Viceroy's House Page #2

all the stops.

And...

Duleep Singh, isn't it?

Yes, sir.

Lord Wavell speaks very highly of you.

- Thank you, sir. Honour to serve.

- And...?

Jeet Kumar, sir. From Punjab.

He's the new boy.

Well, Kumar, we have something

in common there.

Now...

Are we ready?

Thirteen minutes.

Hm.

We'll do better next time.

I, Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas,

Viscount Mountbatten of Burma,

do swear true allegiance to our

Sovereign Lord, King George VI,

Defender of the Faith,

Emperor of India,

and I will faithfully fill the office

of Viceroy of India

according to law.

May God be my guide.

Oi! Have you never seen gories

in fine dresses before?

You may be new but you must know

your place.

Oi, Mohsin bhai. Leave him be.

He's my friend.

You Punjabis always look after

your own.

- You Bengalis...

- Hey! Don't talk like that.

Get back to your places.

This is not a normal

Viceroyalty on which I am embarking.

I am under no illusion about

the difficulty of my task.

I shall need the greatest goodwill

of the greatest possible number

and I am asking India today

for that goodwill.

Why don't you listen

to what he has to say?

Because I've heard it all before.

Ubba, maybe the Mountbattens

will be different.

He is the King's cousin.

He has empire in his blood.

My husband's study

is the first priority.

It has to be refurbished.

It needs light and brightness.

He says it reeks of failed negotiations.

Consider it done, ma'am.

I'll continue my tour after breakfast,

Miss Reading,

but in the meantime,

would you put your heads together

with the ADCs

and rethink the guest lists?

From now on almost half of all guests

at all occasions must be Indian.

- Yes, ma'am.

- Also, I want to meet Indian women.

Thank you.

Sarojini Naidu, Pandit Nehru's sister,

Mrs Aruna Ali Asif,

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur.

- Have you got that, Miss Noor?

- Yes, ma'am.

Here are the riders.

I have a feeling, Pammy,

that might be the only hour of the day

I get to spend with you.

Each day is so crammed.

Two poached eggs, tomatoes,

sausages, tea.

Lots to do.

Darling, did you know that 92%

of the population is illiterate?

Good morning.

And that one in five babies dies

before they're four months old?

Edwina, I could not be blessed

with a more active, able wife,

- but sometimes we have to accept...

- I know.

what we cannot change.

But we can change a lot, Dickie.

We really can,

and we absolutely have to.

India's problems are not just political.

They are social and economic.

Almost half the babies born here

die before they're five.

That cannot be the legacy the British

leave India after three centuries.

We have enough time

to improve the infrastructure

- so that when we leave...

- That is not why we're here.

- Yes.

- You'll wear yourself out.

You mean I'll wear you out.

No...

Edwina, I have the governors

arriving from the provinces.

I know. I'm entertaining their wives.

And I'm very grateful

for everything you do.

Miss Hudson, is there something

the matter?

Nothing at all, ma'am, only I do wish

they wouldn't come so close.

Perhaps your very able gifts

would be better used in Surrey.

I beg your pardon, ma'am?

Would you please pack your bags

and go home?

Have you got the papers? I'll need

them for the meeting after this one.

Yes, ma'am.

Miss Noor?

I have a message for you, from home.

Go on.

I had to see you.

How is your father?

Jeet, what are you doing?

Nothing has changed.

I see you are still unmarried.

I am still promised to another.

I have tried every day for the past

two years to forget you.

Then try harder.

The violence is escalating

day by day.

This hatred between Hindu, Sikh

and Muslim

is poisoning everything we've built.

In Bengal the violence is

compounded by a famine

which the people think we are doing

precious little to relieve.

The sooner we can hand over

to an Indian government...

the better.

But what government?

These wretched Indian leaders

won't agree.

If the Muslims are denied their Pakistan

my province will have all-out civil war.

The same in the Punjab.

The Hindus won't tolerate a Pakistan

they haven't voted for.

Oh, God! Gentlemen...

Our saviour is here.

He walks among us.

Off the record, Pug,

we're not sure Dickie Mountbatten's

the man for this job.

Look, he has amazing ability

to get along with people.

But these Indians are as slippery

as eels.

The Indians have to believe

that whatever the future of India is,

it is their idea.

And trust me,

if anyone can get them to agree,

it's Dickie.

He could charm a vulture off a corpse.

Nothing will stop the violence now, Pug.

It's already far too late.

And if Mountbatten thinks charm

alone can do it, then he's a fool.

Thank you for your candour.

- Your Excellency...

- I know how grave the situation is.

I'm meeting the leaders

and all the maharajas,

who of course have their own fears

about what a transfer of power

will bring.

There is a great deal to do.

I want to hear from all of you.

The growing conflict between Muslim

and Hindu

has left 40,000 dead.

The new Viceroy arrives in India

amid scenes of terrible death

and destruction.

It would be a disgrace

and an everlasting slur on Britain's

standing in the world

if we were to abandon 400 million

primitive Indians to their fate.

Do it nicely.

You have to cut neatly.

It has to be neat.

They all have to be the same size.

This is most irregular.

The staff will not understand.

I want them to know who we are.

Lady Mountbatten.

Your Excellency.

Aap door!

Get the chickens from the oven now!

Our head English chef left us rather

unexpectedly with Lord Wavell.

We are awaiting his replacement

from England.

Meanwhile, may I present

our acting head chef,

Ram Lal Chandra,

He has been fully trained

in the finest European cuisine

and should meet your requirements

sufficiently.

I do believe we can save the new

English chef the journey.

Mr Chandra will do

a perfectly good job.

That wonderful dinner you served last

night put Claridges to shame.

Lady Sahib, the credit must also

go to my staff

and my sous-chef, Jinnah Abdul Malik.

He prepares a most excellent

Lamb Wellington

and bread and butter pudding

with the finest marmalade.

That's all well and good, but with

your agreement, Chef Chandra,

I'd like to make a few changes.

From now on there'll be more Indians

of all faiths round our table.

Their culinary needs must be waited for.

Many of them eat with their fingers,

Your Excellency.

If that is custom, then it's perfectly

acceptable.

Lady Sahib, many Indians are

vegetarians.

No mutton, no chicken, no game.

Is there something wrong?

What he was saying...

Your Excellency.

It is so fine that you want

to be more inclusive.

We have waited a long time for this day.

I appreciate your understanding.

And your skill.

I need to meet with the governors' wives.

What kind of an example

are you setting, Abdul bir?

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