A NEW PORTENT 4J_
instinctively say to myself, * This is the decision of one
who has surrendered himself to God, and God never
guideth ill/ "
And again, " I have never found it easy to question his
decisions, for he refers all his problems to God and always
listens to His commands. After all I have but one standard
of measure and that is the measure of one's surrender
to God."
In 1937 the Congress decided to accept office in the
Provinces under the Government of India Act of 1935?
supplemented by certain assurances of the Viceroy,
The Khan brothers were precluded from taking part in
the elections as the externment order banning their entry
into the Frontier Province still stood, and even Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru was not allowed to enter the Frontier
Province to conduct the election campaign, while leaders
of the Muslim League from India were allowed all facili-
ties. The officials openly worked against the Khan bro-
thers and the Congress. In spite of it Dr. Khan Saheb
secured a thumping majority and was declared elected in
absentia. In September, 1937, a Congress Ministry was
formed in the Frontier' Province under his Premiership,
and the outlaws of yesterday became the party in power
in their land of birth.
But Badshah Khan, the Fakir (the recluse), did not
stand for election, nor did he join his brother's Ministry,
but chose instead to tread the hard and stony path of
service. He had become convinced that nothing but non-
violence, as inculcated by Gandhiji, could elevate his peo-
ple and raise them to their full moral stature. How deep
was his passion for service and his faith in non-violence
will be seen from the following statement of his recorded
in Young India :
" My non-violence has become almost a matter of faith with
me, I believed in Mahatma Gandhi's ahimsa before. But the
unparallelled success of the experiment in my province has made
me a confirmed champion of non-violence. God willing, I hope
never to see my province take to violence. We know only too
well the bitter results of violence from the blood-feuds which,
spoil our fair -name. We have an abundance of violence in our