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

004110 DECLASSIFIED and of (E) DEPARTMENT OF STATE 244 S 11652, Sec. E. AND O. Dept. NITH- of State Date of Conversation as ARCHIVES SERVICE RECORDE By conf 247 DATE: August 30, 1949 SUBJECT: Presentation of a Copy of the President's Appeal to the Prime Minister of India PARTICIPANTS: Madame lijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Ambassador of India Mr. Dean Acheson, Secretary of State Mr. George McGhee, Assistant Secretary of State Mr. T.N. Kaul, First Secretary, Embassy of India COPIES TO: Mr. Joseph S. Sparks, SOA S, NEA, SOA, UNA, USUN, EUR, ARA, E, American Embassy, New Delhi 1-1493 In identifying the Note which I handed to Madame Pandit I said that in conversations which I had had with the President concerning the situation in China and the Far East it had been apparent to both of us that the Ambassador's brother, the Prime Minister of India, had emerged as a world figure of great in- fluence and that we looked to him to assume the leadership in the rehabilitation of Asia. I said that in this role the entire world now had a claim upon him as one of its great statesmen and that we deeply hoped that in receiving the President's personal appeal the Prime Minister would give the most careful consideration to the proposals of the United Nations Commission that the truce agreement should be submitted to arbitration. In particular I pointed out our concern that the great prestige which the Prime Minister enjoys throughout Asia should be even further fortified and in no way impaired by the manner in which he reacted to the Kashmir problem. Madame Pandit said that she was deeply appreciative of the things I had said about the Prime Minister. She said that whereas she could of course not comment on his reaction to the proposal contained in the Note she CONT