London, Oct. 22: Lord Mountbatten claimed here that he was keen on getting a united India at the time of its attainment of independence from British rule, but one man who prevented it was Mohammed Ali Jinnah.
Lord Mountbatten who was reminiscing on his role in last days of the empire in BBC’s Current Affairs programme “to-night” on October 20 said the Leader of the Muslim League was from the beginning saying ‘no’ to united India and there was nothing “I could do to change his mind.”
Lord Mountbatten said Mahatma Gandhi knew he was keen on getting a united India. Gandhiji, he claimed, was satisfied that he had made it over to the Indians to decide on this matter.
Asked about the wisdom of his strategy of speed in transferring power to India, Lord Mountbatten said it was not a question of wisdom of strategy. There was no alternative. The whole Government was breaking down and “we could not hold on. There was absolutely nothing I can do,” he said. He added, if it was possible at that time to get British rule continued for another year he would have done differently but there was “no chance of soldiering on.”
Lord Mountbatten also claimed he had predicted that East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) separated by a long distance from the West would not last more than a generation. He had told Rajaji it would last 25 years and he agreed. At the time of the birth of Bangladesh, Rajaji told a press conference that he and Mountbatten had agreed East Pakistan would last 25 years and it had actually lasted 24 and a half years.
— PTI
Published – October 23, 2025 04:10 am IST
