Viceroy's House Page #4

- Mr Jinnah...

- Mr Jinnah...

Spokesman for a large group of

India's Mohammedans

is the leader of the All-India Muslim

League, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

In direct conflict with the Congress

party's request

for national independence...

Pakistan Zindabad!

he has demanded that Britain create

a separate and independent state

out of those provinces in which

Muslims predominate.

We are also looking

to the future.

I learned this when I visited

the ancient spires of Cambridge.

Oh, yes, a haven for historians.

Cambridge also creates visionaries.

Such as your old friend Mr Nehru.

A little after Mr Nehru's time, in 1933,

a group of Cambridge students

came up with a truly magnificent

original idea.

And what was that?

Pakistan.

The land of the pure.

Muslims do not want to be reduced

to the unequal position of negroes

in America.

I assure you Muslims would never be

treated as second-class citizens.

But we are a minority of one to four.

How can you guarantee that?

If you engage with the other leaders,

constitutional protection for

Muslim citizens can be secured.

It is the other leaders who refuse

to engage with me.

I already have the solution.

The creation of an Islamic country,

Pakistan.

Could you really see India cut in half?

Sometimes surgery can save

the patient.

Where do you propose

to make the incision?

Pakistan will include all the states

that have a Muslim majority.

But what about those states

where the numbers are equal?

The Punjab, Bengal,

what do we do there?

Include them in Pakistan.

The ideals of Islam have taught us

democracy and justice.

Our Hindu and Sikh citizens will be

able to worship

and to vote as they please,

but we Muslims will be protected.

We will be in a majority.

Perhaps there was a time when

I believed

our interests could be secured

within a united India,

but that was long ago.

Nehru and Gandhi have shown

no respect for me or my views,

so how can I trust them to respect

the views of my fellow Muslims?

Look at this branch of my family tree.

See how it withers with

no new shoots.

That's my Uncle Nicholas.

He was Tsar of Russia.

He and his entire family and staff

bayoneted, set on fire,

in order to create someone's utopia.

New nations are rarely born in peace.

But to yoke Hindus and Muslims

together in one unequal state

is a recipe for the very bloodshed

you want to avoid.

United...

you are one fifth of

the world's population.

India would be the greatest power

in all Asia.

India has never been a true nation.

It only looks that way on a map.

The British divided Ireland

to maintain peace.

They are dividing Palestine.

They must do the same here.

I have heard with my own ears.

Jinnah sahib said he will cut India

in half.

- He will give us Pakistan.

- Yes.

No, no, no, no, no.

That cannot happen.

- Why can't it happen?

- Gandhiji said over his dead body.

He would not lie.

Pakistan Zindabad.

- Pakistan Zindabad.

- Stop! Stop!

Stop, brothers!

Stop, brothers! Stop!

The British have controlled India

this past 300 years

by making sure we fight amongst

ourselves just like this.

Guptaji...

No, Mohsin, do not allow this poison

to enter our thoughts.

- Guptaji, Pakistan...

- Gentlemen!

Whatever is going on

in those rooms upstairs

is none of your business.

It's 5.45.

Dinner is now running late.

All of you, jaldi, jaldi.

Your family are from the Punjab,

aren't they?

Yes, sir, they are.

In my village, I have five sisters,

Thirteen nieces and nine nephews.

Duleep Singh, sir, his family

are our neighbours.

Do you have Muslim neighbours too?

Of course, sir.

All the children play together.

They celebrate Diwali with us,

we celebrate Eid with them.

Sometimes there is even

marriage between us.

Are you married?

No, sir.

I do not know if it is in my destiny.

My mother dreams of it.

And your father?

He died, sir.

When I was a child.

Killed by the British at

the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Namaste, Bapuji,

It is a great honour to meet you, Bapu.

- This way, sir.

- Over here, please, sir.

We Indians have

always marched, campaigned

and fasted together,

regardless of our creed or class.

For so long we have been united

in our opposition to one oppressor.

And now we are leaving.

It seems freedom, although

longed for... is a fearful thing.

And with fear comes violence.

It's contagious.

But courage is even more contagious.

Shall I tell you what the solution is?

Jinnah should be asked

to form the first government.

Of independent India?

Congress must be prepared to accept

the leadership of the Muslim League

if, by so doing, they ensure

the unity of our country.

You would give the Muslims the baby

rather than carving it up?

But that's...

That's splendidly bold.

Would Congress ever be induced

to accept it?

Would Jinnah?

We must rekindle the lamp

of neighbourliness

between Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs.

You give me hope that reason

will prevail.

What we need is not reason.

We need a far greater force.

A force that politicians

seldom care to mention.

Love?

Precisely.

I hope you will honour me

with sharing my food.

This is goat's curd, my favourite.

- Is it?

- You must try this.

- No...

- I insist.

May I have a spoon, please?

You must try this.

This is not cow's milk.

Wish me luck.

Delicious, isn't it?

Would you like to try yourself?

I think it's what you'd call

an acquired taste...

Did you tell Asif it was too late for him?

How could I?

It's the truth.

My father has lost everything.

His wife, his sight.

He's a proud man,

unable to work, dependent on me.

Before Asif arrived, I'd forgotten what

it was like to see him really smile.

I have always made your father smile.

And you too.

Aalia? Are you all right?

Yes, ma'am.

The Viceroy certainly knows

how to throw a party.

Your Excellency.

Mr Jinnah, welcome.

May I present Mr Henry F Grady,

the American ambassador.

Your Excellencies.

Welcome, Mr Ambassador.

Ambassador to one country or to two?

The world can't wait to find out.

The answer may be in the hands

of Mr Jinnah.

It must feel pretty galling for you

to be giving all of this back.

Not at all.

Well, it is high time.

Aalia...

imagine life in Pakistan.

No prejudice, no tension.

It's a nation our children

will be proud of.

We were born in India.

And our parents and all our ancestors

are buried here.

- How can we leave?

- We'll visit.

I'll drive my lovely wife

in Mr Jinnah's car.

Why should we not be happy?

We've both come through hard years

and I've kept you with me, always.

I'm just a schoolgirl here.

And I was just a boy.

But I knew.

Asif.

I am not that girl any more.

I understand this distance

you're keeping.

You must have felt I abandoned you.

But I am here now.

Please...

Give me a chance.

I'll prove I can look after you.

Miss Jinnah, I've been longing

to meet you.

And I you.

Your Excellency... a word.

Please excuse me.

Just one moment.

That is not a conversation

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