The Book of Life

her autobiography. In response to India’s demand for independence, Churchill had once declared that he had not become the Prime Minister of the British Empire to preside over its liquidation. It was, therefore, no surprise that we did not love him. What was surprising, however, was that when he finally met my brother (Jawaharlal Nehru) after the formation of the Interim Government, the two developed mutual regard and spoke openly. When they parted, Churchill paid Nehru this memorable tribute: “I want to say that you have conquered two of man’s greatest enemies—hate and fear.”—Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, The Scope of Happiness: a Personal Memoir, 1979, p. 283 HOW DIFFICULT, HOW EASY I once met a man who held a prestigious university degree. During our conversation he said, “Maulana, you publish an English magazine, but the English in it is incorrect.” I asked him to give an example. He was holding the May 1986 issue of Al-Risala. On the back cover was an English article (published in both Urdu and English). It read: “To spread the word of God is the highest form of charity. It appeals to the mind, the heart, the soul. That being the earnest endeavour of this magazine, how noble-spirited it would be of you, dear readers, if you sent it on regularly to