You might think Dawood Ibrahim's extradition is one India's longest-standing demands from Pakistan, but there is another that beats is much older.
Tucked away in the fine print of every Budget since 1948-49 is an unvarying entry: "Amount due from Pakistan on account of share of pre-partition debt (approx) - Rs 300 crore".
In 1948-49, Rs 300 crore was more than the size of government's budget - expenditure of Rs 257.37 crore against receipts of Rs 256.28 crore yielding a deficit of Rs 1.09 crore. Today, Rs 300 crore would account for about 0.03% of total receipts or expenditure.
So, what's the history of this entry? After Partition, it was agreed that India would initially meet all the liabilities of the united entity and that Pakistan would then pay back its share of the debt to be mutually agreed.
The sum finally agreed upon was Rs 300 crore. The rate of interest was fixed at 3 per cent and Pakistan was to pay back the amount in 50 annually equated instalments starting from 1952. Clearly, that never happened.
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