Lord Mountbatten came to India as Viceroy along with specific instructions to

1. The question asks about the specific instructions given to Lord Mountbatten when he came to India as the last Viceroy. 2. Lord Mountbatten arrived in March 1947 with a mandate from the British government (under Prime Minister Attlee) to transfer power to Indian hands. 3. While keeping India united was initially preferred (Option B), the political situation, particularly the adamant demand for Pakistan by the Muslim League led by Jinnah (Option C), made partition seem increasingly unavoidable. 4. Mountbatten's primary task evolved into finding the quickest way to transfer power, which involved accepting the inevitability of partition and convincing the Congress leadership, who were opposed to it, to accept the division as the only viable path forward to avoid widespread civil war. 5. Therefore, his instructions effectively included persuading the Congress to accept partition (Option D). Option A (balkanize) was not the instruction.