Communal rioting continues well into 1947.Jinnah permits…

Communal rioting continues well into 1947.

Jinnah permits the Muslim League to enter the interim government in an effort to stem further communal violence.

Disagreements among the ministers paralyze the government, already haunted by the specter of civil war.

In February 1947, Lord Louis Mountbatten is appointed viceroy with specific instructions to arrange for a transfer of power by June of 1948.

Assessing the situation, Mountbatten becomes convinced that Congress is willing to accept partition as the price for independence, that Jinnah will accept a smaller Pakistan than the one he demands (that is, all of Punjab and Bengal), and that Sikhs will learn to accept a division of Punjab.

The rising temperature of communal emotions convinces Mountbatten that the June 1948 date for partition is too distant and persuades most Indian leaders that immediate acceptance of his plan is imperative.

The assets of British India are divided in the ratio of seventeen for India to five for Pakistan by decision of the Viceroy's Council in June 1947.

Division is difficult to implement, however, and Pakistan complains of nondeliveries.