The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 39
39 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN It was part of Sir Fazle Hussain's policy that wherever possible he would promote Indianization of the superior posts so that Indians could get more and more experience in view of the greater responsibility that they would later have to carry. It was as part of this effort that he was anxious that Ram Chandra rather than Reed should be Joint Secretary. Incidentally, I was able to arrange that. The Viceroy was not too unhappy over the arrangement I proposed and he agreed. That night I left for Kalka by train, and next morning from Kalka, I travelled by car up to Simla. I was accompanied by Khan Bahadur Nadir Shah, who was Sir Fazle Hussain's very experienced personal assistant. He was a Parsi gentleman, and was a good friend of mine - I had known him quite intimately during the period he had been working with Sir Fazle Hussain. Nadir Shah and I were in the car together, and after we settled down in the car and it began to climb the winding hill road - it was about 65 miles to Simla - I asked Nadir Shah to tell me how official business was transacted. He explained the mechanics to me - how files came in and how they were disposed of, down even to the detail that any orders I wrote or dictated, needed only to be initialled by me adding the date and the month. I still remember his saying, "Your full signature is required only on very formal documents like dispatches, etc. and on your monthly salary bill. So long as you can do that, everything will be all right. " Afterwards, when anybody asked me, "What do you think are the qualifications necessary for a Member of Council?" I used to say that it seemed that the qualifications necessary were that one should remember the date and the month and should be able to sign one's salary bill with one's full name! In Simla, of course, I occupied the official residence of Sir Fazle Hussain. It was called the Retreat and was situated in a very favourable position, on the Mall, almost opposite to the principal hotel in Simla, the Cecil Hotel. It was a comfortable residence. All the Members' residences were attractive houses, nicely furnished. As soon as we arrived at the house, I asked Nadir Shah to ring up Mr. Ram Chandra and ask him to come down to the residence. Mr. Ram Chandra was well known to me. He had done his M. A. from the Government College at Lahore and had been appointed temporary Assistant Professor of mathematics. I was then in my intermediate class, and mathematics was one of my subjects. So I had the honour of sitting at his feet for a few