Mountbatten planned to carve up India into a dozen territories
Documentary reveals how Viceroy of India’s original proposal went against advice of senior advisers
LORD MOUNTBATTEN originally planned to divide India between more than a dozen provincial governments, a TV documentary has revealed.
The late Viceroy of India ignored the advice of his advisers and revealed his proposal to the Hindu leader of the nationalist movement Jawaharlal “Pandit” Nehru.
But after a lukewarm reception, Vappala Pangunni Menon, Mountbatten’s chief aide, radically re-drew the 1947 Partition map, creating the two dominions we know today.
The Partition, which created the separate republics of India and Pakistan, sparked widespread violence between Hindus and Muslims, leading to millions of deaths and one of the biggest refugee crises in world history. Speaking in a forthcoming Channel 4 programme, India 1947: Partition in
Menon’s grandson Lakshman, said: “The events in Shimla in May 1947 are [of ] vital importance in the story of the partition because they resulted in the geographical map of the world changing.
“For some extraordinary reason, going against the advice of my grandfather, going against the advice of all his other senior advisers, Mountbatten decided to show [the original plan] to Nehru. Much as my grandfather predicted, Nehru spent the night in a fury.
“My grandfather received urgent summons to Viceroy Lodge. When he arrived, he found Lady Mountbatten holding Mountbatten’s hand, both looking completely shattered.
“It was at this point that my grandfather said: ‘ Would you like me to flesh out my alternative plan?’ Mountbatten agreed.
“Armed with a bottle of whisky and several packets of cigarettes, my grandfather duly produced the plan, handed it to Mountbatten who gave it to Nehru to read.”
The new plan differed radically from Plan Balkan as it was originally known: instead of transferring power to a dozen or more provincial governments, India would be split into two dominions, India and Pakistan.
The revised plan was met with “enormous relief ” by Nehru who then agreed to the Menon plan. Mountbatten was ecstatic that a proposal had been accepted.
“Mountbatten being Mountbatten, immediately took credit for it,” said Mr Menon. “And that is the plan that has come down to be known as the Mountbatten plan. In point of fact, Mountbatten had nothing whatsoever to do with it at all, it was VP Menon, it was his plan.”
Mountbatten went on to offer Menon the highest level of knighthood then available within the Indian order. But he declined, later telling his daughterin-law, “How could I accept a knighthood for being the man who devised the partition of my country?”
According to the Channel 4 documentary, Mountbatten – who was a mentor to the Prince of Wales – was biased towards Nehru from the moment they met. But while he favoured Nehru, an old Harrovian and Cambridge graduate, who led the National Congress Party, he was dismissive of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, leader of the All-India Muslim League.
‘Mountbatten decided to show [the original plan] to Nehru, [who then] spent the night in a fury’
After meeting both men, he described Nehru as “most sincere” while he thought Jinnah, who went on to become the first governor-general of Pakistan, as being in a most “frigid, haughty and disdainful frame of mind”. He later called him a “psychopathic case”.
India 1947: Partition in Colour is on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm.