Lord Mountbatten being received at Palam airport, Delhi, 22 March 1947
On his arrival at Palam airport, Lord Mountbatten was greeted by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (Member of the Interim Government for External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations), Liaquat Ali Khan (Member for Finance, and Deputy Leader of the Muslim League Party) and Field Marshal Sir C.E.Auchinleck (Commander in Chief, India). It was readily acknowledged that independence would require the consent of the major parties in India. A further element in the Viceroy’s instructions, the establishment of a timetable for the transfer of power, changed the situation and created its own imperatives.
