The countdown that was

The Last Days of The Raj depicts the struggle faced by not only the once-knotted community of India that comprises Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, but also the British forces in getting the Congress and Muslim League to reach a compromise when it came to dividing India.

This Channel4 documentary is sure to be centre of a few controversies. With insights from people within touching distance of the likes of Gandhi, Nehru and Jinnah, The Last Days of The Raj depicts the rush of blood that forced hasty decisions, including the appointment of Sir Cyril Radcliffe to draw out the borders. Radcliffe, it must be mentioned, had never been to India before and had only read about the wonders, the conflicts and the amount at stake.

Featuring Gandhi’s grandson, Nehru’s niece, an All India Radio presenter and a presence from the Mountbatten abode, we not only get personal opinions of what should and should not have happened, but also what was supposed to happen and did not; from the days when the Muslims and Hindus were fighting to rid India of the British monarch, to the presenting of the Two-Nation theory. And from how Jinnah, the leader of the Muslim voice, termed a westerner due to his attire and lifestyle, to how he suddenly changed to a more accepted set of clothing (and a Jinnah cap), we see the tragedy that befell the suffering public as Partition was brought forward by over 10 months.

Much of the first-half is about Lord Mountbatten convincing Jinnah to drop the idea of a separate nation. With Gandhi offering Jinnah the position of prime minister, an order reluctantly accepted by the Nehru-led Congress after warning Gandhi of severe consequences by the masses, a truce was in sight. However, with Jinnah’s repeated refusals led by “the cow I wish to eat is worshipped by the Hindus and every time I shake a Hindu’s hand, he needs to wash it” left Mountbatten with no choice but to allow Radcliffe to draw the lines behind closed doors.

Not knowing what side of the border their homes may end up, a chaos was given birth to. Swords were drawn to slay the opposition; Sikhs were killed by Muslims, a severe retaliation saw the tide turn the other way as well. Trains full of emigrants attacked and no one spared. Wives, sisters and daughters were attacked and raped as the men were cut open. With over a million people killed and over 14 million displaced, the Partition days brought more misery and bloodshed than during the entire British rule over India.

The Last Days of The Raj depicts a balanced view of what happened during Partition and how the British found India in a disastrous state and left it worse off. It is a story of many individuals with conflicting desires, a story of sacrifices, and a story strange decision-making.

© Faras Ghani 2007

Published in Images (Dawn) 19th Aug 2007