Well put. One wonders if they actually sought this role, as opposed to merely accepting it as among the responsibilities that came with empire. My guess is that some among them -- we would call them liberals today -- actually cherished the opportunity.
Which reminds me of a very incisive piece authored by a Northwestern student that appeared yesterday. Liberals Insult The Very People They Try To Help.
"And there are other examples, most notably, in my view, the herding of the Muslims of the sub-continent into Pakistan and Bangladesh."
Was this not a conscious decision on the part of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the so-called Father of Pakistan? My understanding is that Jinnah demanded a separate Muslim state, as opposed to the multi-cultural state that Gandhi and his followers preferred.
Once the partition was agreed to, a massive population transfer followed.
Once the partition was agreed to, a massive population transfer followed.
Provincial pressures, however immense, should have been resisted by Mountbatten et al.