The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 256
240 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN matter of fact, it had been part of the strategy of the Ahrar that in the beginning they would not take a prominent part in anything but would incite other people behind the scenes. So, a good deal of agitation started almost on the eve of the meeting, to stop me from speaking. Well, I spoke. Later they made the excuse: that in spite of their opposition, I, as Foreign Minister, had spoken in a meeting of the Ahmadiyya Movement, and, therefore, the Prime Minister should get rid of me. When the agitation grew in volume, I said to the Prime Minister, "If this will ease matters for you, I am prepared to resign. " He said, "Today you are prepared to resign. Tomorrow they will say some other of my colleagues should go. I might as well surrender the government to them. " Question : This was Khwaja Nazimuddin ? Zafrulla : Yes. Now that was excellent on principle; yet he would not do anything at all, would not take any action which would stop the agitation. He was, as it were, caught between two winds: one, he was conscious enough of the principle, that if he yielded to the demand, he might as well surrender the government to them, but he had such great respect for the 'ulema that he would not take any step which they might resent. Question : And also Daultana was probably involved by this time in the Punjab. . . Zafrulla : Yes. Daultana professed during the earlier stages that he would stand firm, but the inquiry showed that behind the scenes he was in league with them. Then the time came when he threw up the sponge altogether. So, the agitation grew in intensity, and, so far as Lahore was concerned, it took on an extreme aspect, mainly on account of Daultana's two-faced policy. Also, I. I. Chundrigarh, who was the Governor, was not a strong man, vis-a-vis Daultana. He was a very nice man, but for one thing he was not well versed in Urdu. He could speak it fairly well -- he was from Bombay originally but he could not read it with any facility and, therefore, when Daultana or anybody else took to him what they represented was an inflammatory matter put forth by the Ahmadiyya Movement, he could easily be misled. On one or two occasions when he gave expression to that kind of feeling to our people: