Office of the Historian

275. Letter From Prime Minister Shastri to President Johnson1

Tashkent, January 6, 1966.

Dear Mr. President,

I was happy to get your message2 which was conveyed to me by your Embassy in New Delhi just after Christmas. Minister Subramaniam told me about the warmth of the reception he had in Washington and of the generous offer of additional help to meet the critical shortage of foodgrains which we in India are facing due to the extremely poor monsoons that we had last year. We are doing everything possible to mobilise whatever assistance we can get from other countries, so that the entire burden does not fall upon you.

2.
Ambassador Harriman saw me in Delhi3 on the eve of my departure for Tashkent. I am greatly impressed by the determined effort which you are making to bring about a peace in Vietnam. Ambassador Harriman recognised that our own relationship with Hanoi was not such as to enable us to make a positive contribution by making any direct approaches to the Government of North Vietnam. He was, however, anxious that I could speak to Mr. Kosygin and I had a talk with him on the subject last night.
3.
Mr. Kosygin’s attitude was not negative. He emphasised, however, that the important thing was to find a basis for talks which was acceptable to Hanoi also and he welcomed the approach which Ambassador Harriman had made to the Government of Poland. He also indicated that the visit of Shelepin to Hanoi was intended to help the cause of peace.
4.
My talks with President Ayub have just started. We are facing many difficult issues. I am hoping that both of us would subscribe to the principle of not having recourse to force for resolving them and I feel that once this has come about, there will be a different atmosphere in which it will be easier to resolve and reconcile our differences.
5.
My wife and I are looking forward to our visit to the U.S.A. I hope that even before that, there will be substantial progress towards lowering of tensions in Asia.
6.
May I once again express my deep appreciation for the timely and generous help you have offered in dealing with our food problem?

With warm personal regards,

Yours sincerely,

Lal Bahadur 4
  1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Country File, India, Shastri Correspondence. No classification marking. The letter was conveyed to the White House on January 6 under a covering note from Chargé P.K. Banerjee.↩
  2. In a message to Shastri transmitted to New Delhi in telegram 1133, December 24, Johnson indicated that he was looking forward to Shastri’s visit to Washington and expressed his confidence in Shastri’s determination to deal with India’s food crisis. (National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 294, Johnson/India 1964–1965) The signed letter, subsequently sent to Shastri, is dated January 4. (Johnson Library, National Security File, Special Head of State Correspondence File, India, 4/15/65–2/28/66)↩
  3. Harriman saw Shastri in New Delhi on January 2 and Ayub in Peshawar on January 3 to discuss Vietnam. Documentation on Harriman’s brief visit to the subcontinent is in National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1964–66, POL 7 HARRIMAN and POL 27 VIET S.↩
  4. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.↩