Four On the Road

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Apparently no formal agreement of the sort that Soviet Party Leader Brezhnev pushed for in Paris was sought in Havana; none was needed, given Cuba's heavy dependence on Moscow's aid and favor. U.S. eavesdroppers, however, were puzzled by one bit of banter monitored over Havana radio. Visiting a state factory near Havana, Kosygin demurred at Castro's invitation to speak. "Please say a few words," pleaded Castro. Kosygin's nyet finally turned into a very grudging da. "Comrades," he told the crowd through an interpreter, "you see how your Premier gets his way. He has a way of getting his way. But we have reached an understanding, is that not so, Companero Castro?" Castro's reply, if there was one, was indistinct. Some observers speculated that the Russians, who have had some success with their Via Pacifica policy in Latin America, wanted to warn Castro against resuming an unsettling, subversive role in the region. 3. A Pleader in the West

There is something in this country which enables its people, for all their illiteracy and backwardness, to rise to the occasion when face to face with mighty challenges.

—Indira Gandhi, 1966

Not since gaining independence in 1947 has India faced a more mighty challenge: the threat of a war with Pakistan that could engulf the entire subcontinent. Yet as Prime Minister Indira Gandhi made her way across Europe on a six-nation tour that will bring her to Washington this week, she was forced to concede that her countrymen badly need help to rise to this occasion.

Before departing on her three-week trip, Mrs. Gandhi delivered a five-minute radio broadcast to the nation. In it she did not even mention Pakistan, whose troops are faced off against Indian jawans along both their eastern and western borders, and made only passing reference to the 9,500,000 Bengali refugees who have spilled into India since civil war broke out in East Pakistan last March. Instead, Mrs. Gandhi praised Indians for their "courage, dignity and self-restraint" in meeting the "danger" and exhorted them to do nothing in anger or haste that might worsen the situation.

Nonetheless, before departing for Brussels on the first leg of her journey, the Prime Minister activated the country's military reservists for the first time since the 1965 clash with Pakistan over Kashmir. During the past three weeks, moreover, India has built up its forces along its borders with both Pakistan and China. Whatever misgivings Indira had about leaving at such a critical moment were plainly outweighed by the belief that the time had come to plead India's case with other world leaders. Indeed, her departure itself, signaling that New Delhi apparently did not believe war to he imminent, served in some measure to alleviate the tensions that have reached fever pitch recently due to military buildups by both Islamabad and New Delhi.

Condonation. After meeting with Mrs. Gandhi last week, Belgian Prime Minister Gaston Eyskens stated that he was convinced India would not initiate a war. In Vienna, Mrs. Gandhi took time out from political discussions to accept a check for refugee children, and in London, where she conferred with Foreign Secretary Sir Alec Douglas-Home, she urged Britain to exert economic pressure against Pakistan.