A Nation in Making/Chapter 35

​35

My Work as Minister—(Continued)

The policy that I followed as Minister of Local Self-government was the steady and progressive Indianization of the departments under my charge. I placed efficiency in the forefront of my administrative ideals. Other things being equal the Indian was to be preferred. I could do little in this respect; but the policy was there, definitely recognized and steadily followed whenever there was an opportunity. At times there were difficulties, and even opposition, but, with the support of the Governor, I was able to overcome them. The most striking case of the kind was the appointment of Mr. S. N. Mullick as Chairman of the Corporation. In 1921, on Mr. Payne, the permanent Chairman of the Corporation, taking leave, I appointed Mr. J. N. Gupta to officiate for him. Mr. Gupta was at the time Commissioner of the Burdwan Division, and in that capacity had done excellent service. The point to be noted is that this was the first time an Indian member of the Civil Service was appointed to this high office.

But a still more notable departure was made when, Mr. Gupta having taken leave for reasons of health, I had to find his successor. I left the ordinary groove and offered the appointment to Mr. Surendranath Mullick, who was a non-official and an elected member of the Corporation, as also of the Legislative Council. There was opposition offered from two different standpoints. Mr. Surendranath Mullick had from his place in the Legislative Council often opposed the Government. Would not the offer made to him be taken as a bribe? To that my reply was, 'Don't they do such things in England, which furnishes us with the models of conduct in these matters? Of course they do.' The answer was quite enough for me, but perhaps not for my objector. But that did not trouble me.

The next objection raised was that Mr. Surendranath Mullick, distinguished as he was as a lawyer and a debater, was unfamiliar with the details of municipal administration and the inner workings of the municipal machinery. To this I said, 'What did Mr. Lloyd George know about the English financial system when he became ​Chancellor of the Exchequer? There are the permanent officials of the Corporation, who will furnish Mr. Mullick with all the details that he need know.' What is wanted in the head of a great department like the Corporation is a broad outlook, the capacity to formulate policies and to master details, so as to guide and instruct the permanent officials. These views commended themselves to His Excellency the Governor, whose entire approval I had in making this appointment.

At first the appointment was an officiating one, and the sanction of the Government of India was all that was needed. But after a few months Mr. Payne, the permanent incumbent of the office, definitely resigned, and his successor had to be appointed. And here it was not all plain sailing. The Chairmanship of the Corporation was one of the appointments reserved for the Indian Civil Service, and I had to move the Government of India and the Secretary of State to obtain their sanction to its being withdrawn from the reserved list. I had no difficulty in obtaining it. As a matter of fact, the appointment had in any case to be removed from the reserved list, as under the new Municipal Act it has been broken up into two separate appointments, both elected by the Corporation.

Mr. Mullick's conspicuous success as Chairman undoubtedly facilitated his confirmation in his office. The Chairmanship of the Corporation is one of the most important administrative offices in the province, and Mr. Mullick has vindicated the capacity of our people for the higher executive responsibilities. I received the thanks of the General Committee of the Corporation, and, indeed, the appointment evoked general approbation, and, in a more or less subdued form, of even the Extremist Press. They recognized my courage and were willing to admit that it was a departure. But it was only a temporary aberration from their settled attitude of uniform disapproval. Soon the fit was over, and they relapsed into their old ways, seeing nothing good in me or my administration, or in the Government.

Mr. Mullick was the subject of universal idolization. Parties and entertainments were got up in his honour—here, there and every- where. All of a sudden the discovery was made by an apparently somnolent public that there was living among them, almost un- known to them and in obscurity, a highly meritorious citizen whose worth they had not appreciated, or to whom they had not rendered sufficient homage. A prophet is not honoured in his own country; but even this time-honoured saying, sanctified by immemorial ​experience. was falsified by a popular demonstration held within a mile of his residence in the South Suburban School. But how changed is all this now! And how rapid and sudden has been the transformation! It seems as if a whirlwind has swept over the pre- vailing temper of local public opinion, dissipating its old colourings and transforming it beyond recognition. The idol of yesterday is the demon of to-day, ruthlessly trodden in the dust. His great merits and eminent services - his vindication of the capacity of our people in an untrodden path of administrative work - are all forgotten and effaced from the public memory; and, in an electoral contest with a Swarajist candidate for his seat in the Bengal Legislative Council, he was defeated, apparently for no other reason than that he had recently accepted a Ministerial portfolio in the newly constituted Government of Bengal.

To work the Reforms and to be a member of the Government is, in the estimation of the Swarajists, an unforgivable sin. Logically, therefore, to be a member of the Legislative Council must be sinful, though perhaps the degree of criminality may be a shade less; for the Legislative Council is a part of the machinery of Government, and the member is a limb of that machinery. But neither logic nor common sense, not even the ordinary considerations of patriotic expediency, dominate the counsels of Swarajism. They are out to destroy the Reforms, and they must hound the ministers out of office. Without ministers the transferred subjects could not be administered, there would be a deadlock, and the Reforms would be wrecked. But that does not mean that there would be no Government. It may mean a reversion to the old bureaucratic system, untempered by even a partially popular Government. The Swarajists, however, believe that it would mean the immediate grant of full responsible government under the overwhelming pressure of an irresistible compulsion. A recent debate in the House of Lords and the whole trend of British public opinion should suffice to dispel this delusion.

Mr. Surendranath Mullick having resigned in order to accept a ministerial office, I had to appoint his successor, as I was still Minister in charge of Local Self-government. It was a matter of some difficulty, as the appointment was for only a few months. There were the claims of Mr. C. C. Chatterjee, Deputy Chairman, a tried and experienced officer, quite familiar with all the details of municipal administration. As the appointment was really a temporary one, I should, if I followed the office precedent, have ​given him the officiating post. But I had inaugurated a new departure, and I was not prepared to go back upon it. The exigencies of my policy demanded that I should follow it up. I accordingly appointed, with the approval of the Governor, an elected commissioner (Rai Haridhan Dutt Bahadur) who had over twenty years' experience of municipal work, as Mr. Mullick's successor. There was some little opposition, but my view prevailed.

It is worthy of mention, that as a member of the Legislative Council, Rai Haridhan Dutt Bahadur was often opposed to the Government. This was true, perhaps even in a more emphatic sense, of Mr. Surendranath Mullick. But I never allowed opposition, if honest, to stand in the way of Government's choice to high office, if the person selected was otherwise qualified by character and ability. Such selections were evidence of the solicitude of Government to utilize the services of the ablest and the most qualified. They were bound to have a healthy moral effect even upon those critics of Government who saw nothing good in the Reforms.

I made no secret of my policy to Indianize the departments under my control, but with absolute fairness to vested interests and without any detriment to the public service. I applied it to the Corporation, with the full concurrence of the Government as a whole, and the same policy was extended to the Medical Department, where its application was not altogether free from difficulties. At the time when I took charge of the Medical Department, there was an outstanding question of some importance. The Secretary of State (Mr. Montagu) wanted to know the Minister's views with regard to the numerical strength of the cadre of the Indian Medical Service on the Bengal establishment. I wired to say that there should be no expansion of the number employed or of the reserved posts in Bengal, and that I would examine the matter and submit a detailed statement of my views later on. I consulted the Surgeon- General, the late Major-General Robinson and one or two friends, and drew up a scheme, which I laid before my Standing Committee for consideration and an expression of their opinion.

The Standing Committee are an advisory body who, according to the convention that has grown up, are consulted by members of the Government in matters within their scope and jurisdiction. The Member or Minister is not bound by their views, though undoubtedly, being his constitutional advisers, he must treat such advice with deference. His obligation in this respect is moral rather than legal. The Standing Committees play a useful part in the Reform ​Scheme. They serve to liberalize the administrative measures of the Ministers and infuse into them the colouring and the weight of popular opinion. The Standing Committee discussed the scheme that I had drawn up—and for which the responsibility was entirely mine—and they accepted it. The scheme was from the Indian point of view a cautious but definite advance; and the Secretary of State sanctioned it with a small reservation.

The sanction came nearly a couple of years after I had submitted my note, but it would be scarcely fair to raise a complaint on this score, in view of the important and complicated interests concerned, and the various departments through which it had to pass, not to speak of the objections raised. The gist of my recommendations was the reduction of appointments reserved for the Indian Medical Service from forty to twenty-four, including the withdrawal of certain appointments in the Medical College from the reserved list. The proposals elicited a strong protest from the head of the Medical Department, and a rejoinder from me, in the course of which I still further elaborated my policy. I said:

While admitting the great debt that the Government and the public owe to the Indian Medical Service for their splendid work, I disputed the position taken up that 'Service conditions are the best guarantee of administrative success'. I observed:

As a part of this policy I appointed Sir Koylas Chunder Bose as Honorary Physician, and Major Hussain Surahwardy as Honorary Surgeon, of the Medical College Hospital. Another departure ​in a similar direction had been made a few months earlier by the appointment of Dr. U. N. Brahmachari and Dr. K. K. Chatterjee as additional physician and surgeon, respectively, to the Medical College Hospitals. This was the first time in the history of the Medical College that Indian medical officers in the grade of Assistant Surgeons were appointed to these posts. In referring to these facts, a leading English newspaper observed at the time:

That must be the ideal of every true citizen of the Empire. The Imperial civic spirit must have its roots in local patriotism. The hearth and the home, the province and the country, are the centres of those patriotic affections which radiate forth and include in their comprehensive sweep the larger and wider interests of the Empire. And what is the Empire, but the Commonwealth of a congeries of self-governing nations, each protecting and safeguarding its special interests, with justice to all, and with an eye to the solidarity of the Imperial system? That is the creed of the party to which I belong. It ensures domestic freedom and local autonomy, combined with Imperial unity, the surest guarantee for peace at home and of prosperity abroad.

Before I leave this subject, I desire to call attention to an important constitutional question which I raised in connexion with the appointment of Indian Medical Service officers in Bengal. Hitherto these appointments, though paid for by the Government of Bengal, used to be made by the Government of India. I pointed out that the procedure involved an infraction of my constitutional position. I was responsible to the Legislative Council for the administration of the transferred departments under my charge, and the personnel of those departments was an important factor in their administration, for which I could not be held responsible unless mine was the determining voice. I claimed that these appointments should be made by me, subject to the advice of the Government of India, information being given to that Government in every case. The claim has been practically admitted, and the justice of my contention upheld.

As Minister, I claim to have given an impetus to the establishment of medical schools in Bengal. Of Arts colleges for higher education, we have enough and perhaps more than enough. I ​myself have helped this movement by the establishment of the Ripon College. But there is a woeful lack of effort for the expan- sion of medical education in the province. Medical education is certainly more expensive, needing more outlay, initial and recur- ring; but the urgent need for it cannot be gainsaid. We have in Bengal one qualified medical practitioner for over forty thousand of our people; while in England they have one for eighteen hundred of the population.

In India, public benefactions do not flow so readily towards the expansion of medical relief as in other civilized countries; and yet it would be grossly unfair to charge our people with callousness to human suffering or the lack of charity for public purposes. Look at the princely benefactions, the gift of past generations, from the proceeds of which the poor are fed, the learned are supported, and the ministrations of religion nobly upheid. Public opinion has to be guided and led into this channel; and the Government should honour the distinguished men whose benefactions have helped to widen the area of medical education. I am afraid this has not always been done in recent times; and the lack of encouragement has stifled the flow of charity in this useful channel.

During my time, and in spite of financial stringency, the founda- tion-stone was laid of a medical school at Mymensingh; and the Government stands definitely pledged to establish similar schools, one after another, at Chittagong, Berhampore and Jalpaiguri. The impulse has been created, but it needs to be stimulated. I repeat that it is not done to the extent that it should be. Government honours, despite Non-Co-operation, are still appreciated; and the Raja is still somebody in the mofussil; and the Rai Bahadur too, only in a lesser degree. These distinctions afford a stimulus to the beneficence of the wealthy, and they have the further effect of ranging them definitely on the side of the Government. It is no use telling them that the Government is pleased. Government should afford practical proof of its approbation. Not words, but deeds, are wanted.

One of the familiar ways of attacking the Ministers was to charge them with inaction, or to father upon them measures for which they were in no way responsible. I have already referred to the Town Hall meeting where the Ministers were attacked for supporting the deportations. As a matter of fact, they knew nothing at all about them. The orders were issued by the Executive Govern​ment on their own responsibility, in the exercise of powers with which they were fully invested. Let us take another instance. A grave situation was developed at Chandpur, an important railway station in East Bengal, owing to an influx of coolies from Assam, who had struck work and were returning to their homes. I was asked by some of my friends to run up to Chandpur, although the matter was one that did not concern my department, and the Government was already dealing with it. I went and saw Sir Henry Wheeler, since Governor of Behar, who was then in charge of the department. As he himself was going down to Chandpur, he did not think it necessary that I should do so. Sir Henry Wheeler went down to Chandpur. He stayed there for days together and made an elaborate report. But our critics were not satisfied, and the matter was discussed at a meeting of the Legislative Council. Mr. Kissory Mohan Chowdhury, a member of Council representing the Rajshahi Division in North Bengal, charged us with doing nothing. He said:

As soon as the hon. member sat down, I got up and challenged his statement. I said:

My friend climbed down by saying 'I did not know it.'

One other incident in this connexion, and I close this chapter of my reminiscences.

In October 1922, a disastrous flood overwhelmed North Bengal, causing havoc and loss of life over an extensive area. The Government was then at Darjeeling, and I was there as a member of the Government, having fixed Darjeeling as the place for the meetings ​of the Select Committee on the Calcutta Municipal Bill. Some friends who had come up to Darjeeling had seen, as they passed up the raшway line, the terrible havoc that had been caused, and they pressed me to visit the affected area. Here again I was confron- ted with the same difficulty as at Chandpur, the department dealing with the matter not being within my jurisdiction. I felt the strongest inclination to visit the affected area and see if I could do anything. The medical needs, so far as 1 could ascertain, had already been supplied, but I felt that my presence would encourage our men and perhaps give me useful information. Having made up my mind I waited upon His Excellency, in order to obtain his permission, which was readily granted.

I went down on the following day, accompanied by some friends, three of whom were members of the Legislative Council. We trollied twenty miles under a burning sun, the land on both sides of the railway line being submerged, with carcases of dead animals floating here and there on the water. The area was infected, and it was a dismal and painful sight. The Magistrate, Mr. Reid, was good enough to accompany me and give me such information as I wanted.

I returned on the following day to Darjeeling, and immediately hurried to attend a meeting of the Select Committee on the Calcutta Municipal Bill. The strain was too much for me. I had an attack of fever followed by broncho-pneumonia, which at one time caused grave apprehension to my medical friends, whose kindness and care I can never forget. Sir Nilratan Sircar, foremost among our Indian medical practitioners, hurried up from Calcutta to Darjee- ling. Col. Wilson, then acting as Surgeon-General, Major Hussain Surahwardy and Major K. K. Chatterjee were among those who were untiring in their care and attention of me.

Here let me say a word about Sir Nilratan Sircar, whose many- sided activities bear testimony to the ardour of his public spirit. He is not merely a doctor. An educationist, a public man, a social reformer, a pioneer in the domain of the industries, the range of his work extends far beyond the limits of the great profession of which he is an ornament. And his life, too, is an object-lesson to his countrymen. From the Campbell Medical School he passed on to the Calcutta Medical College, and it would be no exaggeration to say that he is one of the most brilliant products of his 'Alma Mater'. My case was a bad one but fortunately I recovered, my sound constitution helping the doctors, for broncho-pneumonia is ​a serious matter at the age of seventy-four. But there was a section of the Press that saw nothing good in an act of sacrifice on the part of a Minister, even though it might have brought him near to death's door. In reply to them my friends who went down with me to North Bengal addressed the following letter to the Press: