alliances was certainly not to fight democracy or to suppress justice or the voice of the oppressed. If this was the object of these alliances, them it was a deliberate effort to deceive the world. There were people who used to criticize our policies and were of the view that we were encouraging communism in this country. They told us that they wanted to save us from China. But we did not co-operate with them.
Now, however, there has been a complete change in their attitude. They say today that China is the biggest country in the world and nobody should come in its way. This is how the Great powers completely shift their stand. If you look at the past history you will find that there is only one country and one people-India-who have never changed their stand. We have always remained steadfast to our principles and policies and would continue to do so.
And, let me repeat that, howsoever weak we may be-our forces are not so strong as those of the other world powers, who can strike terror in Europe and we do not have the weapons they possess nor the resources or the industries to match themthe Indian sprit is indomitable-indomitable because we follow the path of truth and justice. We shall show the world that despite the opposition of all those forces, there is no power on earth which can bend us. But we have to remember that such an attitude could be based only on firm courage and not on mere slogans. It is not an expression of courage to say that we shall destroy another nation or commit atrocities for no reason whatsoever. True courage implies firm adherence to principles, and we must all know what they are.
Our first commitment is to democracy and to make it truly meaningful for the people. This is possible only when all the people living in the land of whatever religion or community and speaking whatever languages are given equal rights. It is our fundamental principle that people of all religions must be treated equally. Democracy cannot strike deep roots, unless disparities between the rich and the poor are reduced. If we pursue these twin ideals, we shall achieve true victory.
How did we get involved in this crisis?
As I told you earlier, efforts were made to crush a poor neighbouring country. This country is more backward than us, because it did not get any opportunity to go forward. It was an unequal battle, with the people on one side, and the army on the other. Even if this country were far away from our borders, it would have had our sympathies in its struggle for freedom because India has always raised her voice in defense of justice and the poor. In this particular case, the country concerned is our neighbor, a neighbors at our very doorstep. Liven if we had tried to exercise restraints and kept our eyes and ears closed we might not have done so successfully, because all that was happening there affected not only our economy, our social system or politics but also our security.
Countries far off from the scene closed their eyes to what was happening there. We also watched all these events with great patience, not for one day one week or one month, but for full nine months. And not a day passed when we did not try our utmost to find out a peaceful solution by which Bangladesh would achieve its freedom. We were all aware that the people there were not prepared to accept anything less than freedom, and as I told the countries of the world, the question was not what India wanted or did not want. The
