The presidential election

THE election of Ch Shahab-ud-din as President of the Punjab Legislative Council in the teeth of opposition from the overwhelming majority of the Hindu members and of the more progressive elements among the Mussalman members themselves ought to be an eye-opener to those who believe or affect to believe that the root of the political trouble in this province is the supposed aggressiveness of the Hindu politician, and especially the Hindu politician of what is sometimes contemptuously called the baniya variety. Here were two candidates, both Mussalmans and representatives of rural constituencies. All that the Hindu members of the council wanted was that the choice of its presidentship should fall upon the more desirable of the two candidates, or rather should not fall upon the candidate who had already in another and an analogous case made himself offensive and obnoxious to the non-Muslim communities generally and Hindu in particular, as well as some among his own co-religionists. This was not too great a thing to ask, but even this small mercy was denied to them. We need not enquire who pulled the strings from behind in favour of Ch Shahab-ud-din and against Mian Shah Nawaz. Everybody in this province knows it, and those who may not know have only to ask themselves why the Sikh members as a body as well as the Hindu Jat members of the council supported the candidature of Ch Shahab-ud-din to get the answer. If the Sikh members think that they have advanced the interests of their community by taking this step, they are welcome to their delusion.