M. K. Kirpalani

M. K. Kirpalani served as minister and acting head of India's Washington embassy during a period of food shortages and difficult negotiations over the postwar settlement in Asia. On February 8, 1951, he formally requested emergency American assistance of two million tons of grain. The appeal became part of the documentation placed before Congress as the Truman administration developed an Indian food aid program. ¹

In August, Kirpalani conveyed India's decision not to join the San Francisco peace treaty with Japan. The government's letter argued that the proposed settlement did not sufficiently restore Japanese sovereignty or provide a basis acceptable to all the powers concerned. It objected to arrangements for the Ryukyu and Bonin islands, the circumstances surrounding foreign forces in Japan, and unresolved territorial questions. Kirpalani transmitted India's intention to end the state of war and establish diplomatic relations separately. ²

Kirpalani later headed the administration of Pondicherry from May 1961 to August 1963. He was an Indian Civil Service officer. ³