“This is not a normal viceroyalty on which I am embarking,” he admitted, in a forthright address which newspapers back in London reported with some shock. “Every one of us must do what he can to avoid any word or action which might lead to further bitterness or add to the toll of innocent victims,” he said. “I am under no illusion about the difficulty of my task. I shall need the greatest good will of the greatest possible number and I am asking India to-day for that good will.”17 This was the sound of the British Empire owning up to its limitations, and the old guard of the raj might have
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