dated December 5, 1950: French India

India sought only a peaceful settlement from the French Government to the problem of the future of their tiny possessions in Indian soil. The French Indian Deputy to the National Assembly in Paris Mr. Lambert Saravane, had gone to the French capital with the specific intention of impressing upon his colleagues that ``the only reasonable and natural solution'' of the problem was by ``a transfer of sovereignty to the Indian Union''.

Excerpts from the Editorial: ``The idea of a referendum in French Indian territory is impracticable in view of the fact that the authorities have allowed conditions to deteriorate so far as to make a free and impartial referendum extremely unlikely. The very fact that the French have not been too eager even to adjust the preliminaries of a referendum of the type envisaged makes one feel that they know that the result is not likely to be favourable to them and that they wish to put off a decision as long as they can. A spokesman of the French Socialist Party has admitted this by saying that it would ``perhaps be better to avoid a referendum'' so that Indo-French relations may not be exacerbated by its result. Direct negotiations between France and India should settle the question of a direct transfer. As against this it was held that Article 27 of the French Constitution required that any cession of territory should have the approval of the population: and the obstacle seemed incapable of being overcome except by a referendum. Mr. Saravane's present suggestion, however, avoids this constitutional difficulty.

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