Laxmikanth Test: Making of the Constitution- 1 - UPSC

Dr Sachchidanand Sinha was elected as the temporary/interim President of the Assembly. Later, Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected as the President of the Assembly.
H.C. Mukherjee and V.T. Krishnamachari were elected as the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly.

The drafting committee was formed under the chairmanship of Dr B R Ambedkar by the Constituent Assembly on 29th August 1947. S. N Mukherjee was the chief draftsman of the Constitution in the Constituent Assembly. 

On November 26, 1949, the final version of the Constitution received the signature of the president of the assembly and was declared as passed. The provisions relating to citizenship, elections, provisional parliament, temporary and transitional provisions were given immediate effect from November 26, 1949.

The Constituent Assembly had 11 sessions over two years, 11 months and 18 days. The Constitution makers had gone through the constitutions of about 60 countries, and the Draft Constitution was considered for 114 days. The final draft of the Indian Constitution was passed and adopted on 26 th November 1949.

B.N. Rau was appointed as the constitutional advisor (Legal advisor) to the Constituent Assembly. Dr B R Ambedkar was the Chairman of the Constituent Assembly while Dr K M Munshi and N Madhava Rau were members of the Drafting Committee.

On December 13, 1946, Jawahar Lal Nehru moved the ‘Objective Resolution’ in the Constituent Assembly which was unanimously adopted by the assembly on January 22, 1947. The important provisions of the Resolution were:

• This Constituent Assembly declares it's firm and solemn resolve to proclaim India as the Independent Sovereign Republic and to draw up for her future governance a Constitution.
• Wherein the territories comprising present times British India, the territories that now form the Indian State and such other parts of India as are outside India and the States as well as other territories as are willing to be constituted into independent sovereign India, shall be a Union of them all
• Wherein the said territories, whether with their present boundaries or with such others as may be determined by the Constituent Assembly and thereafter according to the law of the Constitution, shall possess and retain with the residuary powers and exercise all powers and functions of the Government and administration implied in the Union or resulting there from
• Wherein all power and authority of Sovereign Independent India, its constituent parts and organs of Government are derived from the people
• Wherein shall be guaranteed and secured to all the people of India justice, social, economic and political; equality of status of opportunity, and before the law; freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association and action, subject to the law and public morality
• Wherein adequate safeguards shall be provided for minorities, backward and tribal areas and depressed and other backward classes
• Whereby shall be maintained the integrity of the territory of the Republic and its sovereign rights on land, sea and air according to justice and the law of civilized nations
• This ancient land attains its rightful and honoured place in the world and makes its full and willing contribution to the promotion of world peace and the welfare of mankind.

The critics argued that the Constituent Assembly was not a representative body as its members were not directly elected by the people of India based on universal adult franchise. Whereas, the critics maintained that the Constituent Assembly was not a sovereign body as it was created by the proposals of the British Government.

The idea of a Constituent Assembly for India was put forward for the first time by M. N. Roy, a pioneer of the communist movement in India, in 1934.

The correct answer is Statements a, b, and d are correct.
Key Points

• The Constituent Assembly first met as the Legislative body on 9^th December 1946.
• The first meeting was held in the constitution hall (now the Central Hall of Parliament House).
• When the Constituent Assembly met as the Legislative body Sachchidananda Sinha presided over it (Temporarily).
• Hence statement c is not correct.
• The Constituent Assembly was made a fully sovereign body.
• The Constituent Assembly became the first Parliament of free India.
• Since the representatives of the areas incorporated into Pakistan ceased to be members of the Constituent Assembly of India
• The total strength of the Constituent Assembly came down to 299 as against 389.
• Hence statement a, b and d are correct.

The Constitution as adopted on November 26, 1949, contained a Preamble, 395 Articles and 8 Schedules. The Preamble was enacted after the entire Constitution was already enacted.

1, 2, 3 and 4

Explanation:

The Cabinet Mission Plan was formulated in 1946 to outline the framework for the drafting of the Indian Constitution. The plan led to the creation of the Constituent Assembly, which was responsible for drafting the Constitution. The following statements about the plan are correct:

1. Allocation of seats for each province and princely state to be in proportion to their respective population - This was done to ensure that every region had fair representation in the Constituent Assembly.

2. Representatives to be elected through proportional representation using a single transferable vote - This method of election was chosen to ensure that minority groups would also have a voice in the drafting of the Constitution.

3. The representatives of the princely state were to be nominated by the heads of princely states - The princely states were not directly represented in the Assembly, but their representatives were nominated by the heads of the states to participate in the drafting process.

4. Out of 296 seats allotted to British India, 292 members were to be drawn from the governor’s provinces and 4 from the chief commissioners’ provinces - This allocation ensured that both the provinces directly governed by the British and those with more autonomy had representation in the Constituent Assembly.

Explanation:

1. The Constituent Assembly adopted the national flag of India on July 22, 1947. The flag consists of three horizontal stripes of saffron, white, and green, with the Ashoka Chakra (24-spoke wheel) in the center.

2. The Constituent Assembly adopted the national anthem, "Jana Gana Mana," written by Rabindranath Tagore, on January 24, 1950.

3. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the first President of India by the Constituent Assembly on January 24, 1950.

The Government of India Act of 1935 marked a second milestone towards a completely responsible government in India. It was a lengthy and detailed document having 321 Sections and 10 Schedules. It granted a limited franchise based on tax, property and education.

The Major Committees under the Constituent Assembly were:

Statement 1 is correct, but statement 2 and 3 needs to be corrected.

Statement 1 is correct. Prem Behari Narain Raizada was the calligrapher of the original Indian Constitution, which was adopted on November 26, 1949. Raizada was a renowned calligrapher, and his work on the Constitution is considered a masterpiece of calligraphy.

Statement 3 needs to be corrected. The Preamble and other pages of the original constitution were designed and painted by Beohar Rammanohar Sinha.

However, statement 2 needs to be corrected. The calligraphy of the Hindi version of the original constitution was not done by Beohar Rammanohar Sinha. It was actually done by another renowned calligrapher, Vasant Krishnan Vaidya. Sinha was a prominent artist and sculptor who had contributed to the design of the emblem of the Government of India, but he was not involved in the calligraphy of the Constitution.

Statement 1 is correct. January 26 was chosen as the 'date of commencement' of the Constitution because it was on this day in 1930 that Poorna Swaraj day (complete independence) was celebrated. This day held great significance in the Indian nationalist movement.

Statement 2 is incorrect. With the commencement of the Constitution, the Indian Independence Act of 1947 was not repealed. The Indian Independence Act of 1947 was the legislation that granted independence to India and created the dominions of India and Pakistan. The Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act (1949) was also not repealed with the commencement of the Constitution. This act abolished the jurisdiction of the Privy Council as the highest court of appeal for India.

Therefore, only statement 2 is incorrect.

For the first time, the Constituent Assembly met as Dominion Legislature on November 17, 1947 , and elected G V Mavlankar as its speaker. Sir B.N. Rau was appointed as the constitutional advisor (Legal advisor) to the Constituent Assembly. H.V.R. Iyengar was the Secretary to the Constituent Assembly. N Gopala swamy Ayyangar was one of the members of the Drafting Committee.

In 1938, Jawaharlal Nehru, on behalf the INC declared that ‘the Constitution of free India must be framed, without outside interference, by a Constituent Assembly elected based on adult franchise’. This demand was accepted by the British Government under its August Offer of 1940.

The Cabinet Mission Plan provisioned for the following scheme for setting up the Constituent Assembly of India:

• The total strength of the Constituent Assembly was 389. Of these, 296 seats were allotted to British India and 93 seats to the Princely States. Out of 296 seats allotted to British India, 292 members were drawn from the eleven governors’ provinces and 4 from the four chief commissioners’ provinces and one from each.
• Each province and princely state were to be allotted seats in proportion to their respective population. Roughly one seat was to be allotted for every million population.
• Seats allocated to each British province were to be divided among Muslims, Sikhs and General (others), in proportion to their population.
• The representatives of each community were to be elected by members of that community in the provincial legislative assembly and voting was to be by the method of proportional representation using a single transferable vote.
• The representatives of the princely states were to be nominated by the heads of the p rincely states. 

On December 13, 1946, Jawahar Lal Nehru moved the ‘Objective Resolution’ in the Constituent Assembly which was unanimously adopted by the assembly on January 22, 1947. The important provisions of the Resolution were:

• This Constituent Assembly declares it's firm and solemn resolve to proclaim India as the Independent Sovereign Republic and to draw up for her future governance a Constitution.
• Wherein the territories comprising present times British India, the territories that now form the Indian State and such other parts of India as are outside India and the States as well as other territories as are willing to be constituted into independent sovereign India, shall be a Union of them all
• Wherein the said territories, whether with their present boundaries or with such others as may be determined by the Constituent Assembly and thereafter according to the law of the Constitution, shall possess and retain with the residuary powers and exercise all powers and functions of the Government and administration implied in the Union or resulting therefrom
• Wherein all power and authority of Sovereign Independent India, its constituent parts and organs of Government are derived from the people
• Wherein shall be guaranteed and secured to all the people of India justice, social, economic and political; equality of status of opportunity, and before the law; freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association and action, subject to the law and public morality
• Wherein adequate safeguards shall be provided for minorities, backward and tribal areas and depressed and other backward classes
• Whereby shall be maintained the integrity of the territory of the Republic and its sovereign rights on land, sea and air according to justice and the law of civilized nations
• This ancient land attains its rightful and honoured place in the world and makes its full and willing contribution to the promotion of world peace and the welfare of mankind.

• S.N. Mukherjee was the chief draftsman of the constitution in the Constituent Assembly.
• Prem Behari Narain Raizada was the calligrapher of the Indian Constitution. He had handwritten the original text of the constitution in a flowing italic style.
• It was beautified and decorated by artists from Shanti Niketan including Nand Lal Bose and Beohar Ram manohar Sinha.
• The calligraphy of the Hindi version of the original constitution was done by Vasant Krishan Vaidya and decorated and illuminated by Nand Lal Bose.

The elephant was adopted as the symbol of the Constituent Assembly. Thus, its figurine was carved on the seal of the assembly.

Originally, the Constitution of India did not make any provision concerning an authoritative text of the Constitution in the Hindi Language. Later, a provision in this regard was made by the 58th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1987 which inserted a new Article 394-A in the last part of the constitution.

Dr B.R. Ambedkar, the then Law Minister, who piloted the Draft Constitution in the Assembly is considered as the Chief architect of the Indian Constitution. S.N. Mukherjee was the Chief Draftsman of the Indian Constitution.

The Constitution as adopted on November 26, 1949, contained a Preamble, 395 Articles and 8 Schedules. The Preamble was enacted after the entire Constitution was Enacted.

Key Points

• As a member of the constituent Assembly, Sardar Patel did not lead Committee on Devolution of Power to the Union.
• The Constituent Assembly which was constituted in November 1946 comprised several Committees. 
• The Drafting Committee headed by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was entrusted with the drafting of the Indian Constitution. 
• The Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities, and Tribal and Excluded areas was headed by Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel.
• Union Constitution Committee was headed by Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru.
• Order of Business Committee was headed by K.M Munshi.
• Hence, option 3 is correct.

Other Functions performed by the Assembly:

• Ratified India’s membership of the Commonwealth in May 1949
• Adopted National Flag of India on July 22, 1947
• Adopted National Anthem on January 24, 1950
• Elected Dr Rajendra Prasad as the first President of India on January 24, 1950

so correct order will be 2-1-3