Sent from Malcolm John MacDonald
29 Apr 1955
Description:

'No. 683 (1022/15)

...

1. Starred Question and Answer No. 475, given in the Rajya Sabha on 5.4.55.   Ban on the export                                                                                   of monkeys

2. Starred Question and Answer No. 665, given in the Rajya Sabha on 18.4.55  Export of monkeys

3. Unstarred Question and Answer No. 985, given in the Lok Sabha on 22.4.55  Export of monkeys

(3 copies of each)'

[3. Unstarred Question and Answer No. 985, given in the Lok Sabha on 22.4.55:]

'LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 985

To be answered on the 22nd April, 1955

EXPORT OF MONKEYS

985. DR. RAM SUBHAG SINGH: Will the Minister of Commerce and Industry be pleased to state:-

(a) whether Government have received any representation from the U.K. and U.S.A. for revoking the ban on monkeys' export;

(b) if so, the grounds stated in those representations for revoking the ban; and

(c) the number of monkeys which have been allowed to be exported from India since the imposition of the ban?

...'

[2. Starred Question and Answer No. 665, given in the Rajya Sabha on 18.4.55:]

'GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

RAJYA SABHA

MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

STARRED QUESTION NO. 665

To be answered on 18th April 1955

REPORT OF MONKEYS

*665 MOULANA M PARUQI: Will the Minister for Commerce and Industry be pleased to state whether there is a standing contract between the Government of India and the United States of America for the export of monkeys to that country?

----------

SHYRI NATYANAND KANUNGO. (Deputy Minister for Commerce & Industry)

No, sir. No type of contract whatsoever.

...

MOULANA M PARUQI: What are those conditions?

SRI N. KANUNGO: Monkeys, while being exported by air, could be cared for better in transit and used for polio research in the U.S.A.

MOULANA M PARUQI: It is also something that no cruelty will be meted to them?

SRI N. KANUNGO: Yes, sir, certainly.

SHRI V.R. DHAGH: Ha[s] some officer been specially appointed for this?

SRI N. KANUNGO: No, Sir, there is no need for this; when any complaint is brought to the notice, the matter is looked into.'

[1. Starred Question and Answer No. 475, given in the Rajya Sabha on 5.4.55.:]

'GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

RAJYA SABHA

MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

STARRED QUESTION NO. 475

To be answered on 5th April 1955

BAN ON EXPORT OF MONKEYS

*475. SHRIMATI VIOLET ALVA: Will the Minister for Commerce and Industry be pleased to state:

(a) whether Government have decided to ban the export of monkeys:

and

(b) if so, when and where the last consignment of monkeys was exported?

------------

SHRI T.T. KRISHNAMANCHARI (Minister for Commerce & Industry):

(a) export of monkeys except with previous sanction of the Central Government has been banned with effect from the 11th March, 1955.

(b) Shipment of 800 monkeys to the U.S.A. was permitted on the 19th March, 1955.

------------

5-4-55

Uncorrected- - Not for publication

*No.475

SHRIMATI VIOLET ALVA: The Gazette Notification prohibits taking monkeys out of India by sea or land. Is it to be understood that monkeys have never been exported by air?

SHRI T.T. KRISHNAMANCHARI: Well, sir, a legal interpretation of it may suggest to the hon. Member that it leaves open an avenue for free export of monkeys by air.

SHRIMATI VIOLET ALVA: It the hon. Minister aware that one Mr. Roosevelt stated in Calcutta last week that, if the ban on the export of monkeys was not withdrawn, he would go to Pakistan for it? He is also supposed to have stated that the Commerce Ministry officials in Delhi have told him that the ban would be lifted in a week's time. This was reported in the Hindustan Times.

SHRI T.T. KRISHNAMANCHARI: We see, Sir, that the newspapers think that monkeys are very important items of news, at any rate, interesting items of news. I have also seen other various statements by various people about export of monkeys and the possibility of their going to Pakistan but I do not remember any particular name nor am I interested in them. So far as any Commerce Ministry official having assured anybody of anything being done on a particular day is concerned, I could not have authorised it. So far as the Commerce Ministry is concerned, I still happen to be Minister.

MR. CHAIRMAN. That statement was not authorised.

SHRIMATI VIOLET ALVA: Since the previous sanction of the Government is necessary to import monkeys, does the Government of India consider the purpose for which monkeys are exported, whether for medical research or for experiments in atomic energy?

SHRI T.T. KRISHNAMANCHARI: Since the responsibility for allowing the export of monkeys devolves on the Government of India, that responsibility will be discharged with due regard to all international codes on this matter. I might add that I have been assured by responsible people that monkeys are not used for any purpose other than medical research and this assurance has been given by one of the foremost scientists of India who knows all it is worthwhile knowing about atomic energy - Dr. Bhabha [NB: Bhabha's general avocation of nuclear energy, research etc. 'Father of Indian Nuclear Industry' etc. See Guha, India After Gandhi, p. 390 on apparent subtle advocacy of nuclear armament - other lit too] - that monkeys are not being used for that purpose.

SHRIMATI RUKNINI ARUNDALE: Is it known that the export of monkeys for making research into poliomyelitis is not only for medical research but also for capitalist purposes? There is a plant in America, Lily Parke Davis, which has spent 900,000 dollars in order to get these monkeys from India. It is not only for medical purposes but it is also for capitalist interests.

SHRI T.T. KRISHNAMANCHARI: I do not see how these things are actually exclusive. Capital interest may be interested in medical research.

...

SHRIMATI RUKNINI ARUNDALE: May I know whether the following item in the New York Times of October 19, 1954, has been brought to the notice of the Minister? The wording is: it was stated by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis that the Foundation is taking a calculated risk in purchasing vaccine before it has been found to be effective.

SHRI T.T. KRISHNAMANCHARI: I cannot see how I can express an opinion on something that has been said by a very responsible body. My knowledge of vaccine is extremely limited.

...

SHRI D. NARAYAN: May I know the number of monkeys that died in transport, and who was responsible for it, whether the exporters or the importers?

SHRI T.T. KRISHNAMANCHARI: The whole idea of regulating the export of monkeys arose from the fact that when the Prime Minister was in London it was brought to his notice that some monkeys had died merely because of the treatment and that is why Government felt that export should not be permitted until the conditions are controlled. I am unable to say what the conditions were except that some monkeys had died.

...

MR. CHAIRMAN: You want to make a fuller statement?

SHRI T.T. KRISHNAMANCHARI: Yes, Sir. The position is this. Monkeys were being exported for the last three or four years. A former Finance Minister refused to answer a question because it was not the responsibility of any Minister. Recently there was an increase in the exports. That is largely because the National Foundation for Polio Research in the United States have been going about finding a vaccination for Polio... [original punct.]and the experiments gathered momentum during the last twelve months. I now understand that the first batch of vaccines would be released some time about the middle of this year. The number of monkeys that seems [sic] to be needed for this and allied medical research purposes is somewhere in the region of about a lakh. I do recognise that this matter does cause a lot of resentment not merely among the hon. Members of this house but among the public, namely, that we are exporting monkeys. But we do not want to make any gains out of it nor do we permit any commercial exploitation.

MR. CHAIRMAN: The question hour is over.'