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His personal emblem, a freshly plucked rose, in the button hole of his tunic, a pensive Jawharlal Nehru poses for a moment in the garden of Viceroy’s House

"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge.... At the stroke of the midnight hour, while the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance...." Jawaharlal Nehru @ Indian Constituent Assembly, New Delhi, August 14, 1947

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Nehru was a torn and anguished man, caught between his deep love for Gandhi and his new admiration and friendship for the Mountbattens. Gandhi spoke to his heart, Mountbatten to his mind. Instinctively, Nehru detested partition; yet his rationalist spirit told him it was the only answer. Since reaching his own conclusion that there was no other choice, Mountbatten and his wife had been employing all the charm and persuasiveness of Operation Seduction to bring Nehru to their viewpoint. One argument was vital. With Jinnah gone, Hindu India could have the strong central government that Nehru would need if he was going to build the socialist state of his dreams. Ultimately, he too stood out against the man he had followed so long ~ 124

Shortly after seven O'clock on that evening of June, 3 1947, in the New Delhi studio of All India Radio, the four key leades formally announced their agreement to divide the subcontinent into two separate sovereign nations.

As befitting his office, Mountbatten spoke first. His words were confident, his speech brief, his tones understated. Nehru followed, speaking in Hindi. Sadness grasped the Indian leader’s face as he sold his listeners that “the great destiny of India” was taking shape, “with travail and suffering.” Baring his own emotions, he urged acceptance of the plan that had caused him such deep personal anguish, by concluding that “it is with no job in my heart that I commend these proposals to you” ~ Page 168

2 weeks ago. Edited 13 days ago.

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