Fish Story

Although relations between India and Pakistan have greatly improved, each country is still quick to take offense at criticism by its neighbor's press. Last fortnight India's New Delhi-Calcutta Statesman (circ. 80,000) ran a report about poisoned fish in the rivers of East Bengal, now part of Pakistan. Said the Statesman: "We hear [that] 75% of the [East Bengal] population have .. . ceased to take fish for fear of being poisoned and are meanwhile doing poojah [prayers] to their gods to see if haply this scourge may be removed. We should be more pleased to hear that some prompt steps had been taken to remedy the disaster ..."

Last week the East Bengal government took prompt steps to deny the charges: "Incorrect reports ... no such complaint . . ." In their anger, the Pakistani officials had failed to notice that the Statesman's fish story appeared in the column, "Seventy-Five Years Ago Today."

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