February 11, 1982, Forty Years Ago: Assam Talks Fail
After a four and a half hour marathon meeting of official sources and the movement leaders reported the virtual failure of their renewed efforts to evolve an acceptable principle for the detection of foreign nationals.
The second round of tripartite talks on the future of foreigners in Assam ended in a deadlock. After a four-and-a-half-hour marathon meeting, official sources and movement leaders reported the virtual failure of their renewed efforts to evolve an acceptable principle for the detection of foreign nationals. Talks were adjourned without fixing any fresh dates for the next round. The home minister reportedly assured the meeting that he would fix the dates soon. What led to a breakdown of the talks was the conflicting views on the definition of a foreigner and the government’s insistence to adhere to the “policy instructions” issued by it in 1965 under which a large number of Hindu refugees crossed over to India from East Pakistan after the Indo-Pak conflict.
Swedish PM visit
Sharing their strong opposition to any kind of foreign intervention of other countries, India and Sweden stressed the need for disarmament and easing of global tensions. The mutual concern at the deteriorating security environment was expressed by Swedish Prime Minister Thorbjorn Falldin and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi after beginning their official talks. The visiting leader is on a nine-day state visit to India. During their hour-long talks, the two prime ministers had a comprehensive discussion on disarmament, the international economic situation and the situation in the South Asian region.
Akalis upset Centre
Public utterances of the Akali leaders on talks with the Centre have irked reportedly irked the Union government. This is reportedly delaying the resumption of talks. The Centre has received reports from the Punjab government that Akali leaders have expressed support for extremists at various public meetings. It has been brought to the central government’s notice that the Akali leaders had publicly presented saropas to various murder suspects.
