Mountbatten thought partition was 'unreal'

New Delhi, July 20: Lord Mountbatten, the last British Viceroy, thought Partition was ''completely unreal, crazy and unworkable'', but he brought independence forward by nine months because he was ''desperate that Indians should take on government''.

This has been revealed by Lady Pamela Hicks, the youngest daughter of Lord Mountbatten, in an interview to Karan Thapar's 'India Tonight' programme for CNBC, to be telecast on Monday.

Lady Pamela also sought to refute the contention of British historian Andrew Roberts that by bringing independence forward, Lord Mountbatten made Partition inevitable.

''It's very easy to be in opposition, to shout, to want all this and that. But when the reality of government faces you, you find out exactly how difficult it is. For them (Indians) to have to cope with their own problems was really essential.'' Another reason why independence and partition was brought forward was because ''all the Indian leaders were adamant that it should be a very short time limit...all the Indian leaders were clamouring for it in the same way. It wasn't just my father.'' She said Jinnah was determined to have his Pakistan and that was going to happen, ''but it made it all completely unreal, crazy and unworkable''.

She also rebutted the charge that the British ''cut and ran from India'' and ''by failing to use British troops after August 15, 1947 to put down the killing and rioting, the British were more concerned with saving their own face than saving Hindu, Muslim and Sikh lives.'' ''I take great exception to cut and run...somebody thought that my father was anxious to get back to the navy. Of course, he loved the navy...But once he took on the job there was no question that he was going to cut and run in order to return to his beloved navy. He wanted to work for the best of India and Pakistan.'' Lady Pamela, whose just-released book ''India Remembered'' has sparked a controversy because of references to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's personal and political lives, dismissed charges that her father was pro-Indian and anti-Pakistani and, in particular, denied claims that he influenced Cyril Radcliffe to change the Punjab boundary to benefit India.

She revealed that her father was ''bitterly'' disappointed not to become Governor General of both India and Pakistan. She also disclosed that her mother, Edwina Mountbatten, had opposed his decision to accept Governor Generalship of only India.

He agreed to do so after special persuasion by Indian leaders, who pleaded that they needed him.

''He assumed...that he would be the Governor General of both and that Nehru would be the Prime Minister of India and Jinnah would become Prime Minister of Pakistan.

''When it became obvious that Jinnah announced that he is going to be Governor General himself then, for my father, it was a terrible problem whether to stay or not,'' she said.

Lady Pamela was asked about the criticism made by Roberts that Lord Mountbatten had not allowed British troops to be used for operational duties after August 15, 1947. For instance, British troops did not intervene in cities like Lahore, where the British Black Watch regiment was garrisoned, even though the city was burning and Muslims and Sikhs were killing each other.

''I don't think there would have been nearly enough troops surely, up there, to have really controlled it...there were not enough troops in India at that time to control it,'' she replied.

About her father's disappointment on not becoming Governor General of both India and Pakistan, she said her mother Edwina had anticipated he would be accused of favouring India and Pakistan.

''Jinnah repulsed him and wouldn't have him otherwise he would have very much liked to have been supervising or a counsellor to Pakistan as much as to India, she said.

It really floored him when he found that the Qaid-e-Azam was going to take that position himself, she said. But he agreed to serve as only Governor General of India because Indian leaders persuaded him to stay on.

''They said to him, look you are not only a military man, you have also given independence to all these Asian countries after the Japanese were defeated...Just because Pakistan doesn' want you are you going to say you won't stay with us?'' Lady Pamela also asserted that her father had averted a civil war by announcing on arrival at Birla House on January 30, 1948, the day Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, that the assassin was a Hindu.

''I absolutely think so. He knew that if it was thought to be a Muslim there would have be an instant civil war.'' She said her father looked upon India as 'home'.

After returning from a 10-day visit to London in November 1947, for the marriage of his nephew, now the Duke of Edinburgh, and then Princess Elizabeth, now the Queen of Great Britain, Lord Mountbatten wrote back to his eldest daughter, Patricia, to say how lovely it was to be back home.

UNI