The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 47
47 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN return from leave would revert to his Province. Ram Chandra was to go on leave till Reed left on leave and would then become Joint Secretary. The Viceroy approved. A slight difference arose betweenn General McGaw, who was Director-General of the IMS and me. The post of Deputy Health Commissioner of India fell vacant and a Colonel Russell from Madras was recommended for appointment. Papers were put up to me with that recommendation and I noticed that at one place Sir Fazle Hussain had noted that it was time that there should be Indian representation at the Headquarters of the Indian Medical Department in the Government of India. I thought I had better carry the matter a little further and I asked General McGaw to come over. He came in and I asked him whether something could be done in that direction. He told me that for the moment nothing could be done, as there was this vacancy and Colonel Russell was the best qualified man for it. I told him I would be glad to support his recommendation but could we say that when the next vacancy arose he would be prepared to consider a duly-qualified, senior Indian officer for appointment? He said he could not bind the hands of his successor. I said, "Very good, General, I will do the binding. Thank you, good morning," and he went out. I then sent for the Deputy Secretary, Mr. Hydari, who dealt with these matters when they came up from the IMS side. He was the son of Sir Akbar Hydari, the Prime Minister of Hyderabad, and both of them were good friends of mine. We put our heads together and we selected three Indian officers of the I. M. S. who possessed the necessary qualifications and would soon attain the necessary seniority. One of them, Major Ganapati, was the son- in-law of Sir Hari Singh Gour, who was a well-known lawyer in the Central Provinces and had been a member of the Roundtable Conference. Major Ganapati eventually succeeded Colonel Russell in this post. Having fortified myself with these names, the next time I went up to the Viceroy, I broached the matter with him. When I mentioned Colonel Russell's name, he said, "Oh, my dear, I hope you approve of him, I knew him when I was Governor of Madras and I think he is an excellent officer. " I told him I was prepared to recommend Colonel Russell, but that I wanted to mention in my recommendation the names of two or three