The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 109
109 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN Suez, took part. A representative conference was called, which split into committees. The Viceroy was President, and as Supply Minister I was Chairman. In consequence of our joint efforts, through this organization, which worked very well indeed, mobilizing all the resources of these areas in support of the war effort being made in the United Kingdom, we made a substantial contribution. The major contribution was that of India. India was the largest area and certainly had vast resources awaiting development. This development was carried so far that, in consequence, India was able to build up before the war ended - although I gave up the portfolio in September 1941, when I went to the Federal Court - a credit, vis-a-vis the United Kingdom, over its war supplies which was utilized, first, to retire all the indebtedness of India to Britain, and then, to build up a credit in England of over 200 million pounds sterling, which at that time was quite a substantial figure, and gave India a strong position vis-a-vis England and in the sterling area. In March of 1941, Sir Shah Sulaiman, who was the Muslim judge of the Federal Court of India, died. The Chief Justice was Sir Maurice Gwyer, a very distinguished personality. He was an intellectual, a member of the All Souls set at Oxford, one of those rare Britishers to whom a man's complexion mattered no more than the colour of his jacket, and a man of very deep humanitarian sympathies. I had known him very intimately as he was the principal draftsman of what became the Government of India Act of 1935, and we had had opportunities of meeting in England during the Roundtable Conferences and the sittings of the Joint Select Committee on the White Paper on Indian Constitutional reforms. It was a great privilege to work with him. I learned afterwards that he told the Viceroy that if he had to recommend a Muslim to replace Sir Shah Sulaiman on the Court, he would not recommend anybody except me to fill the vacancy. The Viceroy told him that he could not spare me from the Cabinet. We were in the middle of the war and I was War Supply Minister and Law Minister. The Viceroy had also asked me to advise him on what advances in the constitutional sphere we could make without undertaking a revision of the Constitution; that is to say, within the letter of the old Constitution, how could the spirit be enlarged. From time to time I made suggestions to him. For instance, it was in