Another Pat For Nixon

Daniel F. Moynihan, professor of Education and Urban Politics, did not seek, but this week officially accepted, the post of U.S. ambassador to India when President Nixon told him what he could do for his country.

"India is the world's largest democracy," Nixon told Moynihan two weeks ago, "and I'd like you to go as our ambassador."

Moynihan's forthcoming appointment was leaked to the press last weekend and White House press secretary Ronald L. Ziegler confirmed the appointment at a press conference Monday morning.

Moynihan, at 45, has already proven his talents for diplomacy: he worked as a Presidential adviser in the New Frontier and the Great Society as well as in the Nixon Administration.

A central figure in academic and government circle, Moynihan received uniform praise from both arenas following his appointment. John Kennedy Galbraith, Warburg Professor of Economics, and Kenneth E. Kearing former ambassadors to India called him an "excellent" choice for the post.

Spokesmen for the Indian government in New Delhi also sent their approval in an official diplomatic communique, which arrived in Washington Sunday morning.

The one-time trailblazer for the New Frontier--who returned to Harvard in 1970--will begin preparations next month for his passage to India, pending confirmation by the Senate.