 On 20 February 1947 , Attlee announced Mountbatten 's appointment , and that Britain would transfer power in India not later than June 1948 . Mountbatten took office as Viceroy on 24 March 1947 , two days after his arrival in India . By then , the Congress had come around to the idea of partition . Nehru stated in 1960 , " the truth is that we were tired men and we were getting on in years ... The plan for partition offered a way out and we took it . " Leaders of the Congress decided that having loosely tied Muslim @-@ majority provinces as part of a future India was not worth the loss of the powerful government at the centre which they desired . However , the Congress insisted that if Pakistan were to become independent , Bengal and Punjab would have to be divided . 
