The Reminiscences of Zafrulla Khan — Page 55
55 REMINISCENCES OF SIR MUHAMMAD ZAFRULLA KHAN own speeches where he has advocated 'dominion status for India,' and he has just waived that aside maintaining that status is one thing and function is another. India, he says, already has dominion status. India was a signatory to the Treaty of Versailles; India is a member of the League of Nations. That is dominion status. But function is quite a different matter and India, he says, is not yet ready for it. " Sir Samuel suggested that if I decided to ask any questions of Mr. Churchill, I should not ask him questions on generalities but should try to draw his attention to specific aspects of the Indian problem, e. g. , what progress had already been made in the exercise of responsibility, a criterion which he himself had put forward as determining whether a substantial advance should now be made towards self-government. That was a very helpful suggestion, and I tried to take advantage of it when my turn came. When Mr. Churchill was confronted with something on which he had to make an admission, he had no hesitation in doing so but as the questions proceeded and he became wise to their trend he began like a parliamentarian, to be less definite in his answers so that nothing could be built on them. On one such occasion I put the question to him a second time; the answer was still not quite precise. So I said to him, "Mr. Churchill, you see, I am under a disadvantage. English is not my mother tongue and I have twice failed to make my meaning clear. Will you permit me to make a third attempt?" He assented politely and I put the question to him hedged round with "ifs" and "provideds," so that he should be brought to face the point that I was trying to make. He finally answered it. And we carried on like that until the end. I examined him for about an hour the first day, the committee then adjourned and I continued my examination for another hour the next morning. I took care to show him all the respect and deference to which he was undoubtedly entitled as an eminent statesman. I am sure Mr. Churchill appreciated that and when I finished he addressed the chairman and said, "My Lord Chairman, may I be permitted to say that I have not noticed that Mr. Zafrulla Khan suffers any disadvantage from any lack of knowledge of the English language," which I thought was extremely gracious of him. When his evidence was concluded on the fourth day, he got up and came over to me, shook me by the hand, and with a twinkle and a smile, said, "You have given me the two most difficult hours before this committee. " That made us friends. Later when I visited England during