by India Hicks
After Kapurthala we spent twenty-four hours in Udaipur and saw the beautiful lake with its unused palace and the city palace. The Maharanas of Udaipur were treated with great veneration because they refused to visit Delhi when the Moghuls occupied it. Princes like Jaipur bowed very low before the Maharana. When we visited, the ruler was old and frail and a cripple. He was a tiny little man. My mother and I visited the Harem to pay our respects to the Maharani – a special dispensation on the part of His Highness. We were escorted by the Chief Minister. He whispered that he was her brother but had not been allowed to see her since her wedding (about forty years before!).
As our plane took off, our last glimpse was of the Maharana being lifted high into the air on his chair by his retainers to get him out of the dust of our slipstream.
At the end of March, the conductor, Malcolm Sargent arrived to stay. He was on his way to Turkey but unfortunately my mother was so busy working that she didn’t have the time to see him when he first arrived. On the 1st April we took him to see some Indian music and dancing – he was fascinated by the fact that they all played perfectly in time without a conductor. Unfortunately he got dysentry and was unable to fly on to Turkey which was fortunate for us because he could stay longer – we had a party by the pool on the 16th April when Panditji demonstrated his yoga posture standing on his head – a position which he practised every day – he even took phone-calls like this. After Malcolm left, my mother went to see Panditji and from this moment on, as her demanding work schedule began to ease slightly, their friendship blossomed. She invited him to come with us in May to Mashobra.
24th March: The family and staff on Lake Trivandrum.
12th April: Leaving Bodh Gaya Temple, Bihar.
12th April: Going to visit the tree under which enlightenment came to Gautama Buddha.
16th April: Jawaharlal Nehru at Government House pool.
Friday 7th May
To Bundi to stay with Rao Raja of Bundi.
Saturday 15th May
We were able to go up the glorious Himalayas for a stay at Simla.Saturday 21st May We gave a garden party for the East Punjab dignitaries. The band played, and the dress, of course, was morning coats and top hats and our best hats and white gloves and a crowd of beautiful saris and shalwar kameez.
Monday 24th May
We visited Patiala. The 6’4” Maharaja is truly magnificent with beard and pugaree. We watched a cricket match. If a boundary is hit the ball disappears down the mountainside. Great loss of balls.
Tuesday 25th May
We returned to Delhi.
Sunday 30th May
There are going to be three weeks of farewell parties.
Mummy visited the two great refugee camps of Kurukshetra and Panipat which still shelter 300,000 people. One of the Indian ADCs who accompanied her said that he had never seen anything like it.
The refugees gathered round her in their thousands, in tears at saying ‘goodbye’ to her. In many other camps, refugees collected their Pice and Annas to buy a railway ticket for one of them to carry a small gift to her as a token of gratitude.
7th May: Shooting party in Bundi: my father touching the arm of our host, Bahadur, Maharajah of Bundi.
15th May: My parents and Nehru setting off on an expedition to Narkenda from Mashobra (behind car – Head Gardener, Reader).
Nehru, my parents and me looking at a bear on a drive in Simla.
Breakfast at ‘The Retreat’ at Mashobra with Nehru.
‘The Retreat’ in Mashobra near Simla taken during our last stay, 13th-17th May.
Departure:
June 1948
We had been on an incredible journey with India, which had changed the sub-continent, and had a lasting effect on my family. After all that had happened it was hard to believe we were leaving.
Waiting to leave Government House, with Panditji, my mother and Rajaji.
Saluting as the band plays ‘God Save The King’ on arrival at the farewell party for over 2000 staff.
Sunday 20th June
Our last day, we drove to Old Delhi through dense crowds along the Chandi Chowk. Apparently no Viceroy had driven down it since an assassination attempt on Lord Hardinge in 1911. We were cheered all the way to the Gandhi grounds [Raj Ghat]. A crowd of 250,000 had gathered there and the same number were still trying to get in.
A Farewell Address was given on behalf of the Delhi Municipality.
The farewell party for all 2000 staff was enjoyed by all. So many people had come out to say goodbye to us. The entertainment included various performances, watched by my family and surrounded by friends and staff.
P, Indira Gandhi, my parents and Nehru at a performance in the Moghul Gardens at the farewell party for the entire staff.
Our last State Banquet was held this evening. It was hosted by the Cabinet in Government House. Panditji said of Daddy: ‘You came here, Sir, with a high reputation, but many a reputation has foundered in India. You lived here through a period of great difficulty and crisis, and yet your reputation has not foundered. That is a remarkable feat.’ He then spoke about Mummy as having ‘the healer’s touch. Wherever you have gone, you have brought solace, you have brought hope and encouragement. Is it surprising, therefore, that the people of India should love you and look up to you as one of themselves and should grieve that you are going?’ He even mentioned me as ‘coming straight from school, and possessing all the charm she does, did grown-up person’s work in the troubled scene of India’. He referred to the public demonstration in Old Delhi this morning, saying ‘I do not know how Lord and Lady Mountbatten felt on that occasion, but used as I am to these vast demonstrations here, I was much affected, and I wondered how it was that an Englishman and Englishwoman could become so popular in India during this brief period of time… A period certainly of achievement and success in some measure, but also a period of sorrow and disaster… Obviously this was not connected so much with what had happened, but rather with the good faith, the friendship of all English men and women, and indeed of all the people in the United Kingdom to the people of India and the love of India that these two possessed… You may have many gifts and presents but there is nothing more real and precious than the love and affection of the people. You have seen yourself, Sir and Madam, how that love and affection work.’
Mummy and Daddy replied very movingly and then they were presented with a silver tray inscribed with the signatures of all the Governors of the Provinces and the Members of the Cabinet. Finally, Daddy presented the magnificent gold plate which the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and Silversmiths had presented to the King Emperor George V for use in his Viceroy’s State Dining Room in New Delhi. Daddy said that he did this at the King’s express wish as a symbol of friendship. The evening ended with a reception for seven thousand guests.
Photo inscribed by Rajagopalachari for my father’s birthday at his reception at Government House. The caption reads ‘Dear Magician, Thus was I inducted into trouble by you, Raja.’
Three of the 100 servants receiving my parents with Salaams on entering the State Dining Room which was taken over for the evening by the Government to give the farewell banquet.
General view of the farewell banquet showing the usual 104 at the main table. Note the Union Jack and Indian Flag concealing the Gold Plate.
My father pulls back the flags to make a surprise presentation of the King Emperor’s Gold Plate on behalf of the King.
Farewell Ceremony
When the time came to leave my mother and I were very emotional and sad. It was horrible to say goodbye to people like Rajaji, who was succeeding my father as Governor-General. Because Indians are an emotional people it’s very catching and it is incredibly hard to keep a stiff upper lip when somebody hugs you in floods of tears. But the moment I’ll never forget is when we got into the carriage and were about to drive away with a mounted bodyguard.
My mother and I watching my father inspect the Guard of Honour.
Monday 21st June
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We left Government House with the Bodyguard lining the steps and escorting the carriage. But as we were about to move off one of the horses jibbed. Someone called out: ‘Even the horses won’t let you go’ and the cry was taken up by the crowd. By the time we had the official farewells at Palam Airport, Rajaji was weeping and Mummy and I were finding it very hard to hold back our tears.
‘I wondered how it was that an Englishman
and an Englishwoman could become so popular
in India during this brief period of time.’
Nehru at the Mountbattens’ last
State Banquet
We arrived back at Northolt on a warm summer’s evening and the Prime Minister, Philip, the Indian Minister of Finance, Krishna Menon, the BBC and various press photographers and agencies were there to meet us.
Despite the tributes and show of affection on our departure, not everyone was keen to welcome us home. Winston Churchill and many in the Conservative Party and beyond blamed my father for the loss of life that had taken place. Churchill was never to forgive him for ‘giving away the Empire’ and cut him dead at every Buckingham Palace Garden Party. They thought everything had being done too quickly, but my father knew that only history could be the judge. My parents had the love of the Indian people and the thanks of Congress who knew that there was no way of containing the rioting without moving quickly to transfer power to India itself.
Gathered outside Government House waiting to finally leave.
An emotional farewell from the new Governor-General ‘Rajaji’ (Rajagopalachari).
Front row: Philip, my father, Shanmukham Chetty, Attlee, my mother, Krishna Menon, Indian High Commissioner.
My father, Shanmukham Chetty, Indian Minister of Finance, UK Prime Minister Attlee and my mother at Northolt RAF station.
Overleaf: Royal Indian Naval Guard of Honour from HMS Delhi, which was being commissioned in the UK when we returned from India.
Epilogue
When I left India to return to England I was 18 years old. I felt I was returning to a country where I knew hardly anybody. All my coming out into the world, and meeting people my own age, and discussing all the things that mattered so much when you are that age – politics and religion and boyfriends and everything, had happened with Indian girls. I felt far more Indian than English. Maybe this made it possible for Indians to feel the same way about us. Therefore, one felt accepted. One was in a country and one was doing something; one felt part of it. But I think it would have been very difficult not to. I do not think you really could have lived through that time and remained an onlooker.
Key Figures
ABELL, George (later Sir George): Private Secretary to the Viceroy
AMRIT KAUR, Rajkumari: Gandhi’s Secretary, Minister for Health in the Government of the Dominion of India
AUCHINLECK, Field-Marshal Sir Claude: Commander-in-Chief in India until 15th August; Supreme Commander administering partition of Indian army until 30th November 1947
BALDEV SINGH, Sardar: Sikh leader; Member for Defence in the Interim Government, Minister for Defence in the Government of the Dominion of India
BHOPAL, The Nawab of: Ruler of Bhopal State; Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes until May 1947
BIKANER, The Maharaja of: Ruler of Bikaner State
BRABOURNE, Lord and Lady, Patricia and John: Elder daughter and son-in-law of Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma
BROCKMAN, Ronnie, Captain R.N.: Personal Secretary to the Viceroy, Private Secretary to the Governor-General of India from 15th August 1947
CAMPBELL-JOHNSON, Alan: Press Attaché to the last Viceroy and to the first Governor-General of the Dominion of India
COLVILLE, Sir John: Governor of Bombay until August 1947, Viceroy during Mountbatten’s absence in London
CURRIE, Douglas, Colonel: Military Secretary to the Viceroy and to the Governor-General of India
GANDHI, Mahatma, Gandhiji: ‘Bapu’ (Father of the Indian Nation)
GILLIAT, Martin, Major: Deputy Military Secretary to the Viceroy and to the Governor General of India
HOWES, Peter Lieutenant Commander, R.N: Senior ADC to the Viceroy and to the Governor General of India
ISMAY, ‘Pug’, Lord Hastings: Chief of the Viceroy’s Staff and of the Governor-General of India’s staff until December 1947
JAIPUR, Maharaja of: ‘Jai’, Ruler of Jaipur state
JAIPUR, Maharani of: ‘Ayesha’ JENKINS, Sir Evan: Governor of the Punjab until 15th August 1947
JINNAH, Mohammed Ali (Quaid-e-Azam): President of the All India Muslim League, first Governor-General of the Dominion of Pakistan
JINNAH, Fatima: Jinnah’s sister
KATJU, Dr: Governor of Orissa after August 1947
KAPURTHALA, The Maharaja of: Ruler of Kapurthala state
KASHMIR, The Maharaja of: Ruler of Jammu and Kashmir state
KRIPALANI, Acharya: President of Congress
LIAQUAT, Ali Khan: General Secretary of the All India Muslim League; Member for Finance in the Interim Government; Prime Minster of the Government of the Dominion of Pakistan
MAHARAJ SINGH, Sir: Governor of Bombay after August 1947
MENON, V. Krishna: Prominent in India League, Member for Paddington on London County Council, Nehru’s Representative in Europe, High Commissioner to the United Kingdon from August 1947
MENON, V.P.: Reforms Commissioner to the Viceroy; and from July 1947 Secretary of the States Department, Government of the Dominion of India
MIEVILLE, Sir Eric: Principal Secretary to the Viceroy
MONCKTON, Sir Walter: Constitutional Adviser to the Nizar of Hyderabad
NEHRU, Pandit Jawaharlal, ‘Panditji’: Member for External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations in the Interim Government; Vice-President of the Interim Government; Prime Minister of the Dominion of India
NYE, Sir Archibald: Governor of Madras
PANDIT, Mrs Vijaylakshmi, ‘Nan’: Nehru’s sister, Ambassador to Russia and to the United Nations
PATEL, Sardar Vallabhbhai: Member for Home Affairs and for Information and Broadcasting, and from July 1947 for States in the Interim Government; Deputy Prime Minister for the Dominion of India PATIALA, Maharaja of: Ruler of Patiala State, and from May to August 1947 last Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes
PRASAD, Dr. Rajendra: Member for Food & Agriculture in the Interim Government and President of the Constituent Assembly RAJAGOPALACHARI, Chakravarti ‘Rajaji’: Member of Industries and Supplies in the Interim Government; Governor of Bengal after 15th August 1947 and first Indian Governor-General of the Dominion of India 21st June, 1948
REES, Major-General T.W., ‘Pete’: Commander of the Punjab Boundary Force July to September, 1947; Head of the Governor-General’s (India) Military Emergency staff September to December 1947
UDAIPUR, Maharana: Ruler of the state of Udaipur
WARD, Elizabeth: Lady Mountbatten’s Private Secretary
WATSON, Muriel: Lady Mountbatten’s Personal Assistant
WAVELL, Earl: Viceroy of India whom Lord Mountbatten succeeded
Glossary
Angrezi: English/British
Bapu: literally, 'Father'
Bearer: a valet
Chaprassi: an office messenger
Dhoti: a long, unstitched cloth wound about the lower part of the body
Durbar: literally, Kings court
Gadi: a throne
Howdah: a seat placed on the back of an elephant
Jai hind: a salutation, literally, 'Victory to India'
Jirga: decision making assembly
Ki jai: a salutation, literally, 'Praise'
Kirpan: ceremonial sword worn by Sikh men
Kitmagar: a footman
Mahatma: 'Great Soul'
Mela: festival
Nawab: Muslim ruler or nobleman
Pandit: a learned man, often a Kashmiri Brahmin
Puthan: tribe of North West Frontier in India
Pugaree: a type of turban
Raj G
hat: Royal burial ground
Sutee: the Hindu practice of a widow throwing herself on the funeral pyre
Syce: a groom
Taktaposh: Royal bedstead
Zindabad: 'Long live'
Index
The page numbers in this index refer to the print edition, please use the search facility on your device to find the below key words.
Ahsan, Sayed, Lieutenant 135, 138
Aides de Camp 60
Allahabad Mela 203-4, 205
Auchinleck, Sir Claude 135, 161-2
Avro York 20, 107
Baldev Singh 103, 128-9
Beaumont, Wentworth 161, 162
Bengal, Partition 113, 160
Bikaner, visit to 188-90, 189
bodyguards 44, 44-5, 116, 118-19, 132
Bombay, visit to 156-8
Brabourne, John and Patricia 172, 187, 189
Brockman, Ronnie 144
Bundi, Rao Raja of 185-7, 214
Burma, independence 184
Burnaby-Atkins, Captain Freddie 107
canteen, PM at 79-81,159, 169
Caravan of India 95-7, 96-7, 105, 173
Chance, Mrs Susan 108
Churchill, Winston, on independence 229-30
Clinic and Dispensary, PM at 80-1, 89, 113, 169
Delhi 62
riots 164, 165, 171, 171
Elizabeth, Princess & Philip
Mountbatten, Lieutenant engagement 102, 120
wedding 175-7, 176, 204
flying in India 42-3, 108, 111-12
Gandhi, Indira 21, 130, 174
Gandhi, Mahatma (‘Gandhiji’)
at Viceroy’s House 64, 66, 67, 69-70
friendship of 68, 69