Introduction

The time is 1947 and because of your outstanding service in WWII, you have been appointed undersecretary to Lord Louis Mountbatten, the current Viceroy of India. This posting fits your dreams, because you read both History and Economics at Cambridge University before the war. It’s your first day, and you’ve been called in to meet directly with Lord Mountbatten. He advises you that he has been given the task of advising His Majesty, King George VI of England as to whether or not England should honor its promise to give up “the Jewel in the Crown”, India. “I’ll be needing your help old bean,” Mountbatten says. “Here’s what I’d like you to do…”

King George VI Lord Louis Mountbatten