Articles by Nireekshak


promised to sponsor Bangladesh's admission to the UN and all its specialised agencies. Soon after the independence of Bangladesh, Malaysian students who were earlier studying there on Pakistani scholarships and who had left the country during the fighting, began returning to this new country to complete their courses. Had the Malaysian Government not encouraged them to return they would have gone elsewhere to complete their studies. Malaysia has also promised to send two rubber experts to Bangladesh to help it develop rubber plantations. Under Pakistan, a few rubber plantations were started in Rangamati and Chittagong areas. Bangladesh intends to bring more area under rubber and Malaysia has offered it help in doing so. The two countries have also decided to cooperate in the field of jute and rice technologies. Malaysia had earlier decided to nominate its ambassador to Rangoon to be its concurrent High Commissioner to Bangladesh. Bangladesh, it appears, was not happy with that and has asked for the appointment of a separate Malaysian High Commissioner to Dacca.

With an Eye to Headlines Nireekshak THE late President of France, Charles de Gaulle, in his book "Memoirs of Hope" refers to journalists as "people whose sensitivity to human values if blunted by their profession, whose judgments make no impression unless they are caustic, and who often, with in eye to headlines, circulation, sensation, hope to have failures rather than successes to report". Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's view of the Press must be somewhat similar. Like de Gaulle, she has discovered "that all the political, professional and journalistic vested interests added together did not express the will of the people". Also like de Gaulle, she seems to be developing a sort of contempt for journalistic scepticism and occasional opportunism. This is indicated by her scant regard for newspaper criticism, be it on the Nagarwala episode, the so- called election poster scandal, or the small car project.


amazing swiftness, splitting the Saigon forces and wiping out one position after another.
The tactic of mobile defence by tanks and infantry has also proved ineffective. At the Dong Ha-Quang Tri defence complex, the US command had deployed a big defensive force inside heavily-guarded strongholds and also organised .strong mobile units of tanks and infantry. Saigon troops were stationed at one place in daytime and at another at night. Such a mobile defence outfit was usually made up of electrically detonated mine fields on the outer perimeter, a row of tanks and finally infantry troops.


loans this capital to its overseas affiliates at 6


a million expeditionary troops in South Vietnam. In that the US had suffered defeats. Today with most US troops gone from Vietnam, how can the same kind of air war or war of destruction succeed?