There was no edition of the paper on Feb 1 due to a newspaper strike. Here is a selection from the Jan 31 edition.

RAWALPINDI: Dr Sampuranand, Governor of Rajasthan, has said that Afghanistan, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, Tibet, Sinkiang, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Viet-Nam, Malaysia and Indonesia are within “political frontiers” of India. In an article entitled “India’s neglected political frontiers” in “The Hindustan Times”, Dr Sampuranand said, that India’s “own self-interest as well as the interests of humanity, as she (India) understands them, demand great vigilance” within these frontiers.

The Rajasthan Governor has avoided an unequivocal definition of “political frontiers”, but his repeated claim that Afghanistan had been a province of India was suggestive. Dr Sampuranand said “Afghanistan was a part of India right up to the time of the Maurya and Shunga Empires,” and added: “Its status as an Indian province was maintained even during the regime of Guptas.” He went on: “At the height of Mughal power, Afghanistan was again an Indian province, but it seceded later.”

The article said: “Our political frontiers lie in Pakistan, on the Pak-Afghan frontiers, and fur­ther west in Afghanistan itself.” Approvingly recalling the Afghanistan policy of the British based on suspicion against Russia, Dr Sam­puranand said: “We want a neutral but friendly Afghanistan” as a neutral buffer State between India and Russia in Central Asia.”

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play