Sir, within the province of Assam, there is the District of Khasi and Jaintia Hills. The capital of Assam is located there. Most honourable Members will be surprised to know that the border of Pakistan is only 50 miles from the town of Shillong. The people on the southern slope of the Khasi Hills used to get their foodgrains and means of livelihood from the district of Sylhet which now forms part of eastern Pakistan. On account of customs barriers between India and Pakistan, the free flow of trade has ceased and no wonder my Friend Rev. Nichols-Roy was accusing Pakistan for this state of affairs. But, Sir, my idea is simply to point out to you that unless foodgrains can be made available in sufficient quantities in that area, as also in other areas of the District those people may ultimately look up to Pakistan as their saviors. But the pity of Assam is that in spite of the fact that it is a surplus province so far as foodgrains are concerned, and though during the three years of my tenure as Prime Minister from 1943-46 Assam could declare a surplus of two hundred thousand tons of rice and had actually supplied to the Central Government that surplus as will be borne out by the records in New Delhi, we supplied on an average fifty lakhs maunds of rice, annually. Assam has become a deficit area and you will be surprised to hear that in the town of Shillong where rice is rationed my own household, the household of an ex-Premier and leader of the Opposition and a man who has been there from 1924, had to go without rice for three days recently.
