Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Ambassador of India Madame Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Sir Girja Bajpai, and Others

CONFIDINTIAL DEPARTMENT OF STATE 681 5/5 13 Memorandum of Conversation DATE: January 9, 1950 SUBJECT: Kashmir PARTICIPANTS: Madame Pandit, Indian Ambassador Sir Girja Bajpai, Secretary General, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India The Secretary NEA - Mr. McGhee SOA - Mr. Mathews COPIES TO: s/s G NEA UNA FE USUN 1-1493 Madame Pandit and Sir Girja called at their request. Madame Pandit explained that she had wished to tell me that she was leaving Washington on January 13 for a month, primarily to attend the celebrations in India on January 26, and that Sir Girja wished to discuss the Kashmir situation. After wishing Madame Pandit a pleasant trip and expressing pleasure at having Sir Girja with us again, I remarked that when Prime Minister Nehru was in Washington, he had taken me to task for our lack of understanding of the Kashmir problem. We had since given careful study to that problem and, indeed, to the whole range of Indo-Pakistan relations. We were much disturbed by the continued deterioration in those relations which now seemed to have reached a rather ominous phase. Sir Girja interjected that although the situation was certainly not satisfactory, it was not as serious as indicated by the recent New York Times headlines concern- ing Patel's speech in Bombay. He had queried his Government as soon as he saw the reports of the Deputy Prime Minister's remarks and had been assured that Patel had not talked of war. As far as the GOI was concerned there would be no war. In fact, the Indian Government had some weeks ago suggested to the GOP a joint declara- tion in the sense that war was ruled out as a means of settling any Indo-Pakistan problems; a reply from Pakistan was still awaited. I told Sir Girja that I was glad to have his reassurances, but the fact of seriously worsened relations remained and irresponsible elements in either India of DECLASSIFIED CONTIDENTIAL STAIR LTA. 3-2-23 ARGHIVES "NATIONAL REOORDS AND SERVICE" Authority By He NLT Date 5-12-63