.
VP Menon had become indispensable much before he began unifying India. He worked under an unbelievably punishing deadline in 1947 to put together a plan for transfer of power - proposing that power be transferred to two federal governments in India and Pakistan - on his typewriter. This became the basis of the settlement under which the British left India three months later.
The canny Menon, working as Patel's envoy, fought a carrot-and-stick battle with the rulers. They were offered a privy purse, or a pension in compensation, and were allowed to retain their palaces and titles. But when things become difficult, the stick came in handy.
Comments
Post a Comment