Constituent Assembly of India

The idea of the Constituent Assembly of India was given by M.N. Roy in 1934. However, it was established in November 1946 under the scheme formulated by the Cabinet Mission Plan, with a total strength of 389, where 296 seats were allotted to British India and 93 seats to the princely states.

Constituent Assembly of India will be helpful for UPSC IAS Exam preparation. GS Paper-2 Indian Polity.

Table of Content

• Constituent Assembly of India: Historical Background
• Composition of Constituent Assembly
• Key Facts Related to the Constituent Assembly of India
• Committees of Constituent Assembly of India with their Chairmen
• Drafting Committee
• Objectives Resolution
• Criticism of the constituent assembly

Constituent Assembly of India: Historical Background

• M.N. Roy, a pioneer of the communist movement in India, first proposed the idea of a Constituent Assembly for India in 1934.
• In 1935, the Indian National Congress officially demanded it, to frame the Constitution of India.
• In 1938, Jawaharlal Nehru, on behalf of the INC, declared that the Constitution of free India must be framed without outside interference by an Assembly elected based on an adult franchise.
• The British Government accepted the demand in principle in the “August Offer” of 1940.
• The Constituent Assembly of India was formed in November 1946 under the scheme formulated by the Cabinet Mission Plan.

Composition of Constituent Assembly

• The total strength of the Constituent Assembly was 389, with 296 seats allotted to British India and 93 seats to the princely states.
• Out of the 292 seats allocated for British India, 11 were from governor’s provinces and four were from Chief Commissioner’s provinces.
• Seats were allocated based on the proportion of their respective population, and each British province’s seats were decided among the three principal communities: Muslims, Sikhs, and general.
• Representatives of each community were elected by members of that community in the provincial legislative assembly, and voting was done by the method of proportional representation by means of single transferrable vote.
• Representatives of princely states were nominated by the head of these princely states.

Key Facts Related to the Constituent Assembly of India

• First meeting of the Constituent Assembly: 9 December 1946
• Symbol (Seal) of the Constituent Assembly: Elephant
• Adoption of National Flag: 22 July 1947
• Total days of the Constituent Assembly: 2 years, 11 months and 17 days
• Cost of framing the constitution: Rs.64 lakhs
• Adoption of the national anthem: 24 January 1950
• Final constitution: 22 parts, 395 articles and 8 schedules.
• Total number of sessions constituent assembly: 11 sessions
• Last session of constituent assembly: 14 to 26 November 1949
• Adoption of Constitution: 26 November 1949
• Constitution came into force: 26 January 1950

Committees of Constituent Assembly of India with their Chairmen

Major committees and their chairmen:

Major Committees	Chairman
Union Powers Committee	Jawaharlal Nehru
Union Constitution Committee	Jawaharlal Nehru
Provincial Constitution Committee	Sardar Patel
Drafting Committee	Dr B.R. Ambedkar
Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas	Sardar Patel
Rules of Procedure Committee	Dr Rajendra Prasad
States Committee (Committee for Negotiating with States)	Jawaharlal Nehru
Steering Committee	– Dr. Rajendra Prasad

Drafting Committee

• The Drafting Committee was established on August 29, 1947.
• It was the most important committee entrusted with the task of preparing a draft of the new Constitution.
• The committee consisted of seven members, with Dr B.R. Ambedkar as the chairman, and the other members were N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar, Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar, Dr K.M. Munshi, Syed Mohammad Saadullah, N. Madhava Rau, and T.T. Krishnamachari.
• The Drafting Committee prepared the first draft of the Constitution of India, which was published in February 1948.
• It prepared a second draft, which was published in October 1948, and took less than six months to prepare both drafts.
• The Drafting Committee sat for only 141 days in total.

Objectives Resolution

• On December 13, 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru moved the ‘Objective Resolution’ in the Constituent Assembly.
• The resolution was unanimously adopted on January 22, 1947.
• The Preamble to the Constitution is based on it.
• Objectives of the resolution:
  • Free India was to be a republic that would grant fundamental rights to its citizens.
  • The ideal of social, political, and economic democracy would be guaranteed to all people.
  • The state would safeguard the rights of the minorities and backward classes.

Criticism of the Constituent Assembly

• The Constituent Assembly was not a representative body since its members were not directly elected by adult franchise, but the leaders enjoyed popular support from the people.
  • Direct elections by the universal adult franchise at that time would have been impractical due to the country being on the brink of partition and amidst communal riots.
• The makers took a long time in framing the Constitution, but this can be understood considering the complexity and peculiarities of the diverse and large Indian nation.
• It was not a sovereign body since it was created by the British, but it worked as a fully independent and sovereign body.
• The language of the Constitution was criticised for being literary and complicated.
• The Congress Party dominated the Assembly, but it was a heterogeneous party with members from almost all sections of Indian society.
  • The party also dominated the provincial assemblies, which was natural since it was the largest political party in India at that time.
• Allegations were made that the assembly had Hindu dominance, but this was due to proportional representation from communities.
• Representation in the assembly was based on the population of each state and princely state, and members from states were elected by the members of those states.

Conclusion

The assembly adopted the constitution on the 26^th November 1949. It took 2 years, 11 months and 17 days and 11 sessions to frame a proper Constitution for the country. Often it is criticized for its representation, language used in Constitution and Congress’s dominance. However, the constituent assembly had served its purpose of making a detailed Constitution by taking references from the constitutions around the world and framing the Indian Constitution best way possible.

Ref: Source-1

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