ਆਹ
ਤਸਵੀਰ 1951 ਵਿੱਚ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਲਈ ਗਈ ਹੈ, ਇੱਥੇ ਇੱਕ ਦਾਨ ਦੀ ਮੁਹਿੰਮ
ਇੰਡੀਆ ਵਾਸਤੇ ਚੱਲੀ। ਇਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਹੈ ਕਿ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਪੰਜ ਡਾਲਰ ਨਾਲ 100 ਪੌਂਡ
ਕਣਕ ਭਾਰਤ ਵਿੱਚ ਇੱਕ ਬੰਦੇ ਦਾ 200 ਦਿਨ ਤੱਕ ਪੇਟ ਭਰ ਸਕਦੀ ਹੈ।
ਮੰਗਤਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਇਸ ਮੁਲਕ ਦਾ ਪੇਟ ਭਰਨ ਲਈ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦਾ ਕਿਸਾਨ
ਅੱਗੇ ਆਇਆ। ਦਿਨ ਰਾਤ ਖੇਤਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਮਿਹਨਤ ਕੀਤੀ ਵੱਧ ਤੋਂ ਵੱਧ ਲੋਕਾਂ ਦਾ ਪੇਟ
ਭਰਨ ਲਈ, ਝਾੜ ਵਧਾਉਣ ਲਈ ਆਪਣੀ ਮਿੱਟੀ 'ਤੇ ਪਾਣੀ ਵਿੱਚ ਜ਼ਹਿਰ ਘੋਲ ਲਿਆ ! ਅੱਜ ਇਹ
ਨਾਸ਼ੁਕਰੇ ਓਸੇ ਅੰਨਦਾਤੇ ਨੂੰ ਭੁੱਖੇ ਮਾਰਨ ਦੀਆਂ ਸਕੀਮਾਂ ਬਣਾ ਰਹੇ ਨੇ!
ਪਰ ਯਾਦ ਰੱਖਿਓ ਕਿਸਾਨ ਭੁੱਖਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਮਰਦਾ, ਉਹ ਤਾਂ ਝੋਨਾ ਬੀਜਣਾ ਬੰਦ ਕਰਕੇ ਆਪਣੇ ਖਾਣ
ਜੋਗਾ ਅੰਨ ਤੇ ਦਾਲਾਂ ਸਬਜ਼ੀਆਂ ਉਗਾ ਹੀ ਲਊ, ਵਿਤ ਮੁਤਾਬਿਕ ਆਪਣੀਆਂ ਲੋੜਾਂ ਵੀ ਘਟਾ ਲਊ
ਪਰ ਕਿਤੇ ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਉੱਤੇ ਠੂਠਾ ਫੜਕੇ ਮੰਗਣ ਵਾਲਾ ਸਮਾਂ ਫ਼ੇਰ ਨਾ ਆਜੇ ਮੁੜਕੇ।
Statement by the
President Upon Signing the India Emergency Food Aid Act
June 15, 1951
I AM delighted to be able to sign this act of Congress which will make
it possible for the United States to send to the people of India up to 2
million tons of food grains.
This act is an expression of the spontaneous, heartfelt desire of the
American people to help the Indian people in their time of need. We are
deeply grateful to divine providence that we can provide that help.
India suffered a series of terrible natural disasters last
year--earthquakes, floods, droughts, and locust plagues--which seriously
cut down India's food production and threatened millions of the Indian
people with famine.
India has bought all the food she can with the funds she has. The
United States alone is already sending India about 1,500,000 tons of
food grains, much of it at reduced cost. This food is flowing toward
Indian ports at the rate of 250,000 tons a month.
Under this act we shall be able to supply India on special and easy
credit terms the additional food which India needs but for which India
does not now have funds available.
These shipments of food from the United States will supply nearly
two-thirds of all the food which India is buying abroad to meet its
emergency. These shipments will save untold millions of our fellow human
beings in India from great suffering.
I note with particular satisfaction two provisions of the act.
The first of these is designed to strengthen Indian-American
understanding and friendship by permitting the use of $5 million of the
interest to be paid by India on the loan to bring a greater number of
Indian students, professors, and technicians to the United States for
study and to send more Americans to India.
The other provision authorizes free ocean transportation for relief
supplies to India given by individuals and private organizations. This
kind of help to stricken humanity is a tradition of the American
people--whether to the sufferers of the great Russian famine and the
victims of the Japanese earthquake in the early twenties or to the
starving in Rumania in the late forties.
In India today American voluntary help is providing highly
nutritional foods, vitamins, and medicines to the needy in the famine
threatened areas. The American Red Cross is forwarding supplies for
community services in cooperation with and at the request of the Indian
Red Cross. CROP--the Christian Rural Overseas Program--a union of
Protestant and Catholic relief agencies--is collecting gifts in kind
primarily for hospitals, orphanages, and welfare centers. CARE, a
federation of many voluntary organizations, is delivering packages
including foods, hand plows, and tools to further food production.
This collective effort of the United States Government and American
voluntary agencies shows our humanitarian concern for all distressed
people. In view of the great need in India I urge that we continue and
expand the voluntary aid being given by the American people through the
voluntary agencies.
In signing this act, I extend the heartfelt best wishes of the American
people to the people of India and express our admiration for the courage
and fortitude with which the Indian Government and people are moving
ahead to solve the problems thrust upon them by natural disasters.
NOTE: The India Emergency Food Aid
Act of 1951 is Public Law 48, 82d Congress (65 Stat. 69).
On June 19 the President issued Proclamation 2931, "Activation and
Operation of Vessels for Transportation of Supplies Under Section 5 of
the India Emergency Food Aid Act of 1951" (3 CFR, 1949-1953 Comp., p.
116).
Source:
https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/public-papers/124/statement-president-upon-signing-india-emergency-food-aid-act?fbclid=IwAR2eGgLhNs5r6fXrUwLFYSFydq9AG-jZ6pBWRl59jMiiz5nC8rZhTog3-b4