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endeavour by his desire to rise above others in the
world's estimation. Appearances were sometimes
against him, and in spite of his leaning towards
the more refined amenities of life, his activities
seemed to remain confined within narrow bounds.
He once wrote to me that he regarded prayers as
the key of life—but these words may be variously
interpreted.
It seemed as though he could not remove his
gaze from the worldly ideal of life. Hence it was
suspected that his obsequious reverence of reli-
gious men and priests was not altogether uncon-
nected with personal hopes.
Now that he has gone to his rest, it makes me
sad to think of all this. I pray that he may rest
in peace.
When time at last brought the golden prize
within his reach—he was appointed ^dr-e-Azam
in 1937—who could say whether he was really
happy ? Who could say whether the prayers
of his well-wishers had done this, or whether it
was the attention of the mundane authorities
which he had gained by the conspicuous part he
had played as the Nizam's representative at the
Round Table Conference ? This naturally had
the effect of weakening whatever hesitation the
Nizam might have felt in selecting him for the
Presidentship of the Executive Council. As for
joining the Federation, neither could the Nizam
nor could Hyderabad be easy in mind until all the
consequences of joining it could be clearly known.