The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 40
40 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN weeks, till he was awarded the State Scholarship and proceeded to England for higher studies. While in England he was selected for the ICS and was now Joint Secretary in the Department. The offices where this particular ministry was located were not very far, a five-minutes' walk from the house. He came along and we greeted each other and I said, "Mr. Ram Chandra, you taught me a little of mathematics and now you have to teach me the arithmetic of this place. " So he gave me some further information on the mechanics of the department. Presently, there was a telephone call from Mr. Reed to Nadir Shah asking him when should he call and when should the other officers in the department call. I might mention that a Member of the Governor- General's Executive Council was, so to speak, one of the galaxy of stars around the Viceroy. The Viceroy was the luminary of the political heaven of India, and he and the six Members of Council and the Commander-in-Chief exercised, subject only to the Control of the Secretary of State for India in London, absolute authority over the whole vast domain, which included not only what are today India and Pakistan but also Burma. Everybody looked up to the Members and the old traditions still applied in full force though there were now three Indian Members. The same deference and respect was shown to them as to the English members. Having been suddenly called to that position, I felt I had to safeguard myself against any tendency towards inflation of my ego. So I asked Nadir Shah to tell Mr. Reed that he was not required to call nor were the officers required to call, that I would be in my room in Gorton Castle next morning at 10 O'clock, and that I would be grateful if Mr. Reed would meet me in my room, and then take me round to each officer to whom I would introduce myself, and that I would follow that procedure through with the Assistant Secretaries, the Superintendents Assistants, and the clerks. This meant greeting and shaking hands with a few hundred people, but I was determined to carry it through. Nadir Shah protested, "Well, Sir, if these are your orders, I will tell Mr. Reed that, but it is not done! Officers call on the Member and that is the end of the business. Others, if they have any official business can ask for leave to come up, and they come up on business, but it is unthinkable that the Member should himself call on the officers, and not only on the officers, but also the non-Gazetted officers and the clerks and everybody. "