Sir Martyn’s statement was capped by a thunderous burst of applause; the more enthusiastic pounded on the table. George Edward Parkes reached over and shook Nehru warmly by the hand. Watching the celebration, Sir Eric Haohoa realized that the crisis over India’s continued existence had been weathered.
Whatever happened now, a newly independent India had been born.
“He has, of course, been properly treated?” Sir Eric Haohoa asked the question politely, but the prison governor took offense anyway.
“Of course he has, sir. We may be well removed from the center of administration down here, but we know what is right and what is not. I’ll not say he is the most popular prisoner we have ever had, especially after our Jawans took down the Eye-ties in East Africa, but he has received every courtesy due to his previous rank and position.”
Jawans, thought Sir Eric. Not so long ago, no British civil servant would have considered using the Indian word for an enlisted soldier. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a lock rattling and the creak of the cell door opening.
“Have you come to gloat, you wretched little guttersnipe?” Sir Richard Cardew spoke words loaded with venom. The hatred in his glare was so intense, Sir Eric actually felt himself taking a half-step backwards.
“No, sir; I have not. In fact, I have come to release you. The Cabinet has decided that it is no longer necessary to hold you in custody, nor would it be legal to do so without bringing you to trial. That option was seriously considered, since your actions caused the deaths of many good and honorable men. However, Deputy Prime Minister Nehru himself suggested that the disruption caused by bringing you to trial would far outweigh any benefits it might bring. So, on his initiative, it was decided that you should be released. You may remain in India if you so wish, or you may return to Britain. The choice is yours.”
“I will not stay silent. I will fight you. I represent the true government of India and the true feelings of the better people here. I will not be silent.”
Sir Eric smiled, just a little sadly. “You may do as you wish, Richard. It does not matter. You see, you have no constituency here. You have no power base, no support structure. While you have sat here, India has become a real country at last; one that stands on its own feet and whose voice is heard in the world. We have won great military victories and the Government of Italy is negotiating directly with us to end our war against them. With us, Richard; not London. The break with London is complete and final and even those who might once have had some sympathy for you are now swept up with the issues involved in ruling an independent country. Your voice, should you choose to raise it, will be an echo of the past.”
“The Empire still stands… ”
“No, Richard, it does not. You do not understand what I am telling you. Italy is negotiating directly with us; with Australia and South Africa. Canada has given its recognition to the Churchill government in Ottawa. The West Indies have struck out on their own as well. The Empire has gone; the British Commonwealth is now the Commonwealth of Nations and Britain’s voice is not heard in its councils. Richard, we are a new nation that has already won respect. We have an Army with a record of victories won in its own name. We have a Navy that is enough to give even the strongest of enemies cause to pause for thought. We have an air force that grows in strength and power every day. Six months ago, there was not a single fighter aircraft east of Suez. Now, we have four squadrons; tomorrow, we will stand up a fifth. That squadron will be stationed in Singapore. We have bombers; we have transport aircraft, flying boats and our own training school. Compared with all that, your voice is a very poor and insignificant thing.”
“You want to destroy the Empire. You treasonous, seditious, disloyal, subversive swine.” Sir Richard was foaming at the mouth with almost uncontained fury.
For the first time, Sir Eric’s voice lost its dispassionate tone. “Destroy the Empire? Never. My family have loyally served the Empire for three centuries; since a time when the Cardews were still stealing sheep from farms in Wales. It is Halifax and his cronies in London who have destroyed the Empire. It was always our policy that, in the event of Britain being occupied or forced to surrender, the rest of the Empire would fight on. The consequences of that policy, a policy that stemmed from and was promulgated by London, you will remember, were never realized until the situation actually arose and we had to deal with it.
“Even then, we were in denial until the abuse from London reached a point where we had no choices left. Complying with agreed Imperial policy and continuing the war meant we had to stand on our own and become truly independent countries. In requiring that, they destroyed the Empire. We have acted with sadness and reluctance; we have left the doors open, so that when we are victorious, we can rebuild what was torn down. That is a question for the future.
“Here, now and in this present, your opinions are just those of a relic from a bygone age and have no significance. How insignificant? You are not the only person being released today. I might mention Prithvi Singh Azad, for example; or Priyada Chakraborty. You might have heard of Achyut Ghatak or Adhir Kumar Nag. They also are being released today and many more of their supporters. You are just one more prisoner; one released as an act of clemency by a government that views you as completely unimportant. ”
“But, those men. They organized an insurrection against the legal government!” Sir Richard was appalled at the list of released prisoners.
“And you didn’t, Richard?
“Now, come along. The warden wants to see you before you leave for home.” And I want you out of this prison before the idea of martyring yourself by suicide occurs to you.
“They ignored us.” Lord Halifax stared at the Foreign Office telegram with barely-contained fury. “They just ignored us.”
And so our chickens come home to roost. Sir Edward Bridges looked at the Prime Minister with some shreds of sympathy. “Prime Minister, the Italians had to negotiate with those who held almost 200,000 of their men prisoner. Whatever their preferences, they had little choice in the matter.”
“I speak not of the Italians, but of the traitors in Cairo. They ignored every message we sent them; they treated our instructions with contempt. They have betrayed everything that they are supposed to hold dear. Then, they signed an agreement with the Italians, without as much as a by-your-leave to us. I want them court-martialled and broken.”
They did not treat your messages with contempt; they treated youin that manner. And, signing agreements with an enemy without as much as a byyour-leave is exactly what you did to them. Chickens returning to roost indeed.
“That is a serious problem, Prime Minister. General Wavell is an officer in the Indian Army, not the British Army. At any court-martial, he would simply claim that as an Indian Army officer, orders from Calcutta overrode any orders he received from London. Indeed, he could well argue that a British court martial no longer has any jurisdiction over an Indian Army officer. I believe the court would look sympathetically on that claim, especially since the result of his decision was a remarkable feat of arms, leading to a stunning military victory. Such successes traditionally justify the means by which they were achieved. The traditional Army verdict on such circumstances is, I believe, ‘Well done and don’t ever do it again.’ I would advise, Prime Minister, that you adopt the same approach.”