(CAGS 1)

MAKING OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

• The Constitution is a fundamental law of the

country which reflects the fundamental
principles on which the government of that
country is based.
• It lays down the framework and principal
functions of various organs of the
government, as well as the modalities of
interaction between the government and its
citizens
 Historical Background
• The victory of the East India Company in the Battle of
Plassey in 1757 put the British rule in India on firm
grounds.
• In the meanwhile, the British crown passed a number
of charters and acts(e.g. Pitt’s India Act of 1784) to
regulate the conduct of the Company.
• After the Revolt of 1857, Company was obliged to
transfer its powers to the British Crown which
assumed direct control over the administration under
Government of India Act 1858.
• After 1858, the British Government enacted
several acts for the governance of India.
• However, these failed to satisfy the aspirations of
the Indians and they continued to agitate for
greater share in the administration.
• Various concessions were made through
enactments like the India Councils Act, 1909 and
Government of India Act,1919, but the Indian
people remained dissatisfied. The Indian
leadership insisted that India’s political destiny
should be determined by the Indian themselves.
• Government of India Act, 1935. This prescribed a
federation.
• In July 1947, the British Parliament passed the
Indian Independence Act,1947, which provided
for the transfer of power from the British
Government to the people of India.
• The Constitution of India was framed by a
Constituent Assembly set up under the Cabinet
Mission Plan of 1946.
• 26th Nov, 1949: Constitution received the
signature of the President of the Assembly
• Date of commencement of the Constitution: 26th
january,1950
• Drafting committee was set up on 29 August 1947 under
the chairmanship of Dr. B R Ambedkar.

• The constituent assembly took 2 years , 11 months and 17

days to frame the constitution.

• It spent 6.4 crore Rupees in the preparation.

• There were 22 parts, 395 articles and 8 schedules.

• The constitution had got ready on 26th November 1949 and

some provisions relating to Citizenship, Elections,
provisional parliament, temporary & transitional provisions
were given immediate effect.

• Rest of the constitution came into force on 26 January

1950.
• An idea for a Constituent Assembly of India was proposed in
1934 by M.N. Roy, a pioneer of the communist movement in
India.
• It became an official demand of the Indian National Congress
in 1935, C. Rajagopalachari voiced the demand for a
constituent Assembly on 15th November 1939 based on adult
franchise.
• Under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946, elections were held
for the first time for the Constituent Assembly.
• The Constitution of India was drafted by the
Constituent Assembly, and it was implemented
under the Cabinet Mission Plan on 16 May 1946.
• The members of the Constituent Assembly were
elected by the provincial assemblies by as single,
transferable vote system of proportional
representation.
• The total membership of the Constituent Assembly
was 389: 292 were representatives of the states, 93
represented the princely states and four were from
the chief commissioner provinces of Delhi, Ajmer-
Merwara, Coorg (Near Madikeri) and British
Baluchistan.
 Major Committees & their Chairmen
• Drafting Committee – Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
• Union Powers Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru
• Union Constitution Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru
• Provincial Constitution Committee – Sardar Patel
• Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and
Tribal and Excluded Areas – Sardar Patel. This committee
had the following subcommittees:
– Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee – J.B. Kripalani
– Minorities Sub-Committee – Harendra Coomar Mookerjee,
– North-East Frontier Tribal Areas and Assam Excluded & Partially
Excluded Areas Sub-Committee – Gopinath Bardoloi
– Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas (Other than those in
Assam) Sub-Committee – A.V. Thakkar
• Rules of Procedure Committee – Dr. Rajendra Prasad
• States Committee (Committee for Negotiating with States)
– Jawaharlal Nehru
• Steering Committee – Dr. Rajendra Prasad
 Time Line
• 9 December 1946: The first meeting of the Constituent
Assembly was held in the constitution hall (now the
Central Hall of Parliament House). Demanding a separate
state, the Muslim League boycotted the meeting.
Sachchidananda Sinha was elected temporary president of
the assembly, in accordance with French practice.
• 11 December 1946: Rajendra Prasad was elected as
president and H. C. Mukherjee was elected as vice-
president of the constituent assembly. B. N. Rau was
appointed as its constitutional adviser.
• 13 December 1946: An 'Objective Resolution' was moved
by Jawaharlal Nehru in the assembly, laying down the
underlying principles of the constitution. It finally became
the Preamble of the constitution.
• 22 January 1947: Objective resolution unanimously
adopted.
• 22 July 1947: National flag adopted.
• 15 August 1947: Indian independence achieved.
• 29 August 1947: Drafting Committee appointed
with Dr. B. R. Ambedkar as the Chairman.
• 26 November 1949: Constitution passed and
accepted by the assembly.
• 24 January 1950: "Jana Gana Mana" adopted as the
national anthem, with the first two verses of "Vande
Mataram" the national song. Rajendra Prasad
elected the first president of India.
 Important Members
• B. R. Ambedkar, Minister for Law; Chairman of Drafting
Committee
• B. N. Rau, Constitutional Advisor
• Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister of India
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, first Deputy Prime Minister and
Home Minister
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Minister for Education
• Rajendra Prasad, President of Constituent Assembly
• C. Rajagopalachari, Governor-General of India
• Sarat Chandra Bose, Barrister andIndian independence
activist
• Krishna Sinha, first Chief Minister, Bihar
• Binodanand Jha, Minister, Bihar
• Shyam Nandan Prasad Mishra
• Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Deputy Chief Minister and
Finance Minister, Bihar
• Rafi Ahmed Kidwai
• Asaf Ali
• Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Industries Minister,
President, Hindu Mahasabha
• Moturi Satyanarayana, Freedom Fighter
• Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Health Minister
• Hansa Mehta, President, All India Women's Conference
• N. G. Ranga
• Deep Narayan Singh, Minister, Bihar
• Gopinath Bordoloi, Prime Minister of Assam
• Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla, Assam
• P. Subbarayan
• Kailashnath Katju
• N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
• T. T. Krishnamachari
• Rameshwar Prasad Sinha
• Durgabai Deshmukh
• K. M. Munshi
• Krishana Ballabh Sahay
• Frank Anthony, Anglo-Indian representative
• Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
• John Mathai
• Pratap Singh Kairon
• L. Krishnaswamy Bharati - Madras Province
• Chidambaram Subramaniam
 Members from Odisha
• Biswanath Das
• Krishna Chandra Gajapati Narayana Dev,
• Harekrushna Mahatab,
• Laxminarayan Sahu
• Lokanath Mishra,
• Nandkishore Das,
• Rajkrishna Bose,
• Santanu Kumar Das,
• Yudhisthir Mishra
 Preamble
• The most important part of the Constitution.
• Summarizes the aims and objectives of the Constitution.
• It indicates the source from which the Constitution derives its
authority.
• Amended in 1976
It reads as follows:
“ We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute
India into a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic
and to secure to all its citizens:
Justice, Social, economic and Political;
Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
Equality of status and of opportunities; and to promote among
them all; Fraternity, assuring the dignity of the individual and
the unity and integrity of the Nation:
• In our Constituent Assembly, this twenty-sixth day of
Novenmber, 1949, do hereby adopt, enact and give to
ourselves this Constitution.”
 Salient Features of the Indian Constitution
 One of the longest constitutions of the world.
 Drawn from different sources.
 Detailed administrative provisions included.
 Special provisions for J&K
 More flexible than rigid.
 Both justiciable and non-justiciable rights included.
 Parliamentary form of government.
 Compromise between judicial review and parliamentary
supremacy
 Fundamental rights
 Directive principles of state policy
 The basic structure of the constitution enunciated by the
Supreme Court (Keshavananda Bharati case,1973 and
Minnerva Mills case,1980)
 Separation of powers between executive, legislature and
judiciary
 Federation with a unitary bias
 Union list, state list and concurrent list.