December 21, 1951
US-Indian Relations
The Secretary Mr. Binay Ranjan Sen, Ambassador of India SOA - Mr. Weil
S/S NEA Embassy, New Delhi
The Ambassador of India, who presented his credentials to the President on December 19, made a courtesy call at 2:30 p.m.
Following an exchange of pleasantries concerning for the most part the Ambassador's service in Rome, and my recent trip to the Continent, the Ambassador said he brought me the personal greetings of his Prime Minister. I thanked him and expressed the hope that the Prime Minister was well. The Ambassador said the Prime Minister was well but was undertaking a very strenuous program - particularly in connection with the electoral campaign.
I inquired after the health of Madam Pandit. The Ambassador said she was now participating in the elections; that she was "the only one her brother would listen to," or who could "control him," and that he hoped that now that she was back in India she would exert her influence on Mr. Nehru. The Ambassador said Madam Pandit's affection for the US was such that when she left "she cried." He added that his own feelings toward the US were warm - that he particularly admired the open and responsive attitudes of the American people.
I said I believed there were no really serious problems in the relations between our two countries. The Ambassador agreed. He said he thought US- Indian relations were now on a "more realistic" and sound foundation than in the past, and that superficial differences of opinion did not alter the fact that our two governments were working for common aims and objectives.
NEA:SOA:TEWeil:lpl 12/24/51