STATEMENT BY SHRI G. S. KAHLON, REHABILITATION SECRETARY,
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, IN THE 22nd SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE OF UNHCR HELD IN GENEVA
October 5, 1971

 

Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank you and members of your Committee for providing me with this opportunity to address you. May I, Sir, begin by extending to you my Delegation's and my own warmest congratulations on your election as Chairman of this Committee? You, Sir, and your country have taken such deep interest in refugee problems and have great knowledge of humanitarian issues involved therein. I wish you and your colleagues, the Vice-Chairman and the Rapporteur, every success, and extend to you our fullest co-operation in discharge of your onerous responsibilities.

May I also take this opportunity to join all other delegations in congratulating The High Commissioner, Prince Sadruddin Agha Khan, for his most interesting and informative statement. He and members of his staff have difficult and demanding task to perform all over the world, and we in India, in our present position, would like to express our appreciation to them for prompt and efficient assistance they have kindly given so ungrudgingly.

 

Your present meeting has historical significance, since it coincides with 20th anniversary of setting up of Office of UNHCR. However, it is unfortunate that world should today be faced with tremendous tragedy of human situation involving over 9 million of people who have had to flee their hearths and homes and seek refuge in another country, and whose hardship we are all trying to mitigate. As the distinguished High Commissioner himself had pointed out in his statement yesterday, "The common objective-inside and outside the United Nations-should be to seek ways and means to eradicate the cause of refugee problems and to solve political, social and economic ills which trigger off all large movements of population ". It is only through eradication of these causes that solution of this complex problem can be found; only then can any voluntary repatriation of refugees, like those who have crossed into India in millions, be brought about.

As you know, Sir, India is so Nitally and extensively concerned with current problem of influx of refugees from East Pakistan that I feel it is necessary to apprise this Committee of some essential details of problem that India has had, and is still facing, in this context, and manner in which she is tackling it, with assistance of course from international community.

Unfortunate and unparalleled circumstances leading to enormous human suffering that caused this exodus of vast numbers from East Pakistan from end of March, 1971, onwards are well known already. In these most distressing circumstances, India had to extend, on purely humanitarian grounds, shelter and relief to millions who crossed over into border States of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura from East Pakistan. Influx was so sudden and so rapid that India had to strain her economic and administrative resources to very great extent from very beginning. Thus, beginning from end of March, within a couple of months total influx of refugees into India had gone up to nearly four million, and today it has crossed 9 million already, without any signs of them returning to East Pakistan at all. Average inflow per day still continues to be between 30,000 to 50,000 persons, and if this rate continues at this scale we may well have not less than 12 million refugees on our hands by end of this year.

For organising gigantic programme of providing relief to such phenomenal number of refugees, Government of India has had to establish special Branch Secretariat in Calcutta under a very senior officer. This Secretariat is intended to be the executive outpost of the Central Rehabilitation Department, and has been

given necessary financial and other requisite powers for undertaking and executing on-the-spot decisions with regard to relief measures, by setting up camps, providing food and other necessary supplies, including medical supplies and for organising co-ordination with different State Governments as well as other voluntary agencies concerned. Also at Centre in Delhi, a Department has been established with

a Central Co-ordination Committee for providing liaison, advice and assistance in implementation of Government's policies as well as various international agencies' efforts in this behalf.

 

The Government of India has made provision of Rs. 260 crores (US dollars 360 million) for all this relief work up to end of December, 1971. This includes expected amount of Rs. 50 crores (US dollars 69 million) in foreign aid. However, now for 8 million refugees in camps (which, it is considered, will be the figure shortly because of increased inflow, as well as demand of those who had come to friends and relatives to be helped by Government now) it is estimated that for a period of six months we would require Rs. 419 crores or US dollars 558 million Grand total is Rs. 4,187.89 million or say Rs. 4,188 million. This is equivalent to 558 million US dollars.

 

Details of these calculations have been worked out carefully in Government of India and have also been duly communicated lately to Focal Point at Delhi.

 

It has been necessary to ease pressure in area where it had become unbearable, and so Government of India has had to disperse three million refugees to central camps into interior where properly organised arrangements under direct supervision of Centre are being run.

 

Even with enormous influx into India, we have tried our best to provide some shelter at least to refugees in whatever way we possibly could. In this, we have had very significant assistance from U.N. Focal Point in procuring requisite shelter material. As a result, 50 per cent of families will be accommodated in improvised huts, and rest will get tents, tarpaulins, polythene sheets, etc.

 

Adequate medical and public health facilities have also been organised from the very beginning. Therefore, we were able to cope with outbreak of cholera in summer months when widespread infection had been brought in by refugees with them in large numbers, and it threatened to spread all over the countryside too. Up to September 20, 1971, 46,752 cases of Cholera were reported, and of these, 5,834 persons died in hospitals, health centres and camps. In this effort too we greatly appreciate the help of all the international agencies who rendered every possible assistance most urgently.

 

The Government of India have also been specially concerned over incidence of malnutrition among very young children in the camps. So a team of top grade medical experts, under chairmanship of Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, had been set up to survey the problem and suggest a programme for coping with it effectively. UNICEF organisations were also requested to suggest programme of supplementary feeding. Total proposals in this context have already been finally approved by Government of India and " Operation Lifeline " has been started. It will look after over two million children and will cost about Rs. 3 crores (US dollars 4•1 million). Both preventive and clinical requirements of the situation have been fully kept in view while devising total programme. For all medical and para-medical requirements, we have had good, all round response in the country itself, from technical personnel from all over India. That is why we have had to gratefully decline some very generous offers from outside agencies in this behalf, although we do so appreciate the spirit behind it.

For feeding refugees, Government of India have fixed scales of rations for adults and children according to advice of its nutritional experts. Thus, every adult gets 300 grams of rice, 100 grams of wheat flour, 100 grams of pulses, 25 grams of edible oil and 25 grams of sugar per head per day; and every child between the age of 1 year and 8 years gets 150 grams of rice, 50 grams of wheat flour, 50 grams of pulses, 12 grams of edible oil and 15 grams of sugar per head per day. Apart from this, a small amount is also provided for each refugee in cash per head per day for the purpose of buying vegetables, spices, fuel, washing soap, etc. Similarly, for clothes, deserving people in camps are being given these-cotton or woollen. With coming of winter now there is urgent requirement of woollen blankets for which we have requested Focal Point specially.

Arrangements have also been made within these camps for providing basic education to children through refugee teachers who are given token honorarium for this work. Adult education through audio-visual methods is also organised in settled camps. However, no institutionalised form of education has been organised in view of fact that these refugees (all registered as foreigners) have to be soon returning to their homes. Refugees themselves are being encouraged to carry out recreational and welfare activities within camps on self-help basis. Unattached women's homes and orphanages have also been established near these relief camps so as to keep these women and children in their own environment and in context of their kinship and culture.

We in India are deeply appreciative of efforts so far made by several Govern­ments, combined U.N. Agencies and other voluntary organisations for providing relief assistance to refugees. At the moment, according to latest figures, total amount committed is approximately 154 million US dollars. This, however, as Committee itself will appreciate, and the distinguished High Commissioner pointed out in his statement yesterday, is not at all adequate to the needs which today amount to 558 million US dollars. Even out of this committed amount of 154 million dollars, we have so far physically received only about Rs. 25 crores (US dollars 34.7 millions).

Sir, I have described briefly about the organisation which Government of India has had to lay on for coping with the enormous problem that just descended on it suddenly. India has had to take on this stupendous task on purely humanitarian basis in trust for international community whose responsibility really these refugees are. But the strain-economic, social and administrative-that this serious emergency has put on India, and her finances, and general development, I am sure it will be appreciated, is of colossal magnitude. We trust, therefore, that through your good offices, international community will duly realise the gravity of the situation. Of course, ultimate real remedy for total situation lies not only in providing temporary relief, on howsoever extensive scale it may be, for these millions of refugees, but in finding permanent solution for enabling them to go back to their homes in conditions of security, peace and political satisfaction. For this, Sir, conscience and conscious effort of the world community will have to bestir themselves most urgently, lest this highly explosive situation gets further worse and goes the irreversible way.

With your permission then, Mr. Chairman, may I request this august body to appeal to the world at large to take in hand its responsibilities to meet this grave situation by providing enlarged relief assistance as required, and to urge upon the Government of Pakistan to take all necessary measures for creating a climate of confidence to encourage voluntary repatriation of these millions of unfortunate people so that they can return to their hearths and homes in peace and security.

 

 

 

Source:  Bangladesh Documents, vol – II, p. 92-94