Allegations over Mountbatten’s role in India-Pakistan partition raised in London tribunal

Did Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India, influence the India-Pakistan partition?

The allegation was raised by a British author before a tribunal in London which is hearing a case against the UK government whether to fully disclose the remaining confidential diaries and correspondence of Lord and Lady Mountbatten, according to media reports.

Clara Hamer, representing British author Andrew Lownie, who is seeking full disclosure of the confidential papers, told the First-Tier Tribunal (Information Rights) that Mountbatten’s diary revealed that he met British judge Sir Cyril Radcliffe, who headed the Boundary Commission to demarcate the India-Pakistan border, and Christopher Beaumont, its secretary, on July 12, 1947.

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They wanted to know whether that particular information, which might hint at Mountbatten’s role in the partition, was deliberately redacted by the British government when the author sought the release of documents citing the Freedom of Information clause.

They further alleged that the UK government opted to withhold that information as it might jeopardise their relationship with India.

Hamer also questioned why Mountbatten’s diary entry from August 6, 1947 — one week before the Independence — has also been redacted.

The confidential Mountbatten dairies are currently placed at the University of Southampton’s archival section named Broadlands Archive.

In 2011, the university purchased the diaries from the Mountbatten family, using public funds of over 2.8 million pounds and with the intention of making the papers widely available.

However, the university then referred some of the correspondence to the Cabinet Office.

In 2019, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) had found in favour of Lownie and ordered the release of the entire Broadlands Archive - which also includes “letters from Lady Mountbatten to Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of the newly independent India (33 files, 1948-60), along with copies of his letters to her.”

The University of Southampton had explained in response at the time that the correspondence between Lady Mountbatten and Nehru remained in private ownership and is "confidential but the University has a future interest in it".

That decision of the ICO has since been appealed, which is now being heard in the First-Tier Tribunal this week.

(With inputs from agencies)