Partition of India Indian subcontinent today. According to American scholar Allen McGrath many British leaders including the British Viceroy, Mountbatten, were unhappy over the partition of India. Lord Mountbatten of Burma had not only been accused of rushing the process through, but also is alleged to have influenced the Radcliffe Line in India's favour. The commission took longer to decide on a final boundary than on the partition itself. Thus the two nations were granted their independence even before there was a defined boundary between them. Some critics allege that British haste led to increased cruelties during the Partition. Because independence was declared
RMS Viceroy of India 279 passengers were transferred to "Viceroy of India" as a precaution. On 12 November 1940 the Ministry of War Transport requisitioned "Viceroy of India" to be a troop ship. She returned to the River Clyde for the conversion. In 1942 "Viceroy of India" sailed in Convoy KMF-1A carrying Allied troops from Britain to invade French North Africa in Operation Torch. Early on 11 November 1942 she was returning empty from Algiers bound for Gibraltar. At 0524 hrs she was about northwest of Oran when fired a spread of four torpedoes at her. Two hit the ship, killing four crew members.