Perseverance — Page 123
Part II – My Life as a Muslim 123 You are strutting around as if you have accomplished some great achievement by celebrating the new country of Pakistan. But you should be ashamed because in truth you have accomplished nothing. You once were the rulers of the entire Indian Sub- continent, but now you are celebrating that you have attained a portion of the whole you once had. I, the descendant of slaves, had nothing, but now my people are voting and holding national offices and progressing into the future. So I have accomplished something by gaining, while you celebrate your loss. Those who heard me were astonished and could not say anything. I could read their faces as they realized this truth and acknowledged the emptiness of their behavior. For me this incident illustrated how wonderful the mind of the Second Khal ī fah ra was, immediately perceiving their false sense of superiority and arming me with the words to chastise their arrogant behavior without the least concern for their enmity. THE AMERICAN CONSUL GENERAL’S VISIT The American Consul General came to visit the Second Khal ī fah ra when he was in Lahore. As we stood up to greet the limousine in which he was riding, he came out and started shaking hands with the line of people who came to greet him. Then he went to sit beside the Second Khal ī fah ra and the first thing I remember hearing was the Consul General criticizing something about President Truman. At that point the Second Khal ī fah ra said, “How do you feel in the presence of your countryman?”