The end of colonial rule, the birth of two nations and the man at the helm of both… all in 48 hours.
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00:00But the national flag, the saffron, white and green tricolour, was publicly unfurled.
00:05For the rest it was crowds, crowds, crowds, all rejoicing over the birth of the Dominion of India.
00:17This was the scene in Karachi at the meeting of the Constituent Assembly.
00:20Liaquat Ali Khan moved a resolution concerning the Pakistan national flag, hand-handed one round.
00:26Jagindranath Mandal, leader of the Untouchables, was present.
00:30And the only woman member of the Assembly was Begum Shahnawaz.
00:36Later, accompanied by Lady Mountbatten, the Viceroy came to launch the Dominion of Pakistan.
00:43It was on his last day as Viceroy, the day before he became Governor-General of the neighbouring Dominion of India.
00:50He now read the King's message.
00:55Sitting beside Lady Mountbatten was Mr Jinnah's sister, Miss Fatima Jinnah.
01:01Next, the inauguration of Mr Jinnah as Governor-General.
01:04He takes the oath of allegiance to King George VI as Head of Pakistan.
01:10That's the Governor-General's personal flag.
01:12And afterwards, the flag of the new Dominion itself.
01:15That's the Governor-General's personal flag.
01:17And afterwards, the flag of the new Dominion itself was broken.
01:28The scene in Delhi was typical of hundreds of towns throughout the vast territory that was about to become the Dominion of India.
01:36Cows being held sacred by the Hindus are never driven off the pavements.
01:40And all the familiar activities to be witnessed in this teeming city were being carried on as usual.
01:45But there was an undercurrent of pent-up excitement.
01:48For everyone knew that India, Hindustan India, was now to be free and independent.
01:58Crowds gathered throughout the day outside the Constituent Assembly building.
02:01For that night, the appointment of the Governor-General was to be confirmed.
02:05At midnight, the actual transfer of power took place.
02:08The Assembly was addressed by the President, Dr Rajendra Prasad.
02:12And the Prime Minister, Pandit Nehru.
02:16Next day, huge crowds again assembled, this time outside Government House.
02:21They wanted to see the important leaders arrive for today's big ceremony.
02:37Sardar Patel, Minister of Law.
02:40Sardar Baldev Singh, Minister of Defence.
02:42And from the roof, Pandit Nehru surveys the Vasthram,
02:45which was so great that it held up the arrival of the Principal Personality.
03:00Indeed, the Bengal Lancers escorting Lord and Lady Mountbatten
03:03had considerable difficulty in making a lane through the hundreds of thousands of people gathered there.
03:12The occasion was the swearing in of Lord Mountbatten as Governor-General of the Dominion of India.
03:18The fact that the ex-Viceroy was to hold the office
03:20is itself a great tribute to his work for the Indian people.
03:24As further evidence of the popularity of the Governor-General and his wife,
03:27there are these scenes of their attendance in the afternoon
03:30at a sort of children's fete, where sweets were distributed
03:33and a number of entertainments presented.
03:36The final scene during this great moment in India's history
03:39was the ceremony of the flag in the evening.
03:42Various units of the Indian forces were to have been inspected by Lord Mountbatten,
03:46but as it turned out, he was quite unable to leave his carriage,
03:49so great was the delay.
03:52The Indian flag was to be hoisted at the end of the evening,
03:55and the Indian flag was to be hoisted at the end of the evening.
03:58The Indian flag was to be hoisted at the end of the evening,
04:01and the Indian flag was to be hoisted at the end of the evening.
04:04The Indian flag was to be hoisted at the end of the evening,
04:07and the Indian flag was to be hoisted at the end of the evening.
04:11But the national flag, the saffron, white and green tricolour,
04:14was publicly unfurled, and for the rest it was crowds, crowds, crowds,
04:19all rejoicing over the birth of the Dominion of India.