History Documentary hosted by Shaheen Khan, published by Channel 4 in 2022 - English narration
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On 15 August 1947, India officially declared independence, but not without conflict, violence and bloodshed between Pakistan. To commemorate the 75th Independence Day in both India and Pakistan, Channel 4 broadcast a two-part documentary to show the process of how India and Pakistan came to be after the British Empire left.
75 years on from one of the 20th century's greatest catastrophes "India 1947: Partition in Colour" tells the story of the personal rivalries between the key players at the centre of partition - Nehru, Jinnah and Mountbatten - and what impact their relationships had on this momentous event.
The 2 x 60-minute film employ colorized archival film footage, expert interviews and private documents to examine the events leading up to and the fallout from Partition, as the fate of 400 million people were determined by a small cabal of men. The Partition divided India into the independent nation states of India and Pakistan following the withdrawal of British rule in 1947. Spotlighting three of the key players in Partition - British viceroy Lord Louis Mountbatten, Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's first governor-general - the documentary digs into the interpersonal dynamics underpinning the events, including the enmity between Mountbatten and Jinnah, the rumored affair between Nehru and Mountbatten's wife, the lack of action as violence between Hindus and Muslims escalated, and the ultimate results of a fatally rushed process to end Britain's centuries-long rule of India. The resulting chaos & bloodshed then ensues from Mountbatten's decision to wrap up almost a century of British Rule in ten weeks rather than a year- the ramifications of which, are still being felt 75 years on.
"India 1947" also boasts privileged access to the private unpublished memoir of Christopher Beaumont, the private secretary of Cyril Radcliffe, who was tasked with creating the border between India and Pakistan. The documentary reveals what happened during the final days leading up to August 15, when the border line was changed at the last minute.
Follow the story through films seen in colour, some for the very first time, along with interviews from historians, professors, descendants of those directly responsible in terms of the decision-making process, transcripts dating back to the period in question and archived audiotapes from people who witnessed the conflict first-hand.
Historians interviewed for the documentary include Shruti Kapila of Cambridge University, Adeel Hussain of Leiden University, and Andrew Lownie, author of 'The Mountbattens: Their Lives and Loves.' Also featured is Lakshman Menon, grandson of Mountbatten's chief aide V.P. Menon. Narrated by Shaheen Khan.
Series Produced & Directed by Laura Nash ; Optomen Television Ltd for Channel 4
2) Part 2
Part 2 features the immediate aftermath after the declaration that India and Pakistan were to be partitioned, with riots and massacres breaking out across both countries along with the key decisions made when drawing up the eventual borders of both countries. The documentary is based on a timeline and this part begins where Part 1 left off on 03 June 1947 from Lord Mountbatten's announcement of his plans, the focus on the 73 days leading to both countries' independence on 14 and 15 August 1947 afterwards, the violence after the borders were announced and ends with the withdrawal of Britain entirely from India, the death of Pakistan's leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah along with the formation of Bangladesh from East Pakistan in 1971.
