The British Imperial Establishment, Post Imperial Era, and the ‘Churchillian’ World View, 1945-2016. (Adjustments & Challenges in Contemporary British Diplomatic Strategy)

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only
an attempt on the part of the Viceroy to enter into the fears and hopes that
occupied the Indian
leaders’ minds. In his exploration Lord Mountbatten was least
successful in respect of the League.
“I will enter the discussion on one condition
only, “34
Mohammed Ali Jinnah said to the Viceroy, in the opening conversation
of his first meeting. Lord
Mountbatten interrupted Jinnah at once and said to the
Muslim League leader “Mr. Jinnah, I am not
prepared to discuss conditions or,
indeed, the present situation until I have had the chance of making
your
acquaintance and knowing more about youself.”35 Very
little was achieved in the
meetings between the last Viceroy and Jinnah. This was as a result of
Jinnah’s
uncompromising manner and his lack of experience in handling hard
negotiations.
However, the Viceroy was significantly successful in dealing with
the Congress.

Lord
Mountbatten, within two weeks of his arrival in India in March 1947,
concluded that “the need for a
solution was much more pressing than it had
appeared to be in London, and that the time limit of June
1948, far from not
allowing enough time, was too remote.”36 The
Viceroy, therfore, advanced the
date of withdrawal to August 1947. By taking such action the Viceroy
prevented
a bloody civil war in the Indian sub-continent. This included proceeding with a
partition
plan to accommodate the Muslim League’s demand, by creating the state
of Pakistan.

To
supervise partition, both the Congress and the Muslim League joined in
a temporary administration. In the
beginning of June the partition plan for the two
new states of India and Pakistan was formally made
public. In July 1947, the
India Independence Act was rushed through the Parliament in the
United
Kingdom. On 15th August 1947 India and Pakistan gained their independence.
Pakistan was
formed out of East Bengal, the western Punjab, Sind and
Baluchistan. About 80,000,000 people eventually
found themselves in Pakistan
and 320, 000, 000 in India. There was a massive migration of Hindus
from

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