Aug 15, 2026 13:31 pm IST

Opinion | Noakhali To Parliament, What Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah And Faiz Were Doing On Aug 15, 1947

What was Gandhi doing while Nehru was making his famous midnight speech, and why was Jinnah hosting a lunch as a new nation began fasting? August 15, 1947, looked very different depending on where you stood.

Rasheed Kidwai Rasheed Kidwai Columnist

Rasheed Kidwai Columnist

On February 20, 1947, British Prime Minister Clement Attlee announced that the British would leave India. On June 3, Viceroy Lord Louis Mountbatten published a plan to transfer power in the next 72 days. The task included the partition of the subcontinent, dividing its army, civil service, railways, police and postal system, and apportioning the respective share of assets down to the office equipment, etc. Mountbatten had a tear-off calendar at his table that showed how many days were left to complete the task.

On August 15, 1947, the country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, made a ringing speech inside Parliament at midnight, saying, "Long ago we made a tryst of destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge…" Minutes after the historic speech, Nehru arrived at the Viceregal Palace (now Rashtrapati Bhavan) to formally invite Mountbatten to become independent India's Governor-General, and handed him an envelope that supposedly contained the names of........

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