A Good Word for a Revolution

A Good Word for a 'Revolution' Nireekshak HOWEVER shabby might have been the news coverage in the Indian Press of the recent cyclone havoc in East Bengal, no such criticism can be directed against the Press for its treatment of Pakistan's first general elections. It was a very competent performance indeed. Days before the elections, commentators and editorial writers scanned Pakistan's political horizon while reporters filled in, though mostly from Delhi, much monitored information about the contest, Reactions to the poll results were also prompt and sharp. The Press has always had some fondness for politics, and this might conceivably have been one of the causes of its intense interest in the Pakistani elections. But even more than this general tendency to, emphasise politics, sometimse to the exclusion of more important issues, what probably gave the election coverage a certain depth was the knowledge that Indian interests were directly at stake in the elections. , Newspapers seem to have recognised only too well that, no matter what the outcome of the elections was, it was bound to have an impact on India. Statesman expressed this succinctly when it wrote: "How Pakistan rules itself is entirely its own business. But any Pakistani leader who stands for good relations with India is bound to be applauded here, for India's interest in Pakistan is to live in peace and amity with it. 'The paper noted in this connection Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's call for the restoration of trade and friendly relations with India