Viceroy's House Page #7

That would be a crime.

No, 20% comes to Pakistan.

A to E or S to Z?

- Give me A to E.

- This is absurd.

Where communities are so mixed

it is of course impossible to draw

boundaries

which will segregate Hindus on

the one hand, Muslims on the other.

Fires raged unchecked in many

places

while pitched battles continued

between Muslims and Hindus.

Casualties totalled 3,000 killed

and 8,000 injured.

Very well. Thank you. Where?

Ubba, are you comfortable?

Aalia!

I have to take my father to Lahore.

Asif has very kindly agreed

to take us to the station.

My father is my first

responsibility, Jeet.

- I have to do what's best for him.

- Running away isn't best for him.

I'm trying to keep him alive.

It's all changed now.

When people see us, they don't see

Indians any more. We're Muslims.

Aalia, you are as Indian as I am.

- India is what we make it.

- Don't make it any harder, please.

Aalia, please, I am begging you,

don't do this.

Aalia, are you ready, beta?

- Just a minute, Abba.

- Who's there?

Jeet Kumar, sir.

We have to go.

Our train leaves at midnight.

I hear you helped Aalia and Ubba

when the house was set on fire.

I thank you for everything that you did.

My mother and brother will be at

the station in Lahore to receive you.

My home will be your home

just as soon as we're married.

- Tell him. Tell him, Aalia.

- Tell me what?

I know right now

it's the hardest thing to stay,

but you are brave.

- And your father...

- He has to be safe.

My father must be safe.

Goodbye, Jeet.

- We have to go now.

- Kumar?

I never thought this would

happen to my country.

But I must, for my daughter's sake.

Is your future still clouded, my friend?

Have you spoken yet

to your young woman?

Yes, sir.

It won't happen.

Why not?

Because she is leaving...

on a train for Pakistan.

It's been an honour knowing you, sir.

We have to go.

We'll be safe in Pakistan, Ubba.

Well, this really is splendid!

Mr Nehru, we in America are

well aware

of your admiration for

the Soviet Union.

I admire America too, Mr Grady.

Good, I'm glad to hear that.

There is a lot that America can do here.

After freeing ourselves from

one empire,

we'll not get too close to another.

India must go her own way.

Excuse me, sir.

Mr Radcliffe would like to speak

with you.

With your permission, sir, I'll go.

I strongly think we need more time.

Sit down.

Pug, I don't know if you really

understand,

but the commission is in deadlock

with every city we come to,

and I'm most concerned about

the fairness of the thing.

I wonder if we might not involve

some other body.

What other body?

The United Nations, for example.

And admit that we British

can't see to our own affairs?

With respect, it's a monstrous

responsibility for just one man.

I'm going to go and see Mountbatten.

Dickie has to stay impartial.

You know that.

If he comes down on either side,

the whole thing will blow up.

It's got to be a clean cut.

It's a bloody axe, Pug, cleaving

right through people's lives.

This might be everything you need.

It's a policy document drawn up by

Churchill when he was Prime Minister.

Two years ago.

It sets out the future of India.

It should make your task easier.

What's this map?

It was drawn up by Viceroy Wavell

last year.

I don't understand. There's already

a boundary line there.

I've been asked to pass it on to you.

By whom? Mountbatten?

No. He knows nothing of it.

This comes right from the top, Radcliffe.

We didn't beat the Nazis and the Japs

to give away the shop to the Soviets.

As you can see, there are no

straight lines in India.

Good heavens!

There are hundreds coming every day.

Thousands in the city.

The stories they tell...

This isn't part of Daddy's plan, is it?

This way, this way.

Please, keep moving. Keep moving.

Duleep!

What happened?

Are any of our family here?

No.

Then I was... I was too late.

It was destroyed.

- What?

- Our village. They're all gone.

Men came from miles around,

destroying.

Our families are gone.

My mother? My sisters?

I couldn't find them.

I hope to God they are in

a refugee camp somewhere.

This girl I found in a barn.

The only one left.

All the way back, the dead lying

by the road.

Women jumped in the well

rather than be raped.

Sir, the boundary line is drawn.

We shan't announce this until after

the independence celebrations.

Why on earth?

The pressure I've been under

to produce that by today.

Let them have the joy of

their independence days

and face the misery of

the situation afterwards.

There will be carnage, sir,

either way.

All the leaders believe that partition

will reduce the violence, not inflame it.

I've done a wholly inadequate job.

I'm sorry you think so.

In all conscience, I cannot accept my fee.

I believe...

that you rather love this country.

I think you deserve to know.

Our porter is ready to load.

Do you think we'll have enough?

There are too many people,

Lady Sahib.

If we work all night,

we would still not have enough.

Let me see what I can do.

Which train did Aalia take?

The night train, the last train.

It says there are no survivors.

- Dickie, the refugees...

- Not now.

Please leave us.

This is why Jinnah wouldn't budge.

He'd already been promised

his Pakistan!

Why the hell did no one tell me?

So you could better do your job.

My job? Double-dealing

with men I've come to revere?

What do you mean, double-dealing?

You were perfectly honest,

and they gave you their trust,

as we hoped they would.

So I could urge them

to your foregone conclusion?

We have to protect our interests here.

Churchill can see it.

See what?

The future.

Look at the map.

Look at where the power will lie.

The Gulf, oil.

We need to secure our access,

you see, to these huge reserves,

and block access by others.

We'll have that security,

courtesy of Pakistan.

You've divided India for oil?

For security.

There's a Soviet empire.

Stalin needs a warm-water

eastern port.

He's had his sights set on Karachi.

He won't get it now.

Pakistan will be easier to influence

than an unruly India with

its socialist leanings?

Is that what you imagine?

It's not my place to imagine.

You have used me and my family.

You came here to serve

your king and country

and you've done so admirably.

I hear they're promoting you

from Viscount to Earl.

What about the people whose lives

have been destroyed by this?

That is unfortunate.

- Nobody foresaw...

- Blood is on your hands for this.

But Dickie...

it's your name on the plan.

It will always be known

as the Mountbatten Plan.

Good evening, Your Excellency.

What the hell is this?

You said you would protect us.

You have torn India to pieces.

- Everyone I loved is dead.

- Kumar...

Is this the price that we pay

for our freedom?

I have seen many young men

lose loved ones in the war.

- And in time...

- You have lost no one, nothing!

In time, you will go back

to England, untouched.

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