By 1947, the “Direct Action Day” and subsequent violence had pushed India toward a civil war. Congress leaders like Nehru and Patel realized that a unified India with a weak center and hostile communal pockets was unsustainable. They accepted partition as a “necessary evil” to secure immediate peace, avoid further bloodshed and establish a strong, stable government in the remaining territory. ANSWER: (D) The Congress wanted to avoid large-scale communal riots