My Mother — Page 67
’s Residence with Me 67 I was re-elected unopposed in 1930 to the Punjab Legislative Council. About the same time His Majesty’s Government convened a Round Table Conference in London on Indian Constitutional Reforms. I was nominated as one of the British Indian delegates. The Governor of the Punjab, Sir Geoffrey de Montmorency, sent for me and tried to persuade me to accept office as a minister, but I told him I would prefer to go to the Round Table Conference. The opening of the conference in St. James’s Palace was a gala affair. Though the Indian National Congress had refused to partici pate, all other interests—Princely and British Indian— were well represented. The Muslim delegation was led by His Highness the Aga Khan and included such distinguished person- alities as Mr. Muhammad Ali Jinnah; the Ali brothers (Maulana Shaukat Ali and Maulana Muhammad Ali); Sir Muhammad Shafi and his daughter, Begum Shah Nawaz; Sir Ahmad Saeed Khan, Nawab of Chhattari; Sir Syed Sultan Ahmad; Sir Abdul Halim Ghaznavi; Nawab Sir Abdul Qayyum Khan; and several others. It was a privilege to be associated with the representatives of the princely order and of British India, and to work under the lead- ership of that most gracious personality, His Highness the Agha Khan, from whom I became the recipient of numerous favours in the course of the succeeding years. The conference was adjourned in January 1931. In April 1931, I was appointed Senior Crown Counsel in the Delhi Conspiracy Trial and took up residence in Delhi. divided her time between Daska, Lahore, and Delhi.