The Scandal That Shaped Partition: Heartbreak & Secret Deals
5/26/20267 min
Unlock the full episode and the complete members’ miniseries by joining the Empire Club at empirepoduk.com How did the relationship between Nehru and Edwina Mountbatten tangibly change the course of Partition? What were the parting words that Nehru said to his love when the Viceroy and Vicereine left India? How did the relationship between these three important individuals change over the rest of their lives? In the final episode of Empire’s first members-only miniseries, Anita is joined once again by Alex Von Tunzelmann to discuss the parting of the Mountbattens and Nehru, and how the romance with Edwina changed the future of India. Email: empire@goalhanger.com Instagram: @empirepoduk Blue Sky: @empirepoduk X: @empirepoduk Assistant Producer: Imogen Marriott Social Producer: Charlie Johnson Producer: Anouska Lewis Executive Producer: Dom Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
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Anita Anand· Host0:18
[upbeat music] Our Empire Club miniseries reaches its dramatic finale this week in episode four of The Scandal That Shaped Partition. The first prime minister of India and the wife of the last viceroy have fallen in love as the horrors of partition play out around them. To get a flavor of that episode, here's a clip from our discussion of Nehru's love letters to Edwina Mountbatten. Just one little extract of the letters, you know. So when, when she leaves after a trip to Shimla, where Nehru is at, "I hated seeing you drive away this morning. You have left me with a strange sense of peace and happiness. Perhaps I've brought you the same. Life is a dreary business, and when a bright patch comes, it rather takes one's breath away." I mean, my God, if someone wrote that to you.
Alex von Tunzelmann· Guest1:14
That is- It's not bad ... a letter, a very intimate- Yes ... letter.
Anita Anand· Host1:17
Intimate and in-- loving. I mean- Yes ... it's a loving letter.
Alex von Tunzelmann· Guest1:20
It is, and quite exposing as well.
Anita Anand· Host1:22
Yeah.
Alex von Tunzelmann· Guest1:22
I mean, quite extraordinary. So they were writing these letters to each other. Most of them we can't look at. Most of them- But that's because the, is it