'Memoirs and Recollections of An Officer of the Indian Political Service' [‎48r] (95/156)

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to have inhabited the Continent of India. They are now almost extinct in their natural
sate, but a few speciments bred in captivity are to be found in the city zoo. In the
south-eastern corner of Kathiawar lies another mountain called Satrunjays, in the
State of Palitana, the slopes of which are covered by a veritable city of Jain Temples
of great antiquity. The really dedicated Jain visiting the shrines goes to great
lengths to maintain the religious tradition of his Sect of never taking the life of any
animal or insect. He ascends the steps of the roadway up the mountains, crawling on
all-fours, taking care to brush the next step up before placing any weight on it. To
guard against the inadvertent swallowing of a fly or other insect, the pilgrim covers
his mouth with a piece of muslin. Jains are, of course, strict vegetarians, eschewing
even the eating of eggs.
The two Christmases we spent in Kathiawar (1944 and 1945) were highlighted for us as
we formed part of the Resident’s party which was invited to spend the holiday period
as the guests of two of the more important Rulers. In 1944 wejentjjo Jamnagar, the
Capital of the State of Nawanagar, at the invitation of His E*fee«ency, the Jam Saheb
(Maharaja Sir Digvijaysinghji, G.C.I.E., K.C.S.I.) whose immediate predecessor had been
the famous cricketer Ranjit Singhji. The P^ s ?Ji^ Saheb also e * celled at bal1 game
sports of all kinds. We played golf on His feXS^-'-s own course, and tennis by
artificial light in the Palace courtyard. The Jam Saheb employed two full-time
European professionals - both prominent in international tennis before the war; one
Yugoslav (Kukulejvic) and the other a Swiss whose name was (I think) Meyer. There were
banquets, children's parties and small game shoots. The following year we went to
Junagadh State, where the Ruling Nawafa (it was a Muslim State) put his sea-side Palace
at the Resident's disposal. Here too there was excellent bathing, golf and shikar.
It was while I was playing golf one afternoon with Cyril Hancock, that my wife handed
to him a telegram which she had just decoded, informing him that he had been awarded the
K.C.I.E. at the early age of 47.
But these holidays were just interludes in the burden of work. The restrictions caused
by the war continued to weigh heavily on India on top of the military operations being
waged on her very frontiers against the Japanese Armies on the Burma front. In the con
text of restrictions, I recall one incident which could have had serious consequences
for one of the more important Prices of Kathiawar. He shall of course be nameless,
but he ruled over a state with a sea-port which did much trade with the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
Early in 1942 the Government of India had been compelled to introduce the rationing of
textiles. These restrictions hit even the poorest Indian family very hard. Whatever
their religious convictions, the Indian man or woman^s accustomed to wear voluminous
cotton garments; dhoties, lunghies, saries or pyjama^/, which entail the use of many
yards of cotton cloth. Suddenly the people found that the unlimited supplies of cheap
cloth,*to which they had been accustomed to buy and make up - especially for garments