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Most of the world was begging the contestants to stop. Would-be mediators ranged from Canada's Prime Minister Lester Pearson to the leaders of Russia. There were some strange alignments. The Soviet Union—long a supporter of India—called for an instant truce. Britain's Prime Minister Harold Wilson did the same and urged all Commonwealth heads of state to follow suit. Red China gleefully came out for Pakistan, and on a Karachi visit last week, Foreign Minister Chen Yi pledged China's support of Pakistan in repelling "Indian armed provocation." Indonesian students in Djakarta joyfully wrecked the Indian embassy, screaming "Crush India, the imperialist lackey!"
Meager Results. At an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council, Secretary-General U Thant was authorized to seek an end to the war. With the fervent support of every Council member, Thant flew from New York to see if world opinion meant anything to the combatants. Results were meager. In Rawalpindi, Thant spent most of his time pleading with Pakistan's rabidly anti-Indian Foreign Minister Z. A. Bhutto. Bhutto made Pakistan's position clear: no cease-fire unless it was accompanied by a definite commitment to settle the Kashmir question by self-determination for the Kashmiri people. When Thant left to try his luck in New Delhi, a Pakistani government spokesman derided his peace proposals as "the same old thing: Don't be bad boys, don't fight; negotiate."
The U.S. was caught in the middle. Washington officials watched in dismay as Pakistan and India clawed at each other with U.S. weapons and planes that had been given them for the express purpose of opposing Communist aggression. The U.S. wanted only to be friends with both powers, but was roundly denounced by each. Along Karachi streets, Americans heard the old, familiar chant: "Yankee, go home!" In India, two German tourists were beaten by a mob that thought they were Americans. Washington held only one trump card and promptly used it: all military supplies to both countries were suspended. Pakistan would be the first to feel the pinch since it is wholly dependent on U.S. spare parts and, unlike India, has no real industrial base for home production of arms. Eventually, the U.S. arms cutoff—in which Britain joined—could ground both sides' jet planes and halt their tanks, reducing the whole affair to an infantry war—but not before weeks have passed.
Frozen Feud. Though the air was filled with cries for peace, no one had any high hopes of getting it. The battle that has been joined on the Punjab plain has been building for hundreds of years. Ever since the 16th century Mogul invasion of India, Moslems and Hindus have fought each other for control of the subcontinent. The age-old feud was put in cold storage during the long era of British rule, but burst into flame in all its old fury in 1947 as both India and Pakistan became independent.
The hatred lies bone-deep, and is cultural as well as religious. Hindus worship cows and Moslems eat them. Hindus regard Moslems as unclean, and Moslems call Hindus caste-ridden. The great Sepoy Rebellion still rankles. When Moslem regiments revolted, Hindus helped the British to crush them.