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dated February 16, 1958: Cultural ties

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Union Minister for Education and Scientific Research, addressing the annual session of the General Assembly of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, said in New Delhi on February 14 that though India and Pakistan had been divided on political grounds, the inhabitants of the two countries had been one people and their cultural life was such that it could not be divided without loss to both. Ambassadors and cultural attaches of various countries were also present. Mr. S.M. Qutb, Press Attache, and Mr. Khalid Ali, Cultural Attache of the Pakistan Embassy, attended the meeting as representatives of Pakistan. The council was set up in 1950 with the aim of establishing cultural contacts with all foreign countries. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad welcomed the Pakistan representatives who were attending the meeting of the Council for the first time and said: “I hope this marks further strengthening of the ties of friendship between our two countries.”

Reviewing briefly the reasons for the establishment of the Council, especially the division in it for the Middle East, Turkey and Egypt, Maulana Azad said that after the setting up of the Council the Middle East countries had realised how baseless and false were their prejudices and misunderstanding of India caused by Pakistan’s propaganda campaign against India.

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