In the case of Biafra it was nearly a year before any state recognized the secessionists who had under their control by that time and for a lengthy continuous period, a clearly definable territory. Even Hitler and Mussolini, never renowned as upholders of International Law waited until over one-third of Spain was under Nationalist control before beginning to supply arms on the 26th July, 1936.
All this is unfortunate enough for the world community as a whole but the Supreme irony is that India itself, polyglot and heterogeneous as it is, may well prove to be one of the biggest sufferers from any breakdown of international law in this matter.
Given all this and the rapidity with which the potential Katanga in East Pakistan has been controlled, the question arises as to why the Indian leadership should have rushed in, throwing caution to the winds and ignoring the consequences of its actions in International Law and for the cause of International peace as well as of course its own internal Indian stability.
IV. POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF INDIA'S ACTIONS
This brings us to the political implications of India's role in the recent Pakistan crisis.
One of the major points of difference between Pakistan and India since 1947 has centered around Pakistan's repeated assertion that India has never reconciled itself to the 1947 partition of the subcontinent.
The Indian reply to this (which unfortunately has found some gullible listeners in different parts of the world) is that India has accepted as final the reality of Pakistan and that Pakistan's accusations to the contrary are the more product of a persecution complex.
But the events of the last few months have shown once again the truth of Pakistan's accusations and revealed more clearly than ever India's objectives with regard to Pakistan. Apart from the reference to supposed ties of tradition and culture which “bind" (mark the world “bind') the people of the subcontinent, contained in India's Parliamentary resolution of March 31st quoted earlier India's attitude to Pakistan's internal crisis is well illustrated by the speech before the Indian Council of World Affairs in Delhi delivered at about the same time by Mr. Subramanian, Director of the Indian Institute for Defense Studies, an organisation whose object is to advise the Indian military authorities in their long range planning.
Mr. Subramanian stated. “What India must realize is the fact that the breakup of Pakistan is in our interest and we have an opportunity the like of which will never come again."
Anyone wishing to be accurately and objectively informed about India's policies towards Pakistan has to take these factors into account in unraveling the tangled story of Indo-Pakistan relations from the beginning of the Kashmir dispute down to today.
