The Viceroy’s interview with Mahomed Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan, 17 May 1947
The fundamental issue that faced Lord Mountbatten was whether post-independence India was to be a single, unified state, or whether it would be divided. It was essential that this decision was reached swiftly. Against the background of the threat of civil war and communal violence, the Viceroy and his staff set about establishing a course of action. The Viceroy met as many of the leading protagonists as he could. The accounts of his interviews, usually dictated minutes after the meeting, give both an immediacy to the proceedings and a view of the complexity of the issues.
