A 'ROMANCE' To Remember..!

They met..they saw.. their eyes answered the curiosity..
The DEFERENCE bolstered the spark, the easiness and the compliancy..
Was it true..or just a sweet disposition.??..or was it a conspiracy??..
His sequestered heart obfuscated his mind..his decisions grafted hostility..
He was an intellect, a TRUE LOVER..But History might never ratify his advocacy..


It was the summer of 1947. MASHOBRA, a small hill station in Shimla, probably spawned the affection..They met and they appreciated each other..Appreciation conduced Adoration. Social bounds and uncongenial time did play the spoil sport .. still the 'Romance' blossomed. Little did he know that the banal act would be soaked in the historical foliates of the annalists with murky dark ink..

He was an intellectual, a philosopher, a futuristic ideologue and 'Lonely'.. She was a smart, glamorous, vivacious, and an amazing woman.. They met and were attracted..The attraction was mutual..

In the book -- India Remembered, written by the daughter of Edwina and Lord Mountbatten -- Lady Pamela recalls that Nehru wrote a letter to Edwina a decade later in which he described the way he was enamored by her at Mashobra, "that there was a deeper attachment between us, that some uncontrollable force, of which I was dimly aware, drew us to one another."..

Their romance blossomed and flourished..He used to write letter every night to her once she left India..Yes, they were in love.. a deep, affectionate, 'platonic' love..It did have a profound effect on his personal life.. However, Did his love for the wife of the last viceroy of India affected his Public Decisions..??..This question sired by their controversial relationship and kindled by his handling of the KASHMIR ISSUE after INDEPENDENCE, when he was the Prime Minister of the country, will probably lurk perpetually on his name..

Jawahar Lal Nehru became the first PM of the Independent India..Though India got Independence, it was still divided into BRITISH RAJ and several princely states.. Sardar Vallabh Bahi Patel spearheaded the successful annexation of the Princely States along with V.P. Menon, an alacritous, smartly intelligent and highly cogent personality. However, when it came to the annexation of KASHMIR, Nehru demanded to handle it as per his method. Nehru was a Kashmiri and he thought he was better suited to handle the Kashmir issue and consequently he disallowed Sardar Patel for the same..

In October 1947, Pakistan encouraged tribal warriors from the North West to attack Kashmir. The infiltrators plundered, raped, killed and marched ahead. By October 26, the infiltrators had reached the outskirts of Srinagar and Kashmir’s ruler Hari Singh had no other choice but to sign the instrument of accession to India under Jawahar Lal Nehru.. However the problems aggravated in KASHMIR..but instead of sending INDIAN ARMIES into the affected regions..he went to LORD MOUNTBATTEN to seek his advice on the matter..!

He used to admire Lord Mountbatten, owing to the influence that Edwina had over him. Undoubtedly, the Edwina-Nehru relationship was also of use to Lord Mountbatten as it was seen when he handled KASHMIR ISSUE in accordance with Lord Mountbatten..

“He (Lord Mountbatten) did use her (Edwina Mountbatten) in such ways. But he certainly wasn’t going to throw her, he didn’t say to her ‘go and become the Prime Minister’s (Nehru) lover, because I need you to intercede.’ It was a by-product of this deep affection.”
- Lady Pamela, daughter of Edwina & Lord Mountbatten

For strategic reasons, Britain was inclined towards Pakistan and Mountbatten was reportedly given the responsibility to ensure that India do not take any steps to eradicate the infiltrators from Jammu & Kashmir. By the end of 1947, Mountbatten had convinced Nehru to refer the Kashmir issue to the UN...

On 20 December 1947, Nehru accepted the idea implanted into his mind by Lord Mountbatten and Mountbatten succeeded in implementing the designs of the then British PM Clement Attlee. He played a sleight of hand by continuously highlighting the dangers of military action in Kashmir to Nehru and on the other hand, transferring confidential information to Attlee..It was during those days when Edwina probably managed to make the issue rather placating and appeasing to his heart and mind. Later, India’s case was buried into the piles of the administrative UN files..The infiltrators remained on the Indian soil, what today exists as PAKISTAN OCCUPIED KASHMIR (POK)..



IMAGE SOURCE: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nehruedwina-love-affair-caused-partition/443743/

CONTENT SOURCE(s): WIKIPEDIA + Interview of LADY PAMELA by KARAN THAPAR