YouSaid · the spoken record

Krishna Benon

lines on the record: 139
first: 1959-09-24
most recent: 1959-09-24
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: un-general-debate

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“Among other developments are the irrigation developments of India, notably the Rajasthan Canal, the longest canal in the world, projected as an idea a long time ago when the British were in India and which would Supply water to part of the Punjab and Rajputana and convert them into food-producing areas for the future. 173. From these matters we must now go on to various other questions which have been raised here specifically. I should like to deal first with questions with which we are intimately concerned. 174. The Secretary-General, on the one hand, and various delegations, on the other, have referred to United Nations peace forces; that is to say, the machinery, the instruments, for applying sanctionary powers or carrying out police duties, or whatever they may be called.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“In view of the lateness of the hour, I do not intend to go into details in this connexion. 171. Alongside progress we have had, at the same time, our own share of natural calamities in addition to all other concomitants of an adverse character in developments that must happen in a democratic society. We have had devastation by floods. The worst floods in history occurred in the State of Jammu and Kashmir and recently in Assam, and also in Bengal and Bombay, causing losses of tens of millions of dollars and rendering large numbers of people homeless. Fortunately, the capacity of our people to adapt themselves to these circumstances has made these calamities less tragic than they otherwise might have been. 172.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“Khrushchev referred as "Davidson" — that, while the developments were of a very high order and we should soon be capable of becoming self-sufficient in the field of atomic technical equipment, there was no indication that India would venture into the field of atomic weapons. The atomic energy establishments in India employ 970 scientist's and also take into training nearly 200 trainees every year from India and elsewhere. There are two reactors in operation, completely built in India itself and a third being built by co-operation between Canada and ourselves. 170. India is the country in the world using the largest amount of thorium for the production of atomic fuel. It has also gone into the development of uranium metal plants and of various other things that are required for this purpose, such as rare ores and metals.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“We regret to say that the scholarships offered to various Trusteeship Territories have not been availed of fully. Of the 42 scholarships offered to Trust Territories, only twenty-seven have been utilized. There are some 10,000 Indian students in various parts of the world, the largest number being in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. 169. The most modern of the developments in India are in the field of atomic energy. I am happy to communicate to the General Assembly, as I have done before, that it is not only part of our policy, but a policy which is fully insisted upon and implemented and which has been testified to by Dr. Davidon in the World Survey Report — the same scientist to whom Mr.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“India has also contributed to the United Nations Technical Assistance Programme up to $3.5 million, and today the Government of India has announced that it will contribute $2 million to the Special Fund if the other figures given out come up to the expected levels. 168. The index of production in India has gone up from 87 points in 1948 to 142.7 points. But no country today has any chances of survival, either by a political philosophy or even by a long history, if it does not have at its disposal considerable engineering and technical abilities, and we are glad to think that, while in 1949 we had 2,900 engineers and technicians in the country, today we have 9,000, all trained in India. There are also about 400 foreign students on scholarships in India and altogether about 3,500 students from other countries.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“India has in the same way extended either aid or loans to the extent of tens of millions of dollars to other countries whose names I do not want to mention here, since I have not asked their permission. 166. In addition to this, into our country come students — trainees, factory hands, from all parts of the world, more particularly from Asia — nominated either by the Colombo Plan or under various transfer schemes; and in this way, not only are we being helped by the increase of our own technical capacities, but also a degree of international co-operation in the field of technical development is built up. Neither political ideology, nor distance of other countries, nor racial, religious or other differences have played a part in this. 167.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“India has received up to 1958-1959 $176 million, mainly in the field of machinery and atomic apparatus. 165. From the smaller country of New Zealand, with a population of two and a half million or so, has been poured into India, largely through UNICEF, some $67 million in the last ten years. Australia, one of our neighbours, has contributed to the building of hydroelectric projects and other works to the extent of $23 million. The United Kingdom, in the same way, has contributed considerably towards equipment, apart from accommodating us by way of short-term loans. From Norway and various other countries has come assistance to India. Fortunately for us, either in the technical field or in the field of money, aid has not been a one-way traffic.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“Out of this $490 million is outright aid, the remainder being loans repayable in dollars or Indian currency, with some $200 million or so reserved for expenditure by the United States Government itself. Therefore, in the way of outright grafts, for which we are grateful, there has been nearly $500 million pumped into the Indian economy. From the Soviet Union, machinery, projects and assistance in loans or otherwise, amounted in all to $670 million. Then we have a series of other projects which are of a more co-operative character, largely in the Commonwealth group, as indicated by the Colombo Plan, out of which Canada has been the largest donor and helper. Canada Is a comparatively small country in the way of population, but it is a rich one in resources current and potential.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“In a country like ours, which has come into the field of modern development only recently and with a standard of life indicated by the figures I have given with regard to per capita income, modern development, which requires capital goods from highly-advanced countries, and what is more, different factors which are and have been conditioned by the economy of other countries, is therefore to a large extent conditioned by our capacity to buy in foreign lands. That is, external assistance becomes of great importance. In this sphere the United Nations itself has taken part, although only on what the Secretary-General would, at least in private, call a laboratory scale. 164. The amount of external resources as far as India is concerned has come most from the United States totalling some $1,800 million in the last ten years.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“But still there remain some 450,000 villages to be covered. There is another project where there is much to interest the United Nations. Indeed, it figures in the report of the Secretary-General in the part concerned with community project developments. India today aspires to cover herself with this form of village democracy and planning, economic and social, right from the bottom. Sixty per cent of our villages are covered by these projects, and 56.6 per cent of our population, somewhere about 165 million. 163. Then we come to a larger development which has international bearings.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“In western Europe democracy and a political revolution, whether violent or otherwise, conferring political power upon the masses, came after the Industrial Revolution. We have the reverse process. 161. In India, we have had full-fledged political revolution. We have placed political power in the hands of every man and woman of adult age, whether literate or illiterate, whether rich or poor, whether tall or short, and the industrial and economic progress has to come thereafter, with all the social consequences that follow from such a situation. 162. I mentioned co-operatives. Ten years ago there were in India somewhere about 5.7 million co-operative societies. Today, there are 13.8 million of them. A few years ago 115,000 of our villages were covered by co-operatives; today over 179,000 of them are so covered.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“The production of food in the country, which may sound a rather flat proposition to put forward, is really the basis of all prosperity and peace and, indeed, is the substratum of our international peace and co-operation. 160. Side by side with the advance in food production there have also been advances in social development. I would not take the time of the Assembly by going into every item. There are a great number of them which may interest me as an Indian national, but I think the development of co-operatives in India is one of the outstanding features. In our country the position is different from that of Western Europe, from the point of view of our political and social evolution in the recent past or in current times.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“That results in the fact that the number of mouths to feed which press upon the means of subsistence is greater than can be catered for by the increase in wealth itself. 159. Food production in India has increased in the same way. As far as my recollection goes, in re-partitioned India — that is, when India and Pakistan were one country — the total production of food grains in that India was about 47 million tons. In a smaller India, which is about three fifths of the previous area, last year we produced 73.5 million tons of food grains and we are still hungry. The rise in the first five years has been 15 per cent, and the following three years about 11 per cent.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“It does not mean that our increase in population is proportionately higher than anywhere else, but the aggregates are larger. So from an income of $49.4 per head ten years ago, it has gone up to only $57.8 per head of population. 158. Since independence in our country there has been an increase in population to the extent of 67 millions. That is larger than the total population of many countries represented here. This comes about from the fact that, while the birth-rate has gone down one point per thousand of population, the death-rate has gone down eleven points. Fewer people are born, but even fewer people die. Infantile mortality has also gone down from 146 to 108 per thousand of live births in the last ten years.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“In India the main theme about which one may speak is its economic and social development under conditions of a planned economy. Various five-year plans have been in progress and we find that this progress has maintained its schedules, and while progress is slow — at least slow having regard to our low standards of living and our hopes — it has still been maintained. 157. From somewhere about $17,300 million in 1948 the national income of India has risen in 1958 to somewhere about $22,600 million. Also the standards of life of our people have gone u", but very slightly, because while the national income, to which I referred now, has gone up, the per capita income in India has not gone up in the same way because of the increase in population.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“But over and above that we would like to discuss briefly the developments in our own land during the last twelve months or so, because it is one way of international communication. We lay increasing stress upon sending delegations, upon receiving delegations, upon communication of information. Therefore I think that if delegates? who are assembled here do not use this opportunity within the brevity of time that conditions us, to inform each other of our position, we shall not be doing our duty to our own country or to the Assembly as a whole. 156. It may be that in some cases our national aspirations, our national considerations, our national prejudices and traditions, may import into this an inevitable imbalance.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“I hope the Secretary- General at some time will give consideration to placing the individual matters for consideration before the appropriate organs of the United Nations. 155. It is usual on occasions of this kind to refer to one’s own country and the progress or otherwise therein. My delegation has given considerable thought to this practice and there is good justification for its continuance. It should be done for two reasons. One is that in our part of the world great changes are taking place. We are at present in that part of the world which in recent times has come into independence. We also represent a social and economic system which seeks to establish revolutions, political, social and economic, by and large, by consent.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“But, apart from that, we have accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court. 154. It is usual at this time to look at the agenda of the General Assembly. It is one of the easiest things to do because we have looked at it for ten years. It is always the same agenda because it is the same world. But there are certain changes and developments, and then our approach to these items must vary. I do not think we should be cynical and say that we discuss the same things year after year. I suppose we discuss the same things in one sense, but we often make different approaches to these problems. Certain new items have come onto the agenda, and the Secretary-General's report, I think, constitutes one of the not least necessary items on the agenda, and is a document which provides much food for thought.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“In this connexion, may I also observe that reference was made in the course of the debate to the fact that certain countries, particularly referring to us, had taken the view that we could make decisions on matters where others are concerned, and that it would be far better if we accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court. Merely as a point of information, I should like to inform the Assembly that the Government of India has accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court, and the documents in this connexion have been circulated by the Secretariat. Of course, the acceptance contains reservations, but those reservations are not unusual. They are reservations which appertain to almost all the Commonwealth countries, and others which are common in diplomatic practice.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“But it is equally true that a mere massing of votes — whether it is 45 to 11 with 25 abstentions or, as in the old days, 55 to 5 — does not have the same impact upon world opinion as, shall we say, a vote that reflects the real views and conditions in the world. To a very large extent, a vote in this Assembly has value in reality in direct ratio to its impact upon world opinion and the response it arouses on the part of the world. 153. The Secretary-General has also made reference to the International Court of Justice and to the greater use we should make of it.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“The same applies with regard to the voting procedures to which also the report refers. When we touch on this matter, we touch a very tender spot. While it is quite true that equality of status, as a British Prime Minister once said, does not mean equality of function, it is also true that, the less the capacity for and content of function, the more a person is conscious of his status] Therefore, when we touch on this problem, we shall be touching on something which requires a great deal of consideration. 152. Each State here has one vote. All are equal. The very beloved country of Iceland, with a population of 200,000 is no less important than the country of India, with a population of 380,000,000.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“Therefore, while we are fully aware of the importance of day-to-day consultation, this Organization will carry weight with public opinion in various countries, will have the conscious and enthusiastic support of Governments, only to the extent that, in activities from day to day, the Secretary-General's personality, the Organization itself and the scene of the changing functional context are more and more in touch with Governments and chancelleries. Mr. Hammarskjold is fully conscious of this matter and, during the considerable time that he has between sessions of the Assembly, he takes care to visit capitals. Unfortunately, he has to do a certain amount of sightseeing, but not included in these sights are the statesmen of those countries who are the essential part of his programme. 151.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“But my Government has always taken the view that, whether it be in groups, the African-Asian group or the European group or whatever it is, no group of representatives, whether at a particular time at an Assembly or otherwise, could, in the present circumstances of the world, in the absence of a world constitution and world law, become de facto a world government. Policies are to be made by chancelleries.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“The Secretary-General has also referred, expressly or by implication, to certain constitutional procedures, where, again, there are certain aspects which one would welcome and other aspects which one would want to study. We will all admit that as the work of the United Nations grows, becomes intensive, becomes more a day-to-day affair, the functioning of the representatives of Governments at Headquarters who are accredited to the United Nations would become more and more important.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“But the observations of the Secretary-General go a little further, when this universal conception has a bearing upon function in such a way as though the concern of every Member of the Assembly or of some of them has to be demarcated in one form or another. I do not say that this is altogether a proposition that should not be considered, but it has its pitfalls. It is one of those things that I do hope will engage the attention of the Assembly in the future — that is the development of the Organization, to what extent the United Nations has become synonymous with the entirely of its Members and the Governments represented — and, even where the results are good, to what extent, for the time being or for all time, some or all Member States have to keep out of certain matters and certain contexts. 150.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“May I therefore take the liberty of asking the Secretary-General to convey to the Secretariat, in an appropriate way, this expression of appreciation. 148. It is not possible for me to study this report publicly, because some of it is obviously debatable, and I do not want at this stage of the Assembly to enter into a controversy in that field. However, one maybe permitted to refer to various points in the report. 149. The Secretary-General has referred to the universality of the United Nations. I am sure that, as things stand, all delegations but one in this Assembly would vote for universality as far as membership is concerned.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“At the end of this general debate, we should like to offer the thanks of our delegation and, if I may presume to say so, the thanks of all of us, to all those persons who make up the Secretariat, who make the functioning of the Assembly possible, who prepare the large amount of material and the considerable number of documents which we receive, and some of which we do not receive. For all these things, we are grateful to the Secretariat — to the administrative staff, to the interpreters, and to everybody concerned. Most of them are people whose names do not appear in the newspapers and do not even appear in official records. Without their diligence and their devotion to duly and the hard work they have to put in, often after office hours, it would not be possible for us to function here.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“It deals with questions of political philosophy and theory; it deals with problems that have to do with the development of this Organization in the future. And I say, in all humility, that I do not think that our Organization has given proper attention either to these problems or to the report itself. The Secretary-General’s report is received as a matter of course, and we are inclined to think that our responsibilities are over when we pay him his meed of thanks. 147. We are grateful not only to the Secretary-General for this report. In his person, he embodies the whole of the Secretariat.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“We have also had placed before us at this session for the first time, although it had been mentioned so many times in speeches by a less notable delegation, the proposition that disarmament alone is not what we need if this world is to survive and prosper, but really a warless world. When the time comes and in the course of our observations at this Assembly, then my delegation would like to draw a distinction in content between the two proposals that are before the Assembly, one really concerned with disarmament and the other concerned with a world without war. 146. We have before us the Annual Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization [A/4132], which is not entirely of the usual character.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“We ourselves belong to various groups, and I think that groups, in so far as they seek to offer to the Assembly their collective wisdom, are a constructive force. But if, on the other hand, blocs surround themselves with walls of isolation, then we shall divide the unity of this Assembly. A degree of neighbourliness. a degree of the coming together of people who have common problems and common backgrounds is to be expected and welcomed. 143. But my delegation shares, with the representative of Iceland, the concern that our attempts to cooperate with each other should not result in our isolating ourselves from others or from the whole of the United Nations. 144. This present period is also one of considerable scientific advancement, including the proximity of human discovery to finding the origins of life itself. 145.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“The world is very much in that state and it largely reflects the state of development of our times, that we are confronted with problems about which we really have inadequate experience. Therefore a pragmatic approach, dealing with problems as they arise, and not being committed too far beforehand as to what side one should take, is necessary in the interests of the relaxation of world tensions. 142. My country has been committed to this position for a long time. In that connexion, we welcomed the statement of the representative of Iceland [820th meeting] the other day — not about fishing rights in the North Pole about which he spoke with passion, in which we do not want to participate, but in regard to the formation of blocs, not the blocs of the cold war, but the blocs inside the Assembly.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“— fantasy, of a famous historical novelist, Charles Dickens — not of our time but of a previous century — who, in one of his historical novels portraying the period when the British Crown received a communication from some of its subjects across the seas, in the American colonies, wrote in this way about the era of 1778: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…" 141.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“139. There is very profound concern about the enormous increase and development of armaments and the fact that after ten to fourteen years of discussing disarmament, the world today stands more armed than it has ever been in history. What is more, the various proposals that have been debated from time to time, though they have engaged the attention of people and have certainly led to the development of the consideration of various aspects and difficulties of the problem, have not yet led to any positive solutions. 140. Therefore, looking at the world as it is, we find today, at a time when this Assembly meets, that we are, on the one hand, confronted with hope, and, on the other hand, with anxiety. It brings to my mind the romantic — or is it not so romantic?”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“The large number of speakers that have preceded me have had as their main themes the central problem of our world, namely, the tension that exists. But their speeches have also been characterized by a degree of, or at least a desire to hope. I think it would be far too optimistic to say "by atone of hopefulness" because that is hardly characteristic of the Assembly. The Assembly consists of large numbers of "hard- boiled" representatives of Governments and it is not as though they permit themselves to take a romantic view of problems. But right through these speeches, except where intimate problems concerning their own countries and their relations and such other factors come in, there has been in these speeches such a desire, such an anxiety, such a passion, that we may dare to feel hopeful in regard to what may happen in the future.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“The Secretary-General has already pointed out the constitutional and other reasons which justify this kind of negotiations on world problems. 137. We think that it is very important, wherever possible, that those who are in a position to negotiate, who are in a position to deliver the goods, those between whom there are greater suspicions than amongst some others, should take advantage of every opportunity to make direct contacts and to confer. We in the United Nations should wish them well. We are equally anxious that our anxieties or our concerns in these matters should find a response in these others who are concerned, that we should be kept informed, that we should be enabled to educate ourselves, and instruct our judgements, and that we should be able to make our contributions as from the places where we stand. 138.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“There has been a degree of criticism and, on the part of the Secretary-General, what sounds somewhat like an apology for the development of events outside the United Nations. So far as the Government of India is concerned, we do not look upon this as though we have to suffer it because we must, or make the best of a bad position. We think that the developments that have taken place in what is called "outside the United Nations" in so far as they are developments which contribute towards the progress of humanity, towards world peace and co-operation, are "inside" the United Nations, in that the United Nations is not bound by the limits of this Organization, but by the Purposes and Principles of the Charter.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“This is not a large number of speakers, nor is it an unconscionable amount of time, when, as my delegation feels, we have here this opportunity of the general debate, not only to discuss world problems as such, but also to get some glimpse of each other's countries. It is one of the main contributions in the open sessions of the Assembly which makes for greater international understanding. 135. This fourteenth session of the General Assembly opened, in its early stage, with an address by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR [799th meeting]. It was one of the great events of our sessions and of our time, more especially in view of the pronouncements he made and the policy proposal he communicated to this Assembly. To these my delegation will address itself in later stages of our proceedings. 136.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“Ceylon is our closest neighbour. Its late Prime Minister was a personal friend of many of our statesmen and people. We have been often encouraged by the example of the great courage he displayed in times of difficulty in his own country and by the leadership that he gave often in regard to policies fashioned by himself and with neighbouring nations. 134. My delegation participates in this general debate at its late stage. Some seventy-nine speakers, not including those who exercised their rights of reply, have spoken for nearly sixty hours actual speaking time on the various problems that concern the world.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“132. Mr. President, my delegation had the opportunity earlier during the course of this session to offer its felicitations to you on your unanimous election to the high office you hold. Today, we have the pleasure of being able to congratulate you indeed and wish, ourselves well upon your return here after your brief indisposition. The Assembly would not be as fruitful without your guidance and without your presence with us here. 133. My delegation would also like to take this opportunity of expressing the feelings of our Government and country at the tragic death of the Prime Minister of Ceylon, Mr. Bandaranaike. Many representatives have spoken here of his qualities of statesmanship and his personal qualities of wisdom and courage, and it is not necessary at this late hour for me to engage the Assembly on this sad matter.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)