On May 14, as the Special Session was coming to a close, Nehru com-
plimented Asaf Ali for shouldering additional responsibilities at the
United Nations. At the same time, he did not hide his concerns:
I have a feeling... that perhaps fewer commitments might have
been made on our behalf in regard to certain matters. It pays often
enough not to give too frequent expression of our views. Though you
balanced your observations, when there are many observations they
are apt to irritate one party or the other needlessly as they appear to
have done sometimes. There have been a few adverse comments here
[in New Delhi] on what you have said and a general feeling that it
would have been better not to say so much.^24According to Nehru’s biographer, “certain matters” pertained to Asaf
Ali’s support for the Arab proposal for granting immediate in de pen dence
to Palestine.^25
Others were even more categorical. An offi cial note prepared by the
Ministry of External Aff airs, also headed by Nehru, was blunt:
It is clear, both from the tele grams and from press reports, that
from the very beginning Mr. Asaf Ali had taken a very active part in
the discussions.... His part in the proceedings appears, however,
to have gone rather beyond his instructions, which were [that he] be
most careful in the expression of views, as well as to leave it to the
sponsors of the resolutions to make out a case for the termination
of the Mandate and to indicate how the vacuum thus created will be
fi lled.^26In a word, Asaf Ali’s overenthusiastic pronouncements and observations
at the Special Session were not appreciated by the Indian government.
India was concerned over the possible negative fallout from Asaf Ali’s
per for mance. On April 9, days before it had formally communicated its
support for convening a Special Session on Palestine, India outlined its
priorities: “In view of the Indian interest in this problem, we should
presumably try for membership of this committee.”^27 Another Indian
offi cial was rather cautious: “It is possible that Muslim opinion in India
might regard us as taking our duties too lightly if we do not try; on the
other hand one’s natural inclination would be to avoid being too closely
embroiled in a problem of the size and ugliness of Palestine.”^28 Thus,
the partition of palestine 91