With reference to the events leading to the Partition of India, answer the following questions:

(i) Three proposals of the Cabinet Mission were:

1. Provincial Autonomy — The Provinces would enjoy full autonomy for all subjects other than the Union Subjects, which were Foreign Affairs, Defence and Communication.
2. Grouping of Provinces — The British Provinces would be divided into three groups — Group A of six Hindu-majority provinces, Group B of three Muslim-majority provinces, and Group C consisting of Bengal and Assam.
3. Formation of a Constituent Assembly — A Constituent Assembly of 389 members would be set up to frame the new Constitution of the Indian Union, of which 296 members were to be elected from the British Provinces and 93 from the Princely States.

(ii)
(a) The Date of Independence — The transfer of power, originally proposed for June 1948, was to be advanced and completed at the earliest possible date.

(b) The boundaries between dominions — The Plan provided for the creation of a Boundary Commission to settle the boundaries of the two Dominions in case partition was decided upon.

(c) The North-West Frontier Province — A plebiscite was to be held in the North-West Frontier Province to ascertain whether the people wanted to join India or Pakistan.

(iii) The Congress accepted the Mountbatten Plan for the following reasons:

1. The large-scale communal riots that engulfed the country convinced the Congress leaders that Partition was the only practical solution to the communal problem.
2. The Muslim League had joined the Interim Government to obstruct and not to cooperate. The experience of working with the League convinced the Congress that it could not have a joint administration with it.
3. The only alternative to Partition was a Federation with a weak Centre. A smaller India with a strong central authority was better than a bigger State with a weak Centre.
4. The leaders felt that further delay in the transfer of power could find India in the midst of a Civil War.