THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT AND THE PARTITION OF INDIAWhen Mountbatten saw this consensus emerging he did his best to
strike the iron while it was hot. Constitution-making was postponed and
the Government of India Act of 1935 was suitably revised so as to become
the Independence of India Act of 1947. The dates for the inaugurations of
two new dominions were fixed for 14 and 15 August 1947. An eminent
British jurist whose name had been suggested by Jinnah was commissioned
to draw the boundary lines. Mountbatten saw to it that these lines were
kept secret until after the inauguration of the two dominions. Perhaps he
thought that by conducting the operation under anaesthetic the patient
would get over it more easily, and by the time he awoke he would be
reconciled to what had happened. In fact, Mountbatten was so sure of this
that he took leave and went to the mountains after the inaugurations and
was taken by surprise when a storm of violence swept the Panjab once the
border line became known. The Sikhs in particular—enraged that their
region of settlement had been cut right down the middle—took violent
revenge on their Muslim countrymen and thus provoked another round of
retribution in which many of them died, too.
Mountbatten was in trouble. Initially, he had agreed to stay on as
governor general of both India and Pakistan, but Jinnah had insisted on
becoming governor general of Pakistan and it was only at the request of
Nehru that Mountbatten changed his mind and agreed to stay on as
governor general of India alone. Now he could no longer control the
situation on the other side of the border line which he had disguised so
ingeniously until the last minute. Violence in the Panjab was just the first
challenge; the next followed immediately.
Gurdaspur district in the Panjab had been awarded to India and this
meant that the princely state of Kashmir had a direct link with India.
Kashmir had a Muslim majority but a Hindu maharaja who dragged his
feet when he was expected to accede to one dominion or the other.
Preoccupied with the fate of British India, the cabinet mission had not
given much thought to the princely states and Mountbatten had
announced the ‘Lapse of Paramountcy’ quite suddenly. The Pakistan award
and the transfer of power to two dominions did not affect the princes.
‘Plan Balkan’ was still applicable as far as they were concerned and this
provided them with a good bargaining position. Of course, only a few of
them could actually contemplate independence and use this as a bargaining
counter; Kashmir was placed in the most advantageous position in this
respect. Pakistan tried to help the maharaja of Kashmir to make up his
mind by sending armed rebels across the border. But instead of coming to
terms with Pakistan the maharaja appealed to India for assistance.
Mountbatten insisted on accession before such assistance could be given
and the maharaja signed on the dotted line.
The fat was in the fire. Mountbatten had wished to avoid taking sides,
but the Kashmir crisis brought him down on the side of India with a