hearings on June 28 of the Subcommittee on Refugees. for which I serve as chairman. When Mr. Kissinger disappeared for several days from public view while visiting President Yahya Khan in Islamabad. many speculatedand all of us hopedthat he was secretly trying to get at the root of the problem in South Asia by visiting Sheikh Mujib. jailed in secret. near Islamabad.
Keywords matched
Refugees refugee refugees