The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 20
20 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN with others. I was still in England when the appointment of the Royal Commission was announced, which later got known as the Simon Commission. It would perhaps be useful to explain that on safeguards, so far as the constitution was concerned, the Muslims at that time insisted upon two particular features being retained: one, that in Provinces in which they were a minority, they should have weightage in representation in the Legislature so that they could make an effective contribution, whether in support of the Party in power or in the opposition, as the case might be. And, secondly, that the system of separate electorates, that is to say, the system under which seats in the Legislatures were reserved for each community and were filled by members elected by that particular community should be continued. I do not know whether I was able to achieve very much, but I know that it was extremely good training for me, to meet all those prominent people in British public life and to put the Muslim case to them. They all listened: some were interested, asked questions and criticised; and some, I have no doubt, were bored. The Royal Commission came out to India at the end of 1927 and again in 1928. The 1927 visit was an exploratory one, to get a bird's eye view of conditions and problems. But the personnel of the Commission had aroused a great wave of not only disappointment but resentment in India. All sections in India had hoped that the Commission would be composed of both British and Indian members, but it turned out to be an entirely British Commission, and the membership was very, very conservative indeed. The Chairman was Sir John (later Lord) Simon, who was then a liberal in politics and subsequently became a conservative, but who was by temperament a very, very conservative type of man. Very able, indeed one of the ablest English men of his time, but a very cold personality with a very sharp intellect, with no hint of warmth for any cause or individual. Major Attlee, as he was then called and who subsequently became Prime Minister, was a member, and so was Mr. Hartshorn of the Labour Party. There were three or four other completely colourless members. The Commission thus, in effect, was a one-man commission, for Sir John Simon was, intellectually, head and shoulders above the rest of them. It was suspected by Indians that all this was done deliberately so that the report should be a one-man report.