Word: mountbatten
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...Constituent Assembly rose. Together they pledged themselves "at this solemn moment . . . to the service of India and her people. . . ." Nehru and Prasad struggled through the thousands of rejoicing Indians who had gathered outside to the Viceroy's House (now called the Governor General's House) where Viscount Mountbatten, who that day learned he would become an earl, awaited them. There, 32 minutes after Mountbatten had ceased to be a Viceroy,* Nehru and Prasad rather timidly, almost bashfully, told Mountbatten that India's Constituent Assembly had assumed power and would like him to be Governor General...
...people made it their day. After dawn half a million thronged the green expanse of the Grand Vista and parkways near the Government buildings of New Delhi. Wherever Lord and Lady Mountbatten went that day, their open carriage, drawn by six bay horses, was beset by happy, cheering Indians who swept aside police lines. A Briton received a popular ovation rarely given even to an Indian leader. "Mountbattenji ki jai [Victory to Mountbatten]," they roared, adding the affectionate and respectful suffix "ji" usually reserved for popular Indian leaders...
...then Nehru (who sometimes shows the instincts of a traffic policeman) harangued the crowd to be more orderly. Once he espied a European girl caught up in the swirl. She was Pamela Mountbatten, the Governor General's 18-year-old daughter. Nehru literally slugged his way through the crowd to rescue her, brought her to the platform...
...Residue. History, sloppy as usual, had decreed a fade-out rather than a blackout of the British Raj. No longer Viceroy, Mountbatten would become Governor General of Hindu India and chairman of the commission to split the nation's assets between Moslem Pakistan and Hindu India. Sir Patrick Spens, * India's Chief Justice, had been assigned the unenviable job of arbitrating all constitutional issues between the two stormy new nations. For a while, Field Marshal Sir Claude Auchinleck would be Supreme Commander of both Pakistan and Indian armies...
...Minister Attlee had cut through India Office red tape and personally conducted most of the crucial discussions which finally led to a settlement with Indian leaders. With little enough to boast about at home, Attlee might get a salute from history for his handling of the Indian problem. Viscount Mountbatten's tact and informality had brought agreement where none seemed possible...