Chapter 311 Gandhi’s Advice

East-West Pakistan balance, Ali Jinnah’s later Pakistani leaders chose to suppress Bengal.

But in reality the ethnic strength of Bengal was far more than any other ethnic group.

If British India had not been undivided, the Bengalis would have been the second largest ethnic group, with a population second only to that of the Hindustanis.

The Bengalis also controlled India’s earliest industrial area, the Calcutta Industrial Area, and occupied an economic zone centered on the mouth of the Ganges River, which was better than the Hindustanis in every way except for a slight demographic disadvantage.

From an ethnic point of view, the partition of India Bengalis were the biggest victims, the complete Calcutta industrial zone divided into two pieces, a nation divided into two countries, well a subcontinent strong nation, in both countries became the suppressed one.

“If I had to choose, I would like to create a real nation-state with Bengal as the main focus, very much in the tradition of our European countries. It could be called Bangladesh or whatever the country is, I wonder what Mr. Jinnah thinks?” Holding his teacup, Alan Wilson proposed another solution.

“I will never agree.” Ali Jinnah flatly refused after hearing that, “It would make the subcontinent a mess.”

“I knew you wouldn’t agree, so what will Pakistan do to the Bengalis?” Alan Wilson shrugged, “Choose suppression or what? If you choose to suppress it is bound to not last long, but tolerant treatment is actually the same, sooner or later the Bengalis will have a new country, this problem is almost insoluble.”

Alan Wilson couldn’t think of a solution to the problem either, but then again, all he was doing in British India was not solving the problem, but delaying it, pushing the present problem back as far as possible.

Rationally he knew that as time went on, the accumulated problems would only become bigger and bigger and more and more daring to move without a solution.

But what did it matter, that was a matter for the Indians and Pakistanis.

Since Ali Jinnah objected, he did not mention the Bengalis is the matter, anyway, when the time comes to die is not the British.

But in his heart Alan Wilson has made up his mind, after leaving to determine the partition of India and Pakistan, he will be the establishment of Bangladesh, the Congress Party and the PML-N is firmly opposed to the matter of the Bengalis in the gathering areas of the Bengali people widely disseminated, is considered to be another digging a hole, afford the tradition of the British Empire.

This meeting, the greatest significance is to let Ali Jinnah believe that Allen Wilson is sincere to help him, although he is the main purpose of the British is to split British India, but the general direction is not the same way is not the same thing, the two sides really have the space to cooperate, the space is not small it.

The imperialists and independence fought against it and came to a consensus on this aspect of partition.

At the same time Allen Wilson also informed Ali Jinnah of his conditions, the bottom line of the British Indian civil servants, stay full 1947 a full year, the independence of the next year in the matter, so in this time, the PML-N must cooperate with the civil servants.

Of course it was mutual, the civil servants absolutely supported the idea of Indo-Pakistani partition, tried to stop any efforts by the Viceroy to preserve British India, were absolutely biased in favor of the PMLN in the judgment of things, and both sides maintained liaison relations until British India ceased to exist.

What bad intentions could the civil servants have, nothing more than seeking wealth, and essentially would not put obstacles in the way of the emergence of Pakistan, while at the same time creating space for the British Empire to be the regulator later.

For the PML-N, the journey to pursue independence will be smoother with the help of the British, and both sides will benefit from the merger.

“How did the talks go?” Sir Barron saw Alan Wilson return and asked directly, he knew that Alan Wilson was going to talk to Ali Jinnah and wondered if his assistant had returned with good news.

“Not bad.” Alan Wilson mused and opened his mouth, “Clarified the bottom line of both sides, and made Ali Jinnah realize that there is actually room for cooperation between our two sides, as for the Governor’s opinion, it is only the Governor’s personal opinion. It does not represent the overall opinion of the PMLN.”

“Oh, that doesn’t sound too bad. By the way, news has officially come from the country. Senator Churchill has agreed to make a trip to New Delhi.” Sir Barron nodded out the other news.

“The great ex-prime minister, going out of his way to run around for the empire, how touching.” Alan Wilson said with a twist of words, “Does the Viceroy know about this?”

“Gandhi is here and the Governor is meeting with him.” Sir Barron said with a grimace, “I wish Senator Churchill had arrived earlier, we should have greeted Mr. Backbencher with the Prime Minister’s treatment.”

“I don’t think there’s a problem, Senator Churchill has a wide international profile after all, it’s not too much of a stretch to extend some courtesy to the hero who won the Great War, and in this part of British India we can still treat him as Prime Minister.”

If it were an imperial period, Allen Wilson’s remarks, which were a proper expression of insubordination, would have been met with trouble. But now, in the modern world, who cares.

“You’re not staying to wait for Gandhi and the Governor’s results?” Sir Barron saw Alan Wilson to leave and asked.

“Which there is no result, no matter what idea Gandhi has, Zenner will not agree.” Alan Wilson laughed, this has full confidence, know the result there is no need to watch the process.

With the approval of his top boss, Allen Wilson left work early today, without any deduction in pay.

He even had time to take a trip to Delhi, passing by the junction of New Delhi and Delhi, where the previously erected countdown sign still loomed, while the surrounding area was cluttered with Indians strolling along and poking weeds into the earth with their walking sticks.

At this time of year, everything is dressed in beautiful pale colors – the pale green of the leaves, the powdery brown of the dirt and tree trunks – like fading watercolor washes. Alongside the roads, flocks of small, low-flying brown pigeons chase each other, while bright green bee-eaters frolic like slow-flying swallows.

A team of sweepers was heading toward some filthy garbage pit, each man’s burden half-hidden beneath his coat, that lay at the edge of the grass.

The hungry wretches, with arms and legs as thin as faggots, knees so weak that they could not stand up straight, and only earth-colored rags to cover their bodies, were walking like skeletons wrapped in corpse cloth.

These Indians and the British expatriates in New Delhi once compared, the gap between the big visible, in a territory, is completely two worlds.

New Delhi’s winter can only be said to have, even at this time of the year, the so-called bone-chilling cold winds do not exist, on the contrary, every now and then a day’s temperature from less than ten degrees, into more than twenty degrees.

This was not really friendly to Allen Wilson, who lived in a place with four distinct seasons and always had to be prepared with outerwear to deal with the different temperatures, but Gandhi did not have this problem.

The Governor’s Mansion had only the air conditioner in Mountbatten’s office by virtue of a single air conditioner that kept the temperature in the mid to upper twenties.

When Gandhi first entered the office from the fiery temperature, he was shivering with cold.

The modern civilization brought about by science and technology was always alien to Gandhi. Seeing this, Mountbatten immediately ordered the air-conditioner to be turned off and the windows to be opened, and Mountbatten’s wife fetched a navy woolen sweater and draped it over the shivering Gandhi.

While Mountbatten’s wife instructed the servants to busy themselves with the luxurious dishes, Manu, who had come to the meeting with Gandhi, prepared his customary meal – a bowl of porridge mixed with lemon juice, yogurt and date powder.

The handle of Gandhiji’s small spoon had been broken off and tied to it by a bamboo stick. Both the two white iron plates and the small spoon had been brought out of the jail from the last imprisonment. Gandhi smiled and handed a saucer full of thin gruel to Mountbatten.

“This tastes good, you’d better try it, it’s no worse than a mountain of food.” Gandhi said with a sly look.

Mountbatten took one look at the scanty stuff and was at a loss for words, he didn’t know Gandhi had come to this, but it was hard to swallow just by looking at it so the Governor simply refused, “I don’t think I’ve ever eaten it before and I don’t want to try it.”

“Never mind, it’s hard to get started, try it, you might like it.” Gandhi stubbornly continued to insist that the other man try it.

Mountbatten couldn’t argue with the marvelous old man in front of him, and out of politeness and sincerity, he had to take a careful bite.

Gandhi looked at him blearily and he had to swallow. It was good that Gandhi did not give an inch and had to ask the Governor to finish eating.

The talks began formally and both sides went straight to the point. Mountbatten began by making his point, telling Gandhi that it had always been British policy never to submit to force, but that in view of the victory of Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance movement, Britain had now decided to withdraw from India, no matter what circumstances arose.

Turning to Mountbatten, Gandhi said, “It is important to ask you not to divide India, to ask you to refuse to divide India, even if that refusal invites a bloody war.”

“It is important to state that the voices of partition are there.” Mountbatten spoke after a moment’s silence, “Until the last moment, I hope that possibility does not arise, and in my mind partition is the last move.”

Gandhi touched his head and came up with a bold idea, one so bold that it surprised even Mountbatten, a general who had commanded a thousand armies. Gandhi’s idea was to dissolve the Nehru government and invite Jinnah to organize a new government.

The Congress Party would never sabotage Jinnah’s plan to form one. If Jinnah did not accept the plan, then the Congress would form the government.

Fearing that the other party had not heard him, Gandhi repeated, “You can give the whole of India to the PML-N, but never divide India. Please put the majority of Hindus under PMLN rule and entrust Jinnah with the task of forming a government and handing over British sovereignty to them.”

If Alan Wilson were here, he would have marveled, with a tone of I knew it all, that he had seen Gandhi’s true colors.

“Is Mr. Gandhi really willing to make such a sacrifice?” Governor Mountbatten was full of awe, he now felt that Gandhi was much better to deal with than Arizona.