(Relatively way less written about Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India. Most of the history is either written from the biased eyes of India or Pakistan. Here how his mission was described factually in poetry by W.H. Auden, a British-American poet of that era, who witnessed the great partition sitting far away. The poem was written in 1966. As he said in the last line, fear of Lord Mountbatten came true and he was assassinated 13 years later of the poem (1979) but by his other enemy, IRA (Irish Republican Army).
Unbiased at least he was when he arrived on his mission,
Having never set eyes on the land he was called to partition
Between two peoples fanatically at odds,
With their different diets and incompatible gods.
“Time,” they had briefed him in London, “is short. It’s too late
For mutual reconciliation or rational debate:
The only solution now lies in separation.
The Viceroy thinks, as you will see from his letter,
That the less you are seen in his company the better,
So we’ve arranged to provide you with other accommodation.
We can give you four judges, two Moslem and two Hindu,
To consult with, but the final decision must rest with you.”
Having never set eyes on the land he was called to partition
Between two peoples fanatically at odds,
With their different diets and incompatible gods.
“Time,” they had briefed him in London, “is short. It’s too late
For mutual reconciliation or rational debate:
The only solution now lies in separation.
The Viceroy thinks, as you will see from his letter,
That the less you are seen in his company the better,
So we’ve arranged to provide you with other accommodation.
We can give you four judges, two Moslem and two Hindu,
To consult with, but the final decision must rest with you.”
Shut up in a lonely mansion, with police night and day
Patrolling the gardens to keep the assassins away,
He got down to work, to the task of settling the fate
Of millions. The maps at his disposal were out of date
And the Census Returns almost certainly incorrect,
But there was no time to check them, no time to inspect
Contested areas. The weather was frightfully hot,
And a bout of dysentery kept him constantly on the trot,
But in seven weeks it was done, the frontiers decided,
A continent for better or worse divided.
The next day he sailed for England, where he could quickly forget
The case, as a good lawyer must. Return he would not,
Afraid, as he told his Club, that he might get shot.
4 comments:
There is nothing in this poem not known or already written by Indians and Pakistanis He did not return but was the first Governer General of India
Of course the poet had no idea about his wife and Nehru or could not include in poem He was not biased He like other Britishers disliked Muslims No it was not two Muslims and two Hindus
So on the whole I am finding it hard to agree with you
It is said that he was well aware of his wife and Nehru's situation. Rather, it was a known plan on his part to influence Nehru. Jinnah was far above getting influenced by a woman.
He frequently lamented that it is hard to argue with the logic of Jinnah. He formerly declared that one person single-handedly wrote the whole history of the sub-continent, it was Jinnah, as mentioned by Damodar Sardesai in his book: India: The Definitive History".
Yes he was aware In any case he was given this job to hurry up the partition and that way he worked OK for his king Question I have for you is whether Nehru influenced him through his wife
On the other hand even if the Partition was delayed what good could result for Muslims? May be I do not fully understand the politics
However, when I was working in the Isle of Wight and he visited officially there I positively avoided this man. Being uncle of the queen he had some authoritative position over The Isle of Wight
I don't think Nehru was smart enough to play that game. He wanted to be the prime minister of United India. Gandhi tried to prevent partition by offering prime ministership to Jinnah.
Unfortunately, present-day Pakistan turned out to be a failure because of corrupt leaders. Now I think United India would have served better knowing how present government of India playing religion/Pakistan card to subdue minorities, ignite hate and perpetuate its rule. India is doing the same mistake that General Zia did in the 80s.
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