Impact of Colonialism in Asia and Africa

We must first of all thank the five sponsoring countries, Burma, Ceylon, India, Indonesia and Pakistan, whose initiative and efforts have made it possible for us to meet here. ... HTMLBREAKThe peoples of Asia and Africa created brilliant ancient civilizations and made tremendous contributions to mankind. But, ever since modern times most of the countries of Asia and Africa in varying degrees have been subjected to colonial plunder and oppression, and have thus been forced to remain in a stagnant state of poverty and backwardness. ... we have no choice but to rise against colonialism. Suffering from the same cause and struggling for the same aim, we the Asian and African peoples have found it easier to understand each other and have long had deep sympathy and concern for one another. Now the face of the Asian-African region has undergone a radical change. More and more countries have cast off or are casting off the shackles of colonialism. ...HTMLBREAKBoth in the East and in the West the danger of war is increasing. ... Countries outside of Asia and Africa are establishing more and more military bases in the Asian and African countries. They are clamoring openly that atomic weapons are conventional arms and are making preparations for an atomic war. The people of Asia shall never forget that the first atomic bomb exploded on Asian soil and that the first man to die from the experimental explosion of the hydrogen bomb was an Asian. The peoples of Asia and Africa, like those in other parts of the world, cannot be indifferent to the ever-increasing threat of war.