Humour at council meetings

Lahore, Friday, November 21, 1924

Who says that the proceedings of our Legislative Councils are not enlivened by occasional flashes of humour, even though the humour may be of the unconscious variety? In our own council, at any rate, such flashes are by no means wanting, and so long as there is even one man in the council like Chaudhri Duli Chand, there will, we are confident, be no lack of them. On one single day, this redoubtable champion of rural interests put three questions, each of which was a perfect gem in the way of exhibition of humour of this variety. Here was one: “Is the government aware that the Hindu Press, with the exception of a few papers, represents the views and sentiments of a small minority? Is the government aware that the few educated leaders of the rural Hindus entertain fears that the clamour of this minority through their Press may not mislead the government to the detriment of the rural majority? If so, what does the government intend to do in the matter?” Unhappily, the Chief Secretary, who evidently does not include an appreciation of humour among his many gifts, put an unkind extinguisher upon the member’s ardour by saying that he was asking not for information but for an expression of the opinion. Chand also asked the government to state whether it was a fact that “the Press which represents the views of the urban Hindus is not much perused by the rural Hindus,” and if so, what the government intended to do “in order to ensure that all government advertisements intended for agriculturists should be sent to other papers which circulate among the agriculturists.”