Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy
On the 10th February 1947, Prime Minister Clement Atlee made a historic speech to the Commons chamber stating that India would be granted independence by June the following year. He also confirmed the appointment of Viscount Mountbatten as Viceroy whose responsibilities would be to oversee Britain leaving India & facilitate constitutional self-government.Mountbatten had been a naval commander throughout World War Two but he found the choppy waters of Indian politics more difficult to navigate. Nehru & Jinnah's adherence to the wishes of their respective parties tested his powers of mediation, ultimately leading to his decision to hasten the Government's exit strategy.In a climate of increasing communal violence and repatriation Mountbatten decreed that the transfer of power and the partition to create the states of India and Pakistan would come into effect on the 15th August. He would remain as Governor-General of India for another tumultuous year before returning to the familiar environs of the Admiralty.
Title
House of Commons Hansard, 10th Feb 1947
Date
1947
Catalogue number
Parliamentary Archives, House of Commons Hansard, Series 5, Vol 433