The morale of Government servants in East Pakistan is apparently pretty low. Senior officers, particularly those who have received notices have been, heard to express the view that the Martial Law has been interfering in civil administration and that the Martial Law should be withdrawn leaving the Civil services free. They resent particularly “interference" or suggestions by military officers on civil matters.
2.There is no sign of steady improvement in matters that affect the lives of the people daily. Municipal services have deteriorated. Contact between the administration and the people are ineffective. These may be due to lack of any organization to take note of the small and easily remediable factors that affect the morale of the people.
3. High officials express the view that without the assistance of political partics it was difficult to maintain the morale of people in a place like East Pakistan. Apparently politicians have been able to get this point of view across. Apart from this the argument is being put across that while in West Pakistan the Army can take over the civil administration and run it successfully it would not be able to do so in East Pakistan and that civil administration should, therefore, have greater freedom in East Pakistan. It is essential that the regime and the armed forces are brought closer to the people in East Pakistan and the people made to feel that the regime is doing all that is possible for them, particularly in view of the reported decision to observe 7th October as Armed Forces Day. If on that day sufficient enthusiasm is not spontaneously expressed by the people, it is bound to be interpreted as a silent vote of no confidence on the regime which will be fully exploited by subversive elements and by hostile foreign press.
4. In creating the present mood and temper in East Pakistan, hostile forces are certainly at work. The political parties have been banned but their working has not stopped in practice. Political leaders talk in private meetings and discuss political problems. The subversive forces are spreading hostile views and propaganda in their usual way. Incidentally, the article that was written by Marshall in the “Foreign Affairs" was, it is said, circulated from hand to hand to foster opinion against the new retiree. All this is happening because there is little activity to foster opinion in favor of the regime and to counter hostile propaganda. Countering hostile propaganda cannot be effective unless they are based on concrete evidence of day-to-day improvements, however small, in the affairs of the people.
5. In the town of Barisal there is a Hall (a tin-shed) called Aswini Kumar Hall. Aswini Kumar was a great social worker of this district and exercised great influence in moral regeneration of the society about 60 or 70 years ago. He was held in esteem not as a Ilindu but as a great social leader. The present District Magistrate thought it fit to rename the Hall as Ayub Hall. One local Hindu is reported to have told the District Magistrate that it was a wrong thing to do and suggested to the D M. to do something else than rename an old institution if he was really keen to have the President s name associated with any public institution and offered to work and raise funds for such a new institution. It is stated that the District Magistrate got angry with the gentleman and with the support of allegedly concocted police reports of subversive activities arrested him under the Safety Act. Complaints were allegedly made right up to the Provincial
