The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 8
8 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN Later, when the young Turks themselves upset everything by abolishing the Khilafat altogether, the Movement gradually lost its raison d'etre in India. I did not take any active part in the Khilafat Movement myself. For one thing, I was rather young at that time; and for another, from the religious point of view, the Ahmadiyya Movement did not look upon the Turkish Sultanate as representing the Khilafat. Nevertheless, in one of the Khilafat Movement Conferences in Allahabad, an Ahmadiyya delegation, which was led by me, made it quite clear that we were in full support of the objectives of the Movement without accepting the claim or the position of the Sultan as spiritual head of Islam. Question: Mr. Ambassador, I would like to explore with you the demise of the leadership or the end of the leadership of Sir Fazle Hussain and the Unionist Party in the Punjab and to that end to talk about two personalities: Sir Sikander Hayat Khan and Sir Khizr Hayat Khan. I wonder if you would make any general remarks about these people, the way they found themselves in leadership of the Unionist Party, and if you would care to comment on Azim Husain's commentary on what happened to the Unionist Party after these parties took over and Fazle Hussain's old ideology left. Khan : Sir Fazle Hussain's exit from a direct participation in Punjab politics took place, I believe, in 1930, when he accepted the membership of the Governor General's Executive Council at the Center. He took over the portfolio of Education, Health and Lands. From 1930 to 1935, he served with the late Lord Halifax who, as Lord Irwin was Viceroy when Sir Fazle Hussain joined the Council, and with Lord Willingdon, who succeeded Lord Irwin. So the question arose who should take his place as the leader of the Unionist Party in the Punjab. While Sir Fazle Hussain was himself leading the Party, one of his principal coadjucators had been Chaudry Chhotu Ram from the Rohtak District of the Punjab. He was a very respected personality among all sections of the Unionist Party, which included Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims. But as the majority of the Party was Muslim, it was politic and perhaps necessary that the leader should be a Muslim, though Chaudhri Chhotu Ram was, after Sir Fazle Hussain went up to the Center, respected and looked up to as a sort of joint leader of the Party, along