Letter

Scope and Content

Letter from Auchinleck to Lord Ismay [Gen. Hastings Lionel Ismay, Baron Ismay, Chief of Staff to the Viceroy], accompanying copies of proposals (not included) for the setting up of an Armed Forces Reconstitution Committee. He stresses his conviction that the success of any plan for the division of the Armed Forces of India depends on the willing co-operation of the British officers now serving with them. He suggests that the goodwill of British officers is more likely to be secured if the Partition Committee states that the services of British officers are essential to the success of reconstitution and invites them to remain in positions of command during the reconstitution. Typescript.