The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 4
4 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN to speciality in any subject and so two remnants were left to me. I call them remnants because nobody else was interested in those subjects. One was Roman law, and the other Criminal Procedure. There was no connection between the two, except, as I have said, that nobody else seemed to be keen on taking them on. So, when the Principal turned to me and asked whether I would take them on, I signified my assent. The teaching of these two subjects was, perhaps, easier, in a way, than the teaching of other subjects for there was little change by way of amendment in the criminal law and, of course, none could take place in Roman law. Thus the preparation that I made in the first year proved adequate during the five years that I taught in the University Law College. The hours were convenient: 8:30 to 10:00, so that one was free by the time the courts started, and I could attend to any work in court or go back to my editorial work. Gradually both my interest in, and my own inclination towards, my practice increased; but for some years my income remained steady, for, I first gave up the law lectureship and then gave up the editorship of the Indian Cases and concentrated more and more on my practice. In the meantime, I had begun to be interested in public affairs. I do not think I have at any time been much of a politician in the strict sense of the word, which will perhaps be appreciated as my career unfolds itself. My first contact with public life was in November or December, 1917, when the then Secretary of State for India, Mr. Edwin Samuel Montagu visited India and along with the then Viceroy, Lord Chelmsford, received representative deputations on behalf of different associations, societies and communities in India bearing on the next steps on Constitutional Reforms in India. On the 20th of August, 1917, Mr. Montagu had made a declaration in London with regard to the advance that was contemplated, and he came over later to India in October or November to hear Indian views at first hand. I led the delegation of the Ahmadiyya Community and read out our address, setting forth our views. The result of the consultations that Mr. Montagu and Lord Chelmsford held together and with the leading public men in India was the Montagu-Chelmsford Scheme of Reforms, which was subsequently put into effect as the System of Dyarchy.