This letter is Lord Mountbatten’s last weekly report as Viceroy, addressed to the king, the prime minister and the India–Burma Cabinet Committee. It was sent on 16 August 1947 – the day after India had achieved independence while simultaneously being partitioned into India and Pakistan.

In the report, Mountbatten details the final days of negotiations in the lead-up to India’s independence and its partition into two separate states. Detailing exchanges with India’s leaders, state rulers and government workers, he talks about managing multiple crises in this period, with particular focus on the outcome and consequences of the Radcliffe Boundary Commission. He details the deliberations of the princely states’ rulers in deciding whether to join Pakistan or India, and describes how rumours about the Commission’s decision-making led to riots in the Punjab. Throughout, Mountbatten also refers to and describes his reasoning for delaying publication of the Boundary Commission awards. He talks also about establishing a Joint Boundary Force and Joint Defence Council made up of Hindu and Muslim representatives in an attempt to prevent further misunderstanding and disruption. 

Mountbatten later discusses the events which marked Independence Day for India and Pakistan, detailing the salutation of the new dominion flag and the huge ‘out of control’ crowds that turned up to observe.