Secrets from 1947: How Edwina Mountbatten, Nehru and Patel shaped Partition plan
Secrets from 1947: How Edwina Mountbatten, Nehru and Patel shaped Partition plan
Team TOI Plus
Jun 27, 2025, 13:05 IST IST
In this gripping extract from historian Sam Dalrymple's 'Shattered Lands', the last days of the Raj come alive — through secret liaisons, high-stakes diplomacy, and bitter rivalries that shaped the final act of India's Partition
Back in New Delhi, Mountbatten was aware of Nehru's influence over Britain's Labour government and he placed extra importance on this relationship, seeking out the Congressman the very same day as his audience with Bikaner and Bhopal.
'In Mountbatten's view Nehru was extremely frank and fair,' recorded [Allen] Campbell-Johnson [served as press attaché to Lord Mountbatten during his time as Viceroy of India]. At the end of the interview, as Nehru was about to take his leave, Mountbatten said to him, 'Mr Nehru, I want you to regard me not as the last Viceroy winding up the British Raj, but as the first to lead the way to the new India.' Nehru turned, looked intensely moved, smiled and then said, 'Now I know what they mean when they speak of your charm being so dangerous.'
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