The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 65
65 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN He asked me how long I was going to stay and I told him the purpose of my visit. He said, "I am very glad you have come. Come to India Office tomorrow, and we will plan something. " So I met him in India Office next day, and he said, "Zafrulla, if you will keep in touch with me, I will keep you briefed on what is happening in the Committee, and surely you can be of great assistance. All members of the Committee appreciate your collaboration, which you gave to them when you were sitting with them, and of course many of them know you through the Roundtable Conferences. " I kept in touch with him and from time to time he told me how I could help. For instance, he told me to talk to Lord Hardinge who was feeling very doubtful with regard to the viability of Sind as a separate province, and to Lord Derby who he thought was not quite firm on the transfer of law and order to the provinces, and Lord Zetland who was very upset with the apportionment of seats in Bengal under the Communal Award. I met those three and several others, and the experience was different with each. Lord Hardinge was another very gracious personality. He had been a diplomat. He had been British Ambassador to France before he was appointed Viceroy of India. He was the first Viceroy who started using the expression, "Our Indian fellow citizens" which delighted us and made us conscious that we were fellow citizens with the British and that our relationship was not merely that of the governors and the governed. In his time the capital was transferred from Calcutta to Delhi, and the partition of Bengal, which had been carried out by Lord Curzon and had been very unpopular, was cancelled. He had been a very popular Viceroy and was still active in politics. He always addressed Indians with the same title of respect in one of the vernaculars. When I went to see him, he addressed me as Janab, which made me feel very embarrassed that an ex-Viceroy should call me Janab, which is an expression indicating great respect. When I raised the question of Sind with him, he said, "Now, just answer me one thing. Are you satisfied that Sind will be viable?" I said, "Frankly, Lord Hardinge, I have not made a study of the question from the financial or the economic point of view, but I feel very strongly that with its resources, especially large tracts of arable land, of good quality, and all these schemes of barrages for irrigation, it should do very well. " He said, "Very good then. Janab Zafrulla Khan, your assurance satisfies