Admiral of the Fleet Earl Mountbatten of Burma was the last Viceroy and  the first Governor-General  of India. He was born at Frogmore  House, Windsor (England) on 25 June  1900 in an aristocratic family and was related to most of the royal households of Europe. The young Louis Mountbatten, the surname   adopted by his  father  (Prince Louis  of  Battenberg) after  he  relinquished  his  foreign  titles joined  the Royal Navy after he had passed  through  Osborn  and  Dartmouth  Colleges. He  saw  action  in  the  Battle  of Jutland  during the First World  War and ended the war as sub-lieutenant. Specialising in radio communication,  he invented a  device  enabling  ships  to  keep  station, which  became  standard in   the  Royal Navy.

During the Second World War, Mountbatten rose from the rank of Captain  in command of a destroyer flotilla at the beginning to be Supreme Allied Commander, South-East Asia at its end. His exploits  as  commander  of  the  destroyer, HMS Kelly consolidated his reputation for skilled seamanship, daring and considerable luck. At this time he had the unique honour of holding rank in the Royal Navy, the British Army and  the  Royal Air Force. In the summer of 1943 he was appointed Supreme Commander in South­ East Asia. In September 1945, Mountbatten  accepted   the   formal   surrender of the Japanese southern armies in Singapore.

Earl Mountbatten  reached  the peak  of his  remarkable  career  in  1947 when  he was appointed Viceroy  of India by  Clement  Attlee,  Labour  Prime  Minister  of Britain. In  February   1947  the  British Government announced their definite intention "to effect the transference of power into Indian hands be a date not later than June 1948".   Mountbatten   took   up  his post on March 23, 1947, which gave him just  14 months to carry out his mandate. In the event, he did it in less than five. On August 15, the objective was achieved but against a background of a mass migration, lawlessness and bloodshed. However, he made an instant impact in India, first by befriending Jawaharlal Nehru and later by appearing beside Mahatma Gandhi at his prayer meetings in New Delhi.  It was a tribute to Mountbatten's statesmanship, sagacity and wisdom when he was invited to be independent India's first Governor General. After leaving India, he returned to the Royal Navy and rose to the rank of Admiral of the Fleet. He held the post of First Sea Lord and retired in 1965 as Chief of the Defence Staff.  He died on 28 August 1979.

Although a prince by birth, he became in his lifetime a man of liberal and democratic belief, a man unafraid of social and political change. He had an abiding interest in and involvement with India. On his return home in 1948, he helped to create and run the Jawaharlal Nehru Fund to send Indian students to study in Britain. An extraordinary personality, he will al­ ways occupy a place of honour among India's friends and well wishers.

Indian P & T Department is privileged to issue a commemorative stamp in his honour.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India