Making of the Indian Constitution: Constituent Assembly & More | UPSC Notes

The Indian Constitution is codified, written in a single document, and enacted by a single body. The Indian Constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949, and the members of Parliament signed it on January 24, 1950. The Indian Constitution is Supreme, an amalgamation of rigidity and flexibility. The Constituent Assembly had written, debated, and finalized the constitution between December 1946 and January 1950. The making of the Indian Constitution involved a lot of consensus. This lengthy document, comprising 395 articles and 8 schedules, set out the architecture of the new state. 

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What is a Constituent Assembly?

A Constituent Assembly is an exceptional group of representatives that is created and mandated to make or adopt a Constitution of a nation. It is a reflection of popular will and posits on the basis of governance, rights and obligations. In 1946, a Constituent Assembly was created in India, and this assembly consisted of people who represented different regions, religions, and politics. Dr. Its President was Rajendra Prasad, and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee. The Assembly took approximately three years and adopted the Indian Constitution on 26 November 1949. This history-making was able to provide India with the best democratic foundation and the longest written Constitution in the world.

The Constituent Assembly is a house of representatives, either elected or chosen, and created to draft or accept a fresh set of the constitution.

The Constituent Assembly was an assembly of elected representatives who drafted the constitution. Elections to this Assembly were held in July 1946, and its first meeting was held in December 1946. Due to the partition, the constituent assembly was also divided. It comprised 299 members who adopted the constitution on 26 November 1947, which came into effect on 26 January 1950.

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The constituent assembly had the responsibility for framing the constitution of India. It functioned from December 1946 to November 1949. There were 8 Major committees and 15 minor committees in the constituent assembly for different subjects. It conducted 11 sessions to discuss various issues related to the formation of the constitution.

• In 1946, the Cabinet Mission Plan constituted the Constituent Assembly in India.
• Initially, it had 389 members, which were cut down to 299 after Partition.
• Its President was Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar headed the Drafting Committee.
• The Assembly met for 2 years, 11 months and 18 days.
• It took the Constitution on 26 November 1949.
• It brought about the longest written Constitution in the world.

Check out Article 356 of the Indian Constitution here.

The British ruled India for over 200 years. In 1928, a committee was formed to draft a constitution for India. The committee's report, known as the Nehru Report, was published in 1929. After World War II, the British government granted India independence in 1947. The Constituent Assembly of India was elected in 1946. Its task was to draft a constitution for the newly independent country. The Constitution of India was adopted on November 26, 1949, and it came into effect on January 26, 1950.

The making of the Indian Constitution was a long and complex process. It was a time of significant political and social change in India. The framers of the Constitution had to balance the competing demands of different groups and interests. They also had to take into account the country's unique history and culture. The result was a Constitution that is considered to be one of the most progressive and democratic constitutions in the world.

Also, check out the Important Articles of the Indian Constitution here.

Making of the Indian Constitution - Timeline

The Indian Constitution is a creation of the Constituent Assembly, which was established in accordance with the clauses of the Cabinet Mission in May 1946. It was set to come up with a Constitution to enable the proper handing over of sovereign authority by the British to the Indians.

• 9 December 1946: The first sitting of the Constituent Assembly took place.

On 11 December 1946, Rajendra Prasad was elected President, Harendra Coomar Mookerjee and V.T. Krishnamachari were the vice presidents, and B. N. Rau was made the constitutional legal advisor.

• 13 December 1946: The Objective Resolution (another famous occasion of vehement opposition in the Assembly) by Jawaharlal Nehru enunciated the philosophy of the Constitution of India.
• It aims at the economic and political security in India through a written Constitution and declaration on India as being a Sovereign, Democratic Republic.
• It contributed to the development of a federal system, having a balance of powers between the Centre and the states.
• It aims at establishing equality, justice, and freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, association, and related action of all persons in the country.
• It is set in a way that gives much-needed protection to the minority and the backward segment of society.
• It makes every effort to defend the integrity of the territory of an Indian Republic and act according to the law of any civilized country in order to guarantee rights on land, sea, and air.

• 22 January 1947: The Resolution was unanimously adopted by the Assembly.
• July 1947- Indian Independence Act, 1947: The Act made the following changes in the position of the Constituent Assembly:
• The Assembly was given complete autonomy and the power to draft any Constitution it chose.
• The Act gave the Assembly the authority to annul or amend any law passed by the British Parliament regarding India.
• The Assembly was also given legislative authority. As a result, the Assembly was elected as India's first free Parliament (Dominion Legislature). Dr. Rajendra Prasad presided over meetings of the Assembly as the Constituent body, and G.V. Mavlankar presided over those of the Assembly as the Legislative body.
• July- October 1947: The first draft is prepared by the Constitutional Advisor. By harmonising the reports that had already been discussed and adopted, the Constitutional Advisor began compiling the first draft of the Constitution.
• The Constituent Assembly adopted the National flag on 22 July 1947.
• October 1947- February 1948: Working in the drafting Committee and the resultant draft Constitution, the drafting committee came up with its work in the form of a draft Constitution, which was dated February 21, 1948, and included the now famous 315 Articles and 8 Schedules.
• 4 November 1948 – 9 November 1948 (First reading): The drafting committee published the draft of the Constitution of India in February 1948. The draft was introduced in the Assembly in November 1948.
• 15 November 1948 – 17 October 1949 (Second reading): Clause-by-clause draft discussion was conducted in the Assembly.
• May 1949: India was admitted and elected to the British Commonwealth, which was accepted and approved by the Constituent Assembly.
• Third reading: The third reading was completed by the Assembly on 14 November 1949 and 26 November 1949.
• 26 November 1949: The Constitution of India was passed and adopted by the Constituent Assembly.
• 24 January 1950: Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the first President of India by the Constituent Assembly, and the National anthem and the National song were adopted.

When did the Constitution come into force?

It came into full force in January 1950 when, according to the legislation embedded in the Constitution, it became official. This day was marked to celebrate the proclamation of Poorna Swaraj by J.L. Nehru during one of the annual sessions of the Congress in Lahore, 1929.

Part of the provisions of the Constitution, which included that in Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 60, 324, 366, 367, 379, 380, 388, 391, 392 and 393 about citizenship, elections, provisional parliament, temporary and trans accession laws and short titles came into force on November 26, 1949.

The other provisions of the Constitution came into force on January 26, 1950, and the whole Constitution was applied. This day is observed as the Republic Day.

Developments During the Making of the Indian Constitution

The Indian Constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, whose members were elected by the provincial assemblies. The 389-member assembly (reduced to 299 after the partition of India) took almost three years to draft the constitution, holding eleven sessions over 165 days. It has taken a lot of cues from other countries' constitutions. Taking inspiration and Sources from various Constitutions, on the other hand, does not make it secondhand. Furthermore, there was little to draw from in the way of a model.

Check out the article on the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution here.

Composition of Constituent Assembly

The Constituent Assembly was an assembly that consisted of members who were elected and appointed. The members elected were indirectly elected by the members of the provincial legislative Assembly selected on a limited franchise.

• Total Strength of the Constituent Assembly (389)
• British India (296): Members of the Muslim League who were originally from Pakistani territory withdrew from the Indian Constituent Assembly. As a result, strength decreased from 296 to 229.
• From 11 governors' provinces. (292)
• From the four Chief Commissioners' provinces, one from each. (4)
• Seats allocated to each British province were divided among three principal communities- Muslims, Sikhs, and General, in proportion to their population.
• Members of that community elected the representatives of each community in the provincial legislative Assembly, and voting was Proportional Representation through Single Transferable Vote.
• Princely states (93): The strength of the princely kingdoms decreased from 93 to 70 when members of the Muslim League withdrew from the Indian Constituent Assembly.
• Representatives of Princely states were to be nominated by their respective heads.

Also, check the Difference Between Written and Unwritten Constitutions here.

Features and Functions of the Constituent Assembly

The Provincial Legislative Assembly elected 292 members, while the Indian States had a maximum of 93 seats. Seats in each province were distributed proportionally among the Muslim, Sikh, and General committees based on their respective populations. Members of each Provincial Legislative Assembly community selected their representatives using the proportional representation method and a single transferable vote. The heads of the princely states chose representatives.

On December 13, 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru introduced the Objectives Resolution, marking the formal beginning of the Constituent Assembly's task of drafting the Indian Constitution. The resolution aimed to declare India as an Independent Sovereign Republic and draft a Constitution for its future administration. The resolution outlined fundamental principles to guide the Constituent Assembly's work, passed on January 22, 1947. Gradually, delegates from princely states joined the Assembly, formally established on April 28, 1947, with representatives from six states.

Following the acceptance of the Mountbatten Plan for the partition of the country on June 3, 1947, delegates from most other princely states assumed their seats in the Assembly. The Constituent Assembly was responsible for the following tasks in addition to drafting the Constitution and adopting ordinary laws:

• It corrected the Commonwealth's membership enrolment in May 1949.
• On July 22, 1947, it adopted the national flag.
• On January 24, 1950, it adopted the national anthem.
• On January 24, 1950, it chose Dr. Rajendra Prasad as India's first President.

Also, check out the Salient Features of the Indian Constitution here.

Constituent Assembly Organizational Committee

The Organizational Committee of the Constituent Assembly was established to guarantee the steady work process of making the Constitution. There were specific areas known as: rules, finances, state negotiations, procedural matters, etc. Each of the committees with a particular purpose assisted in the effective drafting of the Constitution of India. Here is a brief overview of the committees of the Constituent Assembly of India:

Constituent Assembly Principal Committees and their sub-committees

In addition to the Organizational Committee, another group of Committees was created by the Constituent Assembly to deal with the most significant features of the Indian Constitution, known as Principal Committees. These are the major committees and sub-committees that were constituted during this period.

Constituent Assembly Other Sectoral Committees

Constituent Assembly, other than the organizational and principal committees, had set up a number of Sectoral Committees that were to take care of a number of issues regarding the governance of the nation, which are as follows.

Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution

A notable committee among the mentioned committees is the Drafting Committee, led by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Established on August 29, 1947, its primary responsibility was to draft the Constitution of India, incorporating proposals from various committees. The committee consisted of seven members from the Assembly:

• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as the Chairman
• Dr. K M Munshi
• Syed Mohammad Saadullah
• N Madhava Rau
• N Gopalaswamy Ayyangar
• Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar
• T T Krishnamachari

Within a timeframe of six months, the committee prepared the first draft, which underwent revisions based on suggestions, public comments, and criticism. The second draft was subsequently released in October 1948.

Criticism Towards the Constituent Assembly

Here are some of the criticisms leveled against the Constituent Assembly of India:

• It was not a fully representative body: The Constituent Assembly was elected by the provincial legislatures. This meant that the Constituent Assembly did not represent the views of all Indians.
• The Indian National Congress dominated it: The Congress Party had a majority of seats in the Constituent Assembly. This led to accusations that the Constitution was not truly representative of the will of the people.
• It was not a sovereign body: The Constituent Assembly was set up by the British government. It was subject to the provisions of the Indian Independence Act of 1947. The Constituent Assembly could not make any changes to the Act without the approval of the British government.
• It was too slow in its work: The Constituent Assembly took over two years to draft the Constitution. Some saw this as a waste of time and resources.
• Foreign models too influenced it: The Constituent Assembly drew heavily on the constitutions of other countries. This led to accusations that the Constitution was not truly Indian. It did not reflect the unique needs and circumstances of the country.

Also, check out the List of Important Major Amendments to the Indian Constitution here.

Objective Resolution

It acted as a guideline for the members of the constituent assembly to achieve –

• Economic stability, political security, and faster unity of the nation.
• Proclaim India as a sovereign democratic republic.
• Ensure your federal form of Government with the distribution of powers between the central and the states.
• Guarantee and secure justice, right to equality, freedom, belief, faith, worship, and location to citizens of India.
• Safeguard the interests of backward and tribal areas, depressed classes, and other backward classes.
• Maintain territorial integrity and sovereignty over land, sea, and air.
• Help India attain a rightful and honoured place in the world that will promote world peace and the welfare of mankind.

Know more about the Canadian Constitution!

Enforcement of the Constitution

On November 26, 1949, the motion on the Draft Constitution was proclaimed approved, gaining the signatures of the members and the President. It should be emphasized that the Preamble was enacted after the Constitution.

After three sets of readings of the Draft produced by the Drafting Committee and published in October 1948, the Constitution was accepted on November 26, 1949, with a Preamble, 395 Articles, and 8 Schedules of the Indian Constitution. Some of the 395 Articles, such as Articles 5 to 9, Articles 379, 380, 388, 392, and 393, went into effect on November 26, 1949.

The remaining Articles were enacted on January 26, 1950, Republic Day. The Indian Independence Act of 1947 and the Government of India Act of 1935 were repealed once the Constitution of India took effect. Our Constitution currently has 448 Articles, 25 Parts, and 12 Schedules.

Also, study Statutory, Constitutional, and Various Quasi-Judicial Bodies here.

Conclusion 

Despite the numerous criticisms leveled at the Constituent Assembly's functioning, one cannot deny that, today, India is living and breathing in the air of sovereignty, democracy, and freedom, as well as the rights and duties vested in both citizens and states of the nation, it is due to the tireless efforts of notable personalities who came together to gift India its most significant gift.

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