Sir Muhammad Shall went on to say that Sir Chimanlal
had not defined what he meant by this last declaration. It was necessary, therefore, to explain what he himself understood was meant and what was in any case the intention of the Moslems. The Moslems would agree to joint electorates provided that their people in Bengal and the Punjab were represented in both Houses of the Legislative Council in proportion to their population in those two Provinces. " That," he added, " is our irreducible minimum." Thus Chimanlal Setalvad, so far as things have gone, has not been required to redeem the promise which he had given a few days before on behalf of himself and his Hindu colleagues that he would, if necessary, consent to a continuance of the Moslem separate electorates. That promise, however, which caused an excited and undue optimism at the moment remains on record. Altogether the Hindus have yielded more than anybody would have thought possible a few weeks ago. But the Moslems, even if they nominally abandon their special electorates, will save their substance. * * *- *
