[indistinct chatter]
Bapu, do you think Jinnah's speech has created an atmosphere of fear in Bengal?
CM Suhrawardy has called for a general strike on Friday!
Will you appeal to the people for peace?
Do you have faith that your countrymen will maintain Hindu-Muslim unity?
Do you think people will abide by your principles in spite of the circumstances?
Bapu! Jinnah has said
India will either be divided or destroyed.
Will India really be divided?
If India is to be divided...
it will be over my dead body.
Namaskar.
On this fine May morning in 1946,
the winds of change are blowing stronger than ever across the Indian Subcontinent.
The British, after nearly two centuries of rule, are preparing to leave.
The sun is beginning to set on the Empire,
and the dawn of a free India is on the horizon.
Behind closed doors,
men in power wrestle with one of the greatest challenges of our time.
There is but one question on the minds of one and all *
can India remain united?
Or will it, inexorably, be divided along the lines of faith and identity?
To answer this question, we begin in Simla!
On this historic day, key leaders of Hindustan
are gathered at Simla's Grand Cecil Hotel
to discuss the Cabinet Mission Plan
with Viceroy Lord Wavell and decide the future of this country.
All of Hindustan awaits the results of today's conference with bated breath.
[lift dings]
[in Gujarati] How are you, Jinnah bhai?
I am fine, thank you.
Why in English?
We hear you're speaking Urdu better than Ghalib these days!
Old habits die hard.
We don't shake hands with traitors to the faith.
The son of a nawab teaching a Maulana about Islam?
Let us hope this is the strangest thing we see today!
[Congress members laugh snidely]
Should have taken the stairs!
Gentlemen.
Mr. Azad, Mr. Jinnah,
may I present the committee of the Cripps mission...
Mr. Cripps himself, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Lawrence, and
this gentlemen is His Excellency, the Viceroy Wavell!
I believe they know who I am.
Gentlemen, good morning! Thank you for joining us.
Congress want a united India,
the League want Pakistan,
and both of you are united in wanting us to leave!
And we want to leave, believe me. Rather desperately in fact!
But we can't, because of this deadlock we find ourselves in.
In fact, if things go on like this,
London might start to think that perhaps you want us to stay after all!
But I do believe His Majesty's government
has found a compromise that will satisfy all parties!
We have decided on a united India!
A unified India, that will look something like this!
The mainland will be Group A *
Punjab, Sindh. And the Frontier will be Group B.
And finally, in the east, Assam and Bengal will be Group C!
These Brits must think we are fools!
They've divided the country into three on the basis of religion,
and expect us to believe, "India shall remain united"!
Dividing on the basis of religion is the British way,
but staying united is ours.
We reject the Plan.
Yes, but it rejects the League's demands too!
It rejects our demand for an independent Pakistan.
The Whites have grouped together the areas that have a Muslim majority!
Oh! But Quaid made us swear on the Quran that we would live and die for Pakistan.
Whether the English remember or not, I'm sure you remember, Quaid!
We are ready to wage war. Just give us an order!
Hold your horses, Suhrawardy.
Let's read between the lines first.
Each group can choose, if they so wish,
to leave the Union after 10 years have passed.
That means if not today, then ten years from now, they will have their Pakistan.
Does that mean we will we be under the thumb of these Congressis for ten more years?!
Relax, Nawab sahab.
Quaid will never deign to be a second-class citizen!
Liaquat-da, what are our options?
We have only two options.
The first is that we reject the Plan and forget the idea of a united India.
And the second is we accept the Plan, be satisfied with the groupings,
and forget the idea of an independent Pakistan!
And so, gentlemen,
at your earliest convenience
would you kindly tell us how you wish us to proceed?
[clock ticks persistently]
We need more time to think.
There is nothing to think about.
Let Jinnah make the first move.
Both the League and the Congress are sitting on the fence.
But Prime Minister, I suggest we stay on a little longer, so...
so a compromise can be reached.
We cannot afford to stay on!
Thanks to Churchill,
we now owe the world the princely sum of 34 million pounds!
The naval mutiny in Bombay last year almost undid us.
Let me make this perfectly clear to you, Viceroy *
Should another rebellion arise,
we do not have the troops for it.
But Prime Minister, Hindu-Muslim relations
are already on the brink.
If we rush the withdrawal it could backfire *
You do not understand, Viceroy.
The promise of withdrawal from India
is what won me the election and I intend to deliver on it!
Get the Indians to agree
so we can get the hell out of that blasted place!
Have I made myself clear?!
Very much so, Prime Minister.
A fine military man, but no sense of politics.
He's a man that lives in the past, yearning for a time long since gone.
A time of empire.
Yes, sir. Prime Minister, If I may be so bold,
I can't say I believe him the right man for the job.
Is there such a thing?
Pull!
Not quite the QF2, but it does the job.
I mean I do hope you are not getting bored of them already,
I dare say there'll be plenty more where that comes from.
When I'm the First Sea Lord...
Pull!
[single gunshot]
What*
Lady Mountbatten!
Darling!
Not at all.
Will you join us?
If I must.
So! How are Britain's finest?
Spirits much improved what with you joining our party.
Flattery will get you everywhere, Lord Shelby.
I intend it to. Which reminds me *
About the Sea Lordship,
I'll be in London next week. I'll put in a good word for you.
That is if we still have a navy?
If the Prime Minister gets his way,
you stand to command a fleet of trawlers and tugboats.
And what about the rumours I'm hearing about India...
How does a great grandson of Queen Victoria
feel about a representative of a Stepney slum
giving away the Jewel in the Crown?
Was it ever ours to give away?
There was no India before us.
Warring chiefs and bickering peoples do not a nation make.
We united the subcontinent, we built that nation!
To withdraw now is to condemn it.
My Lady, if we give up India now
the Soviets are bound to expand their influence.
That Nehru is a known Communist sympathiser.
And you believe this to be undesirable?
You do not?
Lunch! Yes.
Now, my wife has organised for Felix Ostini,
one of Bern's finest chefs
to curate the menu. So, gentlemen, if you will.
Now that's something you won't find in Stalin's Russia,
is it, Comrade Mountbatten!
Happy*
Comrade?
Save some for me, gentlemen!
Long live Pakistan! Long live Quaid-e-Azam!
Jinn, so many people are here hoping for Pakistan!
But when they find out that you have given up on Pakistan...
Who told you that?
Liaquat sahab... was saying...
These fools do not understand
that we are getting everything Pakistan would have given us, with these groupings!
Rights, equality, freedom. All of it!
If you were going to agree to just groupings, then what was Pakistan?
A bargaining chip?
Yes...
To remind the Congress that we Muslims are equal to the Hindus!
...Or to prove to yourself that you are equal to Gandhi?
I am equal to Gandhi.
[Jinnah coughs]
Ask these people, ask who is better... ask them!
I was just *
Don't patronise me!
These crowds have not gathered for Gandhi,
they are here for the Quaid-e-Azam!
Of course.
-For Muhammad Ali Jinnah! -Alright, calm down, Jinn...
[coughing intensifies] Are you alright?
Jinn?
Jinn! Are you alright?
[Jinnah heaves]
Someone! We need a doctor!
[clock ticks persistently]
You see those dark circles?
They are pulmonary cavities.
Meaning?
Meaning your brother has TB.
And it's eating up his lungs.
The disease has spread significantly.
The bacteria has created a wound in the lungs,
due to which air is leaking through the gaps in the lining.
At this rate, it will get harder and harder to breathe.
Jinn!
He smokes day and night. He doesn't eat.
He works for 18 hours a day, everyday...
M.A., if you don't cut down on your workload then...
Then?
Then you won't have more than a year left.
I am telling you not as a doctor, but as a well-wisher...
-You've got to slow down * -And I am telling you not as a patient,
but as a lawyer...
My rivals must not find out.
Jinn, didn't you hear what the doctor said?
Now the world will hear
what I have to say.
[indistinct chatter]
Maulana sahab *
[clock ticks persistently]
I knew it.
Jinnah has accepted the plan.
So Pakistan was just a bargaining chip...
If Jinnah has accepted, we should too.
Absolutely not.
Since when do we draw borders on the basis of religion?
What difference is there between Jinnah and us?
-The groupings are unacceptable. -Acceptable!
Give Jinnah the groupings, Jawahar...
So that he can retain his dignity before his party,
and Hindustan can remain united.
-It's a compromise. -We cannot compromise with Jinnah.
We will not give the League any concessions, Vallabhbhai.
Oh, don't worry about that, Jawahar...
once we are in power, we will get rid of the groupings as soon as possible.
But for that we need to be in power!
We are soldiers of truth...
When did we start fighting for power, Sardar?
Bapu...
We were going to lose a limb.
This is no more than a small cut.
Let us consent, Bapu.
Once we are in power, with time, even this cut will heal itself.
Freedom is but one step away, Bapu.
But that one step...
Will it be at the cost of our very souls?
Does anybody else have an alternative solution?
One thing is for certain
if we don't accept the plan,
the English will hand over the government to the League.
Vallabhbhai is right, Bapu.
I am in the final year of my tenure as party president.
I don't want to leave the nation in a state of chaos...
I am
I am too.
So am I.
In that case...
I propose a conditional agreement.
For now, let us agree to the groupings... alright?
Vallabhbhai! Once we agree,
it will be difficult to go back on our word.
We will cross that bridge when we come to it.
Maulana...
Let's write to the Viceroy detailing our agreement,
saying we accept the plan and that we are...
[melancholic music]
Bapu, please say something.
There is nothing left to say...
Then we must repeat what has already been said.
We must remind them...
this is not a new battle.
Millions have martyred themselves for the freedom of this country.
How can we back down now?
We must think with our heads as well as our hearts.
What Vallabhbhai does not realize
is that there are several problems with this Plan even other than the groupings!
Will they divide the army into three?
-Ten years from now, if the union-- -Slow down,
Jawahar, slow down.
There is still hope...
the charkha continues to spin.
This is All India Radio, and I am Zakir Qamar Raza.
It seems the sun has risen from the west today,
not in the sky but in the Indian government...
The Indian National Congress and the Muslim League have,
for once, agreed upon something!
Both parties have accepted the Cabinet Mission Plan!
The efforts of British Prime Minister Clement Attlee have led to the formation...
What does that mean?
-Will there be a Pakistan? -There will...
and there won't.
Will Hindustan be divided?
It will...
and it won't.
That's neither here nor there!
Why don't you ask him all these questions?
Oh!
Pyarelal-ji,
what does Bapu have to say about Congress accepting the plan?
Bapu said the country will be divided over his dead body!
This decision is against his principles! Pyarelal-ji!
Why has Congress accepted the groupings?
Is that why Bapu is not meeting with the press?
Is power more important for the Congress than Bapu's principles?
Bapu had promised the country won't be divided!
Now, Bapu must be held accountable for this!
Bapu is just like every other politician!
He made a promise, but didn't keep it!
It has been my honour to serve as president of the Congress for the last six years.
As you all know,
elections have been held for the position of Congress president...
and today, the results will be declared.
This decision
is important for not only the Congress
but for all of Hindustan.
Because the next president of the Congress
will be the first Prime Minister of independent India.
People say I always arrive before time...
but it appears you all arrived before me.
Maulana, have the votes from the regional Congress committees come in?
Yes.
Everyone has unanimously chosen Sardar Patel.
Congratulations, Vallabhbhai!
[Congress members thump tables]
Whether it is raising funds for the party,
delivering our message to villages far and wide,
or standing firm against the British...
No matter what the problem,
the solution is always the same...
Sardar.
[Congress members thump table again]
For an ordinary party worker,
an ordinary soldier,
there is no chief quite like Sardar!
This party, and each of us, needs Sardar...
But the nation...
needs Jawahar!
[melancholic music]
-Bapu, we should adhere to the party mandate- -Jawahar...
Before I became a politician, a barrister, or an administrator,
I have been a soldier.
Bapu's soldier.
And soldiers don't ask questions.
They keep their heads down and follow the orders they are given.
You would have done the same, Jawahar.
Therefore, I,
Vallabhbhai Patel,
withdraw my name from consideration for the position of Congress president.
The very first Prime Minister of free India will be
Jawaharlal Nehru!
[hopeful theme music]
Sir, sir, sir!
As the president of the Congress, you will be the nation's first Prime Minister.
What will be your agenda for the first year?
Sir, we have heard that the Congress has accepted the Cabinet Plan.
Does that mean that the Congress is okay with dividing the nation into three groups?
Sir, these groupings have been made on the basis of religion.
Is that not against the principles of the Congress?
Please tell us, sir!
Just one statement, sir.
When India is free,
India will do as she likes.
On the matter of secularism...
we are not encumbered by any promises or assurances.
About Congress's principles...
When the session begins, the matter of religious groupings will be discussed again.
If need be, they can be removed altogether.
These Congressis...
they are changing the plan to their convenience while the British are still here!
They are mistaken
if they think they can take me for granted.
I had forgotten...
the Congress only likes subservient Muslims
not the ones that are willing to fight for their rights.
The time has come to remind them
that I am their equal!
[ominous music begins]
We do not want war...
But if the Congress asks for war...
They shall have it!
The time has come for each Muslim to take DIRECT ACTION.
And if, for this, they have to employ illegal
and unconstitutional means, so be it!
Sir... Quaid has rejected the cabinet plan.
He is addressing a press conference as we speak... listen.
We want an independent, sovereign Pakistan *
and we will settle for nothing less.
The old man is senile.
First he accepts the plan. Then he rejects the plan.
We have guns too,
and we are not afraid to use them!
Hindustan
will be divided...
or DESTROYED.
[frantic music]
Now I will show the League the power of a true Muslim leader.
Nazirul!
Call for a total general strike on Friday.
Pakistan, Pakistan... we will fight for Pakistan!
"DIRECT ACTION DAY" "TOTAL GENERAL STRIKE"
The largest protests will happen in Calcutta.
Pakistan, Pakistan... we will fight for Pakistan!
Our men will rally at every street corner.
Markets will remain closed.
And if the Hindus try to hinder the strike...
we will declare a government holiday!
The Quaid-e-Azam's wish...
is our command.
Hindustan, Hindustan! We cannot divide Hindustan!
Pakistan, Pakistan... we will fight for Pakistan!
Hindustan, Hindustan! We cannot divide Hindustan!
16th August, 1946...
This date will go down as a blot in our history books.
At 11 AM, stone pelting began in northern Calcutta.
By afternoon, rivers of blood were flowing from Sealdah to Shyam Bazar...
Homes were destroyed, shops looted,
thousands massacred on the streets of Calcutta.
Hospitals were inundated,
morgues overflowed,
even as the city's police struggled to control
the violence and arson on the ground.
Most of the casualties occurred
in the highly populated areas of Bowbazar, Upper Circular Road, and Manicktala.
Calcutta has seen bloodshed before,
but humanity has never shamed itself as much as it has in the last 24 hours.
It is feared that by tonight, the death toll may climb up to 3000.
I understand.
Quaid, we must condemn these riots publicly.
And Suhrawardy must be compelled to resign. Otherwise, the League will suffer greatly.
You can't make an omelette
without breaking a few eggs!
Huh?
Even if it is out of the fear of more violence...
The Congress will be forced to comply with our demand for Pakistan eventually.
In war, it is men who die.
These riots have killed humanity itself.
The wounds our nation has suffered are deep, Vallabhbhai...
I am afraid...
afraid they may never heal completely.
First, we have to ensure that this never happens again.
The Congress has some tough decisions to make now.
You were right, Jawahar.
We cannot reach a compromise with Jinnah.
The League will not receive any concessions*
No more.
We will never forget this Direct Action Day,
nor will we...
let the world forget.
The innocent blood spilt will not be wasted.
Jinnah will have to pay the price for this.
[ominous music swells]