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Eighty-one years of editorial freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
India-Pakistan
war:
A
justification
4
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Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1971
NIGHT EDITOR: ALAN LENHOFF
Delaying the research plan
AS MANY concerned students and fac-
ulty members have discovered over the
last few years, the processes of change at
this University move at a snail's pace.
Months often elapse before a consensus
is reached and proposed changes in Uni-
versity policies and procedures take
- effect.
While 'members of the University com-
munity no longer expect instant change,
when a majority viewpoint has been ar-
rived at through reasoned debate then
the appropriate changes should be made
as soon as possible.
We believe that a consensus has been
.-reached -here over placing significant re-
~.strictions on classified research at the
University. Students voted overwhelming-
ly in a referendum last spring to do so
and Senate Assembly - the faculty rep-
resentative body - passed such a pro-
posal Oct. 18.
The assembly policy, which would gen-
erally prohibit federal contracts that lim-
it open publication of the results of re-
search, passed another major hurdle Nov.
22 when a meeting of the University Sen-
ate - the entire faculty - took no action
to change the proposal.
THE DECISION is now up to the Re-
gents. While they have discussed, the
policy with faculty representatives and
attended an open forum on the issue, the
Regents have not formally taken up the
assembly proposal on their agenda.
It was distressing, therefore, to learn
yesterday that the Regents will probably
not take action on classified research at
their next monthly meetings Dec. 16
and 17.
There has already been enough delay.
Classified and military research have
been debated on campus for almost five
years now. Senate Assembly began con-
sideration of the question last March and
spent many hours listening and discuss-
ing before its October decision.'
Further delay will serve little purpose.
The issues have been raised, the argu-
ments traded and a policy has evolved
which is not ideal but an acceptable com-
promise to most students and faculty
rmembers.
TWO OSTENSIBLE reasons are given for
the delay in regental consideration.
The first is that plans to transfer Willow
Run'-Laboratories, the site of most of the
Uniiversity's classified research, to a non-
profit state corporation are up in the air.
This is not a good justification for
holding up consideration and approval of
the policy. Inevitably after the Regents
accept the proposal there would be a
"grace period" during which affected
units of the University could adjust to the
new policy. This would allow time for
negotiations on Willow Run to continue.
Furthermore, acceptance .of the policy
should not be dependent on the fate of
the Willow Run facility. Students and-
faculty members have supported a gen-
eral principle against classified research,
and this principle should be adopted.
Certainly the University should estab-
lish an orderly procedure for divesting it
self. of Willow Run and present projects
unacceptable under the new policy.
Regental acceptance of the assembly
proposal this month, however, would dem-
onstrate their commitment to the prin-
ciple that research which is classified is
not appropriate to the University com-
munity.
THE SECOND reason. given for delaying
consideration of the assembly plan is
that the resolution does not govern pro-
prietary research - projects undertaken
for industrial firms.
Corporations often ask for exclusive
control of project results and therefore
some, including many supporters of clas-
sified research, have asked that the two
questions be combined.
This is a faulty suggestion. Research
that is classified comes under a single
elaborate secrecy mechanism, devised by
the federal government and backed up
by extensive laws and strict penalties.
Proprietary research, however, involves
individual companies which have a multi-
tude of different provisions for releasing
or not releasing project results.
While there are some similarities be-
tween classified and proprietary research,
they pose different questions and engage
different solutions. This was the same
conclusion reached by the Elderfield
Committee, which in 1968 studied Uni-
versity research and proposed very dif-
ferent policies on classified and proprie-
tary research.
WE SUSPECT that many of the people
who urge simultaneous consideration
of both issues do so because they wish to
torpedo any further restrictions on clas-
sified research.
Including the question of proprietary
research in the present debate confuses
the issues and decreases the chance for
nearly unanimous faculty support. As a
result, the Regents would be less likely
to make any change in present research
policies.
We do not suggest that proprietary re-
search be ignored. Very likely, University
policies in this area need revision. But
unlike classified research, a consensus has
not been reached on proprietary research
nor has there even been extensive dis-
cussion of the matter.
SENATE ASSEMBLY spent seven months
debating classified research and could
spend an equal time formulating a policy
on proprietary research. In the meantime
the University would be receiving literally
millions of dollars for new federally clas-
sified projects that would insure con-
tinued University involvement in classi-
fied research for many months to come.
Since this delay would be clearly in-
consistent with the mandate of the Uni-
versity community, we would consider it
most unfortunate if Senate Assembly's
proposal were not brought to the Regents
for action this month.
-ROBERT KRAFTOWITZ
Editor
-JIM BEATTIE
Executive Editor
-DAVE CHUDWIN
Managing Editor
By LINDSAY CHANEY
WAR IS NEVER an end in it-
self, and as a means should
never be resorted to except hesi-
cantly in a situation where t h e
good accomplished far outweighs
the evil consequences, and there
is no way other than war to ac--
complish the desired end. In such
a situation, war should be justi-
fied, and such a case of justified
war occurs in the present Indian-
Pakastani conflict.
The issue involved in the present
war is that of independence for
East Pakistan, or Bangla Desh,
as the Bengali insurgents call their
,ountry. The case for independ-
ence is very strong.
Pakistan is divided into t w o
sections - East and West - sep-
arated by 1,000 miles of Indian
territory and populated by ethi-
cally distinct peoples - Bengalis
in the East and Punjabis in the
West. For years, the East Paki-
stanis have been ,economically ex-
ploited by their compatriots to the
west - a fact which led to per-
iodic demands for independence
of the eastern section.
THIS EASTERN restlessness was
translated into political action one
year ago today when the Awami
League - a Bengali Party - won
a majority of National Assembly
seats on a platform of. independ-
ence for East Pakistan. However,
Pakistani President Agha M o -
tiammad Yahya delayed the open-
ing of the National Assembly and,
when a popular movement f o r
Bengali autonomy continued to
grow, outlawed the Awami League
And ordered the West Pakistani
army to eliminate signs of insur-
Ki 11'i
rection in the East.
Last March and April, world
news services reported tens of
thousands of East Pakistani civil-
ians slain by the West Pakistani
army.
In the eight months since then.
a Bengali guerilla movement sup-
ported by the civilian population
has continued to operate. T h e
Pakistani army, meanwhile, has
*ontinued a campaign of repres-
sion and murder, driving some 10
nillion East Pakistanis to s e e k
refuge in India.
The Indian invasion of E a s t
Pakistan has as its objective the
defeat of the West Pakistani army.
which would allow the Bengalis to
establish their own government.
"Re-establish" would be a m o r e
appropriate word since the Ben-
galis operated under their o w n
local civil government until 1 a s t
spring when the army took over.
GIVEN THAT the Bengali
struggle for independence is just,
ioes this give India the right to
intercede by force in the internal
affairs of a sovereign country?
The justness of the Bengali
struggle alone is not sufficient
reason for India to intervene. A
country's sovereignty is not some-
thing another country should vio-
late without extraordinary cause.
The situation in East Pakistan,
however, is unique. East Pakistan
is almost a separate country from
West Pakistan. Sheik MuJibur
Rahman, leader of the Awaimi
League, last March declared East
Pakistan to be a separate and in-
dependent state and named it
Bangla Desh.
In addition, . the Bengalis a r e
almost unanimously in favor of
independence, and the army has
(j
-Associated Press
Indians cheer recognition of Bangla Desh
Icept control only by resorting to
terror and murder. In this view
the Pakistan army is actually a
foreign power holding the Ben-
galis in subjugation.
Finally, the East Pakistani re-
fugees who continue to stream in-
to India are a strain on t h a t
-ountry's already undernourished
for
peace
in
anoter ust, moral war
economy.
These reasons are suficient cause
For India to violate Pakistan's na-
tional sovereignty, in pursuit of a
just end.
SOME PEOPLE will argue that
the Indian aggression, even though
undertaken to free the Bengalis,
is still not justified because India
has ulterior motives for this ac-
tion. These people will say t h at
India has a long-standing quarrel
with Pakistan, and is using the
plight of the Bengalis as a pre-
tense for striking a deadly blow at
her mortal enemy.
It may be true that India has
:'easons other than the freedom of
Bangla Desh as a motive for the
war.
Nonetheless, the case remains
shat autonomy for East Pakstan
is a just end in itself.
But India's invasion - her re-
sort to war - would still be un-
justified if there was any method
)f war for stopping the repres-
sion in East Pakistan and estab-,
lishing -an autonomous state there
EVENTS OF THE past year
however, show that every method
short of full-scale war has b e e n
tried. First the Bengalis won a
majority in the National Assembly
on a platform of autonomy for the
By ARTHUR LERNER
IT'S QUIZ time. Just match the
rhetoric with the political lead-
er, fill in the blanks, and then
write a 200 word essay on. what
they're really after. Here goes:
* "We believe that since the be-
ginning of the crisis, .............. 's
policy, in a systematic way, has
led to the perpetuation of the
crisis, a deepening of the crisis,
and that . must bear the
major responsibility for the broad-
er hostilities that have ensued;"
" "We are fighting to safeguard
our territorial integrity and na-
tional honor;"
* "Remember the promise of
God; if you remain steadfast God
will give you glorious victories..
God is with us;"
* "The . ... government.
supported and encouraged by so-
cial imperialism, and flagrantly
disregarding opposition by ......
and condemnation by internation-
al opinion, has continued to ex-
pand its armed aggression against
No cheating here, play the
game. Now here goes.
The first one was President
Nixon's press secretary, Ronald
Ziegler, talking about India. Two
was Indian Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi, but it could have been
Pakistan's Yahya Khan. Three was
Yahya Khan - an easy one since
the' Indians are predominantly
Hindu and generally don't go in
for "God is on our side" pro-
nouncements. And four was Act-
ing Foreign Minister Chi Peng-Fei
of China, also condemning India
in defense of Pakistan.
But here's the 'sad news. It
doesn't matter if you get them all
right or not. At least it doesn't
matter to the soldiers in South
Asia getting shot.
THERE ARE compelling, argu-
ments supporting India's interven-
tion in the Pakistani civil war.
But none of them are strong
enough to justify encouragement
of war. Calls for armed support of
revolutionary struggles for self-
determination are calls to glory -
and humankind has had enough
glorious wars.
The lesson we all should have
learned by now is that wars do
not solve problems. An India-
Pakistan war that "settled it once
and for all" would be a bloody
tragedy - and a war that didn't
"settle it," including the Kashmir
question, would be a glorious
waste.
The piercing outcry of the Ben-
gali people, slaughtered and sup-
pressed by the Pakistani army and
politically and economically sub-
jugated for years, is heartrending;
to disregard it is reprehensible.
But little has been detailed con-
cerningthe practicaldnecessity of
military aggression or its long
range effects on the Bengali peo-
ple and the rest of South Asia.
Yet, one powerful argument for
intervention remains - that In-
dia's invasion of East Pakistan is
morally just - for the cause of
the Bengali people is just.. Cen-
turies ago, it became apparent
that as long as there are govern-
nam, intervene in Latin America mir ter
and the Soviet Union to tromp on now co
Hungary and Czechoslovakia - as arbitrat
long as both great powers feel Pakista
moral in the carnage. AND
Challenged on her unilateral ac- also fig
tivity on behalf of Bangla Desh in this
Gandhi did not argue the morality joy the
of her actions. Instead, she re- Queri
torted that the great powerp also conflict
act on their own to resolve crises-- ern con
a disheartening admission by Aurora,
Nehru's daughter - to their own ways p
best interests. exercise
It can only be hoped that India.
will decide her purposes have been
fulfilled enough to allow a cease
fire and that the Bengalis will
have gained enough momentum to a
quickly establish their independ-
ence.
INDIA IS fighting for the basic
ideals represented by the Bengali <
rebels and to relieve the strain of
feeding 10 million refugees.
India is also fighting to gain
back diplomatic points lost in her
conflict with China in 1962.,
India is also fighting to settle
old scores with Pakistan.
India is also fighting to influ-
ence the outcome of any success->
ful Bangla Desh independence
movement - India fears an inde-
and political system that could en- }
courage unrest amidst the squalor
in India's eastern provinces, in-
cluding West Bengal.
India is also fighting for an East
Pakistan released from the influ-
ence of India's neighbor; and po-
litical enemy, China.
India is also fighting to unify
her bickering, political parties and
disgruntled people - last week
parliament passed the Defense of
India Act, granting the govern-
ment the power to censor all news-
papers, muffle opposition parties.
and jail suspected subversives for
two years.
India is also fighting for even-
tual control over the entire Kash -
To The Daily: applica
FOR THE past several years we from r
have followed the discussions on taken
classified research at the Univer- :o inot
sity. As citizens of Michigan, and knowlec
as clergy, we urge your adoption not ins
of the policy on clasified research sity on
approved by the faculty Senate accoust
Assembly Oct. 18. topped
We believe secret military re- We d
search to be an inappropriate ac- plicatio
tivity for nearly any institution in all oth
our society, but particularly for a death
university dedicated to the open Restr
pursuit- of human survival, better- commer
ment and understanding. to pern
We agree with the Assembly which
that this state's leading university results
should not "enter into or renew request
federal contracts or grants t h a t open p
limit open publication of the re- help ar
suIts of research." versity
And we agree that this state's death
leading university should not ac- Secr
rritory, half of which she
ontrols, as a result of the
ted end of the 1965 India-
n war.
MOST tragically, India is
ghting because, in India as
country, some people en-
opportunity.
ied about the escalating
, India's chief of the east-
mmand, Lt. Gen. Ajit Singh
replied, "A soldier is al-
leased to get a ' chance to
his professional skill."
East. When President Yahya out-
lawed the Awami Leagu,, they de-
clared independence from the
West and were immediately mas-
sacred by the thousands. India
then made repeated requests for
the United .Nations to intervene in
Bangla Desh, and these requests
were repeatedly refused or ignored.
The United States, reluctant to ,
involve itself in the controversy,
maintained a posture of even-
handedness which had the effect
of endorsing the West Pakistani
military occupation of the East.
Meanwhile, the killing and repres-
sion in Bangla Desh continued.
The one final argument against
the justness of India's invasion is
the danger of an escalated war-
one- that would bring in China on
the side of Pakistan and Russia
on the side of India. It is entire-
ly conceivable that if the war were
to include involvement of any ma-
jor powers, the resulting destruc-
tion and human misery would be
worse than the suffering or the
Bangla Desh people.
HOWEVER, the. danger of an
escalated war is minimal. West
Pakistan's moral cause is so weak
and perhaps non-existant that no
other country would intervene on
its behalf, unless, perhaps, the
West Pakistan gpvernment itself
were in danger of collapse. But
India has stated that it has no
intention of sending troops into
West Pakistan territory. A n d
other countries will not intercede
on behalf of India because s h e
doesn't need any help.
In all probability,. Bengali guer-
rillas wpuld have eventually de-
feated the Pakistani army. A peo-
ple united in their opposition to
a foreign presence cannot be held
down forever. But without India's
intervention, the Bengali struggle
would have lasted for months, and
maybe dragged on for years; and1
all the while the slaughter in East
Pakistan would have continued.
INDIA WAS THUS in the posi-
tions of deciding whether to 4
launch a limited-objective war
with calculable risks, or allowing a
bad situation to grow worse -
which would also involve calcul-
able ill effects.
On balance it should be seen
that the consequences of the war
are' likely to be better than the
consequences of having not
launched the war.
Whether the war's end will come
with the defeat of the Pakistani
army, or through a United Nations
truce, the result will be an inde-
pendent Bangla Desh. India will
therefore have accomplished her,.j
objective - a worthy objective
which unfortunately could not be
accomplished without war.
. ti? ...,
s
s
x ~ f
'=
__ _ _ _e"J ..__/ _
-Associated Press
Indlan troops load a howitzer
Backing
Assembly
9
1
tions have been derived
esearch originally u n d e r-
for military purposes. We
believe that the quest for
dge should cease. We do
ist that work at the Univer-
infrared radar, seismic and
ic sensing, for example, be
d.
do urge an end to the ao-
n of these technologies and
ers, to the production of
and suffering and fear.
rictions such as those re-
tded by Senate Assembly-
mit only research projects
allow open publication of
and to review carefully all
s for exemption from t h e
ublication criterion - will
ssure an end to the Uni-
of Michigan's complicity in
and suffering and fear.
ets, large and small, have
Ghe Assembly's classified research
recommendations without m a j o r
changes and we urge you to make
your deliberations and decisions
in a meeting open to the general
public and the University com-
munity.
Editor's , note: This letter was
sent Nov, 30 by 42 local members
of the clergy to President Fleming
and the Regents. It was also read
at the forum on classified research
Nov. 18.
A&I govertnice
To The Daily:
T READ with some interest, but
at the same time a bit of per-
sonal alarm, your editorial (Daily,
Dec. 3) on college government
funding. Architecture and Design
has no student government?, Have
I been spending my lunchtimes
Tuesday chairing a committee that
exists only in the deeppnrcesses o
Planning Department might re-
veal significant student input in
the activities -of that department.
As for the art people, while I am
unaware of any permanent stu-
dent government, I have seen any
number of signs advocating "all
department meeting."
My purpose in writing is not to
slap anyone's wrist, merely to sug-
gest that the students over in
A ; D are a little more together
than that weird collage in ou#
courtyard 'by which so many seem
to judge us) might indicate.
Gordon Binder, Chairman
Student Faculty Committee,
Dept. of Architecture
Dec. 4
Editor's note: The Daily reported
that the School of Architecture and
Design has no student government
because a listing of school and col-
lege student governments obtained
fromthe Office of Student Services
Student Government Advocate list-
*i~ke1~lI III dIV