Partition of India million became homeless. However, many argue that the British were forced to expedite the Partition by events on the ground. Once in office, Mountbatten quickly became aware that if Britain were to avoid involvement in a civil war, which seemed increasingly likely, there was no alternative to partition and a hasty exit from India. Law and order had broken down many times before Partition, with much bloodshed on both sides. A massive civil war was looming by the time Mountbatten became Viceroy. After the Second World War, Britain had limited resources, perhaps insufficient to the task of keeping order. Another
Legislatures of British India its meetings were presided over by the Viceroy of India. Prior to the Partition of British India, the imperial legislature was succeeded by the Constituent Assembly of India, from which the Interim Government of India headed by the Viceroy of India chose ministers in 1946. In the Dominion of Pakistan, the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan succeeded the Indian assembly in 1947. In the provinces of both India and Pakistan, pre-partition assemblies continued to function. The assemblies of Bengal and the Punjab were divided between the newly formed sub-national units of East Bengal, West Bengal, East Punjab and West Punjab. The