§ Mr. Sorensenasked the Minister of Information if he is aware that a lecturer for his Ministry has given offence to the Parsee community by claiming to be one of the few white men ever to see inside the Tower of Silence at Bombay; whether he was one of the lecturers supplied or recommended to the Ministry by the India Office; and whether official regrets have been tendered to the Parsee community for this public advertisement of an act considered to be sacrilege by Parsees.
§ Mr. BrackenI understand that a gentleman who has given lectures under the auspices of the Ministry of Information has made this claim and that it has been objected to by a society called the Northbrook Society. This lecturer was not supplied or recommended to the Ministry by the India Office. I am sure that the lecturer had no intention of offending anyone's susceptibilities, and I understand that he informed the Society some time ago that he would not invite Press references to it in future.