The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 38
38 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN place in his absence in whom he could place confidence, that the Viceroy was persuaded to nominate me. The news of the appointment was as much a surprise to me as it was to the greater number of those who were interested in these matters. Though I had been a member of the Punjab Legislative Council since 1926 and had been to England to present the Muslim point of view to British statesmen and politicians, and had taken part in the first and second Roundtable Conferences, I was still so young that the appointment was looked upon as a departure from the normal practice. I was extremely gratified that it should have been considered that I was fit to carry such a heavy responsibility. I took it up, as it were, in a state of fear and trembling, but very prayerfully determined, that with God's grace, I should not be found wanting. The headquarters of the Government of India had moved up to Simla. I left Delhi in the evening and went up to Lahore by train. Sir Fazle Hussain had come down to Lahore from Simla on his way to Abbottabad where he was to spend his leave, and I met him in Lahore. I asked him whether he had any instructions for me, on policy or on particular questions or problems. He told me it was all up to me and that I would have to sink or swim on my own. He mentioned one matter on which he had not been able to persuade the Viceroy to agree with him, and thought I might make an effort. Sir Frank Noyce had been Secretary of the Ministry and had just been appointed Member of the Viceroy's Council in charge of Industry and Labour and thus the post of Secretary had fallen vacant. Sir Fazle Hussain had prevailed upon a somewhat reluctant Viceroy to agree to the appointment of Sir Girja Shankar Bajpai in place of Sir Frank Noyce. But Sir Girja Shankar suffered from high blood pressure, and the Viceroy, in a sort of rear- guard action, had made it a condition that Sir Girja Shankar should produce a clean bill of health. He had proceeded on leave to Vienna for treatment and also to obtain the necessary testimonial on his health. In the meantime, Mr. Reed, who was the next senior officer in the Ministry, had been appointed officiating Secretary. The next officer in seniority was Mr. Ram Chandra from the Punjab. Sir Fazle Hussain said that he had tried, that when Bajpai became Secretary, Ram Chandra should become Joint Secretary, and that would have meant either sending Reed back to his province (he belonged to the UP cadre of the Indian Civil Service) or superseding him. The Viceroy had not agreed.