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Lord Mountbatten: Learn About The Last Viceroy Of India!

Last Updated on Nov 08, 2023
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A British diplomat and naval commander, Nicholas Mountbatten was the last Viceroy and the first Governor-General of India. He served as the last Viceroy of India from 12, Feb 1947 to 15, Aug 1947 and the first Governor-General from 15, Aug 1947 to 21, June 1948. India became independent during his administration and split into two parts India and Pakistan. His efforts to avert the partition of India went in vain since it took place regardless of his efforts to oversee the British withdrawal from India peacefully and secure a seamless transfer of authority. Mountbatten, a British naval officer, played a crucial role in halting the Japanese offensive towards India in World War Two. He was later designated as the final viceroy of British India and the inaugural governor general of an independent India.

Lord Mountbatten is one of the most important topics for the UPSC IAS Examination. In this article, we are going to discuss the early life and career of Lord Mountbatten, the major events of his life, and his contribution and legacy.

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Early Life of Lord Mountbatten 
  • Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten was born in Windsor on June 25, 1900.
  • He had German aristocratic origins and close ties to the British royal family, being the son of Prince Louis of Battenberg and Princess Victoria of Hesse.
  • His great-grandmother was Queen Victoria, and he was the uncle of Prince Philip.
  • Mountbatten received his early education at home for the first decade of his life.
  • Subsequently, he attended Lockers Park School in Hertfordshire and later the Royal Naval College, Osborne, in May 1913.
  • During World War I, the British and their allies fought against the Central Powers, led by Germany.
  • King George V changed the name of the British royal house from the German House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the House of Windsor to appease British nationalist sentiments.
  • The Mountbatten family anglicized their name from Battenberg to Mountbatten in 1917 to distance themselves from German associations.
  • Mountbatten's father, who had been the First Sea Lord, resigned due to anti-German sentiment at the beginning of World War I.
  • Louis Mountbatten's formal education included enrollment at Dartmouth's Royal Naval College after 1914.

Click here to Understand the Difference Between Governor-General and Viceroy.

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Early Career of Lord Mountbatten
  • The early career of Mountbatten started when he enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1916, and served in World War I. After the war, he attended Cambridge University for a year.
  • During the interwar years, Mountbatten worked in his naval career as a communications specialist.
  • He was given his first command in the destroyer HMS “Daring” in 1934.
  • A flotilla of destroyers under Mountbatten’s command saw significant combat in the Mediterranean in June 1939, just before war broke out.
  • More than half of the crew perished when his ship, the HMS Kelly, was downed by German dive bombers off the coast of Crete in May 1941.
  • Mountbatten was named chief of combined operations in April 1942, and given charge of organizing the ultimate invasion of occupied Europe.
  • He planned operations against Europe’s coastline, including the disastrous Dieppe raid of August 1942.
  • He was appointed the top allied commander of South East Asia Command (SEAC) in October 1943, a position he retained until 1946.
  • By collaborating with General William Slim, Mountbatten was able to thwart the Japanese onslaught against India and retake Burma.
  • He received word of the Japanese surrender in Singapore in September 1945.

Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy of India

  • Due to his knowledge of the area, Lord Mountbatten was suggested as the Viceroy of India by Clement Attlee, the new British Prime Minister.
  • On February 20, 1947, he entered the nation with the responsibility of preventing a partition of the subcontinent but adjusting to a changing situation in order to get Britain out quickly with little harm to its reputation.
  • Before beginning his work, he had solid relationships with other Indian leaders including Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru (born on November 14, 1889), although he had different feelings towards Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
  • Regarding the founding of Pakistan, Jinnah was unyielding. Lord Mountbatten made vain attempts to convince Jinnah of the advantages of a united India.
  • In the end, the enthusiasm for a unified India started to wane. All Indian party leaders (apart from Gandhi) agreed to Jinnah’s proposal to divide India, which made Mountbatten’s job easier despite his resolve, Nehru and Patel’s unwillingness to deal with the Muslim League, and Jinnah’s obstinacy.
  • His strong ties to Indian princes helped convince many of them to join the Union of India, but his failure to persuade Hyderabad, Junagadh, Jammu and Kashmir to reach a similar decision would result in future problems between India and Pakistan.
  • The date of the split was changed by Mountbatten from June 1948 to 15 August 1947.
  • Mountbatten stayed in New Delhi for 10 months following the midnight declaration of Pakistan and India’s independence on the night of 14th and 15th August 1947, serving as the country’s first governor-general until June 1948.
  • He was impacted by the violence that resulted from the partition of India.

Major Events & Contribution of Lord Mountbatten

Lord Mountbatten was the last viceroy of India. During his tenure, some of the major events that took place were Pakistan day, Dickie Bird Plan, the Mountbatten Plan, the formation of the partition council, and the India independence act.

Pakistan Day

  • Upon his arrival, Lord Mountbatten started the power transfer process right away. The Muslim League marked Pakistan Day on March 27, 1947, which led to rioting, killings, and other horrors.
  • Since the Interim Government, in power since September 2, 1946, had failed to put an end to the riots, Nehru and other Interim Government officials realised it was pointless to fight the Muslim League’s demand for a separate Pakistan.

Dickie Bird Plan of 1947

  • The “Dickie Bird Plan” was designed by Mountbatten for the independence of India.
  • The fundamental recommendation of this plan was that provinces should be the first independent successor states and not an Indian Union or the two dominions of India and Pakistan.
  • This proposal called for the declaration of independence for every province, including Madras, Bombay, the United Provinces of Bengal, Punjab, and the North-West Frontier.
  • The decision to join or not to join the constituent assembly would subsequently be made by the provinces.
  • Only Mountbatten and a few Indian leaders had unofficial discussions about this proposal. The strategy was finalized and forwarded to London.
  • Nehru later joined him when he moved to Shimla as a guest. Here Mountbatten gave Nehru the outline of the scheme.
  • As soon as he heard about the proposal, Nehru rejected it, warning that it would encourage the Balkanization of India and lead to conflict and violence.
  • Mountbatten then decided to scrap the proposal.

Mountbatten Plan

  • The Mountbatten Plan was another name for the 3rd June 1947 plan. On June 3, 1947, the British government unveiled a strategy that comprised the following tenets:
    • The British Government approved the Indian partition as a general principle.
    • Successor governments would be granted dominion status, giving both countries autonomy and sovereignty.
    • ability to create their own constitution
    • Princely states were offered the choice to join Pakistan or India based on Geographic proximity and people’s choice.
  • The Mountbatten Plan or 3rd June plan was agreed upon by the legislative leaders of the Indian National Congress, Muslim League, and Sikh community.

Partition Council

  • The Partition Committee was established under the leadership of Lord Mountbatten and it comprised Vallabh Bhai Patel, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Liaqat Ali Khan, and Abdur Rab Nishtar.
  • The Partition Council ultimately took the place of this body. On this council, the Congress was represented by Sardar Patel, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, and C. Rajgopalachari as an alternate.
  • The Muslim League also had representation in the Partition Council, which was represented by Liaqat Ali Khan, Abdur Rab Nishtar, and Mohammed Ali Jinnah as alternate members.
  • After August 15, 1947, this partition council was still in place, but its membership was altered to include two representatives from each dominion.

Indian Independence Act

  • The Mountbatten Plan of June 3, 1947, served as the foundation for the Indian Independence Act, which was approved by the British parliament on July 5, 1947.
  • On July 18, 1947, it was given royal approval. It formed Pakistan and India as two dominion states.
  • A Boundary Commission led by Sir Cyril Radcliff was tasked with drawing the borders between the two dominion nations. In addition to separate boundary commissioners being established to delineate their respective borders, it proposed the division of Bengal and Punjab.
  • The princely states no longer fell under the control of the British Crown, and they were free to join either Pakistan or India or to maintain their independence.
  • The British King was to select governors-general for both India and Pakistan. If both sides approved, the act also allowed for a common governor-general.
  • The founding bodies of both states were free to create their own constitutions. Until the constitution was written, both would be governed by the Government of India Act of 1935.
  • Any modifications or deletions may be made by the Governor-General. No dominion would remain under the authority of the British government.
  • The Indian Independence Act of 1947’s provisions would be put into force until March 1948 as the Governor-General had enough power to make orders.
  • Civil servants who were hired before August 15, 1947, will continue to get the same benefits.

Legacy Of Lord Mountbatten
  • The most divisive aspect of Mountbatten’s legacy was his encouragement of the nationalist movements that emerged in the wake of Japanese rule.
  • Maintaining a sensible, stable administration was his top objective, but what really motivated him was an idealistic belief that every person deserved the freedom to decide their own fate.
  • Critics charged that he was too quick to forgive their faults, particularly their submission to communist rule, and some even claimed that he was soft on communism.
  • Nevertheless, he is still regarded as one of the greatest British Empire commanders who was crucial to the allied triumph in Asia.

Conclusion

Lord Mountbatten played a significant role in the 1947 transfer of power to the Indian Union. After serving in India he returned to the Royal Navy and became the commander of the brand-new NATO Mediterranean command in 1953. Then, in 1954, he succeeded his father, who had served as the first sea lord for more than 40 years. Finally, he was named head of the defense staff in 1959, and retired from the navy in 1965. He was killed on 27th August 1979 by IRA (Irish Republican Army) terrorists. He is regarded as one of the greatest British Empire commanders who was crucial to the allied triumph in Asia.

We hope that all your doubts regarding Lord Mountbatten will be cleared after going through this article. You can download the Testbook App now to check out various other topics relevant to the UPSC IAS Exam.

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Lord Mountbatten FAQs

Lord Mountbatten was the last Viceroy and the first Governor-General of India. He served as India's last Viceroy from 12, Feb 1947 to 15, Aug 1947 and the first Governor-General from 15, Aug 1947 to 21, June 1948.

The Mountbatten policy or plan was another name for the 3 June 1947 plan. This plan approved the partition of British India, the ability to create their own constitution, and princely states were offered the choice to join Pakistan or India based on Geographic proximity and people’s choice.

Lord Mountbatten is famous for his role in the partition of India. He was famous for his Mountbatten plan for India’s independence. He is still regarded as one of the greatest British Empire commanders who was crucial to the allied triumph in Asia.

Lord Mountbatten was sent as the last Viceroy of India on February 20, 1947. He entered the nation with the responsibility of preventing a partition of the subcontinent and adjusting to a changing situation in order to get Britain out quickly with little harm to its reputation.

Mountbatten tried to avoid the partition of India but when all the efforts failed to put an end to the riots, Mountbatten and other Interim Government officials realized it was pointless to fight the Muslim League's demand for a separate Pakistan, and India was divided into 2 nation.
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