The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 13
13 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN had not succeeded in shaking Khizr Hayat's position in the Punjab. With Mr. Attlee's announcement, a radical change had occurred in the situation. After a restless night, I addressed a purely personal letter, to Khizr Hayat Khan, who was and is a good friend of mine, urging very strongly upon him the necessity of his resignation, thus at least opening the way for the Muslim League to take over in the Punjab. As soon as he received my letter, he telephoned to me indicating that he was inclined to agree with me, but urged me to go up to Lahore as he wanted to consult with me and other friends before taking a final decision. I went up next morning and he carried out consultations with his closest personal friends and also with his colleagues, Muslims and non-Muslims, in the Party. In the course of the day he decided that he would resign. He called on the Governor, Sir Evans Jenkins, after dinner and handed in his resignation. Thus his Party went out of office, and the way was clear for the Governor, if he would, to call upon the Muslim League to form a Government. Thereby the principal hurdle in the way of the Muslim League in the Punjab was removed. By taking this step Sir Khizr Hayat Khan rendered a singular service to the cause of the Muslim League and to the cause of Pakistan. Question: Mr. Ambassador, I wonder if you would like to comment on what appears to be the continuity of two lines of Muslim political life in the Punjab, the first being the school of Muhammed Shafi, which perhaps later was translated into the Muslim League, and the school of Fazle Hussain and later Khizr Hayat Khan and Sikander Hayat Khan, which worked for a coalition in the Punjab. Do you see any long-term continuities in terms of the strength of political outlook of these Punjab Muslims ? Khan : I would put it this way: What you have described as the Muslim League school of politics was perhaps the training ground in the theory and doctrine of politics and of political ideologies and what was needed by the Muslims not only in the larger political field, but also in the cultural field, in the field of education, etc. Sir Muhammed Shafi was almost a pioneer in the earliest stages and rendered great service throughout, but when the time came for practical activity and a certain amount of authority was transferred into the hands of the people through the Legislatures, Sir Fazle Hussain took the lead and he translated those principles and those ambitions into practice. In the practical political field, he felt that the most effective way of doing that would be through