MOUNTBATTEN, CABINET MISSION AND PROVINCIAL BOUNDARIES

This work offers a fresh reinterpretation of Mountbatten’s role in the creation of Pakistan, moving beyond well-worn debates about his alleged bias in the Radcliffe Boundary Award or his perceived favoritism toward Nehru and the Congress. Instead, it closely examines his engagements with provincial-level developments in the regions that would become Pakistan. The analysis reveals that Mountbatten’s actions were far more nuanced than the negative caricatures of his Viceroyalty suggest. Drawing on meticulous archival research and building upon the author’s earlier scholarship on the twilight of British India, this study presents a balanced assessment that significantly enriches our understanding of Pakistan’s independence.

—Ian Talbot—
Emeritus Professor in the History of Modern South Asia, University of Southampton
Associate, The Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University

Following his acclaimed study of Wavell’s tenure, Pakistan’s distinguished historian Professor Iqbal Chawla now turns his attention to the contentious legacy of Lord Mountbatten - a figure often condemned for his handling of Partition and the Kashmir dispute. Through extensive research in Pakistan and Britain, Chawla presents groundbreaking insights by scrutinizing Mountbatten’s policies in Sindh, Baluchistan, and the NWFP, before reassessing his influence on the Radcliffe Award and the horrific violence that engulfed Punjab in 1947. How much responsibility does Mountbatten truly bear for the bloodshed? Weighing the evidence with scholarly rigor, Chawla delivers a vital new perspective on this enduring historical controversy.

—Prof. Dr. Roger D. Long—
Professor of History, Eastern Michigan University, USA