Spectrum Summary: Making of the Constitution for India | History for UPSC CSE PDF Download

Introduction

The Indian Constitution, which came into effect on January 26,1950, has the distinction of being the longest in the world in terms of its length, content and complexity owing to country’s size and diversity.
At the time of framing of the constitution, India was deeply divided besides being large and diverse, and hence it was designed in a way to keep the country together.

Background

• Although the Constitution of India was framed between December 1946 and December 1949, its roots deep lie in the Indian national movement against the colonial rule as well as in the movements for responsible and constitutional government in the princely states.
• In 1922, Mahatma Gandhi, in an article titled "Independence" published in Young India, wrote that Swaraj would not be a free gift of the British Parliament but a declaration of India’s full self- expression—the Constitution of India would be framed as per the wishes of the Indians.
• After the Non-Cooperation Movement, Motilal Nehru in February 1924 introduced in the Central Legislative Assembly a resolution that gave due regard to minority rights and interests and came to be known as the National Demand.
• Britain, in response to the National Demand, appointed the all-white Simon Commission in November 1927 to recommend further constitutional changes. In response to Lord Birkenhead’s challenge, the Nehru Report, submitted on August 1928, was an outline of a draft constitution for India. Most of its features were later incorporated in the Constitution of independent India.
• In the aftermath of the Nehru Report, the Simon Commission was boycotted and in December 1929, the Congress declared complete independence as its ultimate goal. The idea that India’s Constitution should be framed via a Constituent Assembly elected for this very purpose and based on widest possible franchise gained support. Although, M.N. Roy had made such a suggestion earlier, Jawaharlal Nehru was the first national leader to enunciate the idea in 1933.
• The Congress took up the demand for a constituent assembly as a part of its official policy in 1934 after refusing the Simon Commission’s recommendations of 1933 as not expressive of the will of the people. Jawaharlal Nehru declared that the Congress had proposed “the Constitution of India must be framed, without outside interference, by a Constituent Assembly elected on the basis of adult franchise”, and, the Working Committee of the Congress reiterated the stand.
• The Cripps Proposals of 1942, though rejected by the Congress as unacceptable, had one redeeming feature in that it conceded the request of Indians to frame their own constitution through a constituent assembly.
• In September 1945, the newly elected Labour government in England announced that it planned to create a constituent assembly in India. On March 15, 1946, the Cabinet Mission came to India and, in the course of its stay, recommended the forming of (a) the Constituent Assembly, and (b) an interim government.

Constituent Assembly

• Formation-It was decided that the Constituent Assembly was to be elected indirectly by the Provincial Assemblies. They were to be elected by the representatives of each community in their respective legislative assemblies by the method of proportional representation with single transferable vote.
  (i) Constituent Assembly opened on December 9, 1946 in the Constitution Hall- now the Central Hall of Parliament House at New Delhi. Jawaharlal Nehru moved the historic Objectives Resolution on 13 December 1946.
• Two Constituent Assemblies: India and Pakistan- On June 26, 1947, Lord Mountbatten, the Governor-General, announced the setting up of a separate Constituent Assembly for Pakistan.
  (i) Indian Independence Act, 1947, passed with surprising speed, came into force on July 18,1947.
  (ii) Indian Independence Act, 1947 declared the Constituent Assembly of India to be a fully sovereign body and on the midnight of August 14-15, 1947, the Assembly assumed full powers of the governance of the country.
• Evaluation of the Assembly for India- Constituent Assembly was indirectly elected by the provincial assemblies which themselves were elected on the basis of a limited franchise established by the Government of India Act of 1935.
  (i) After Independence- Now the work of Constituent Assembly was organised into five stages: first— committees were required to present reports on basic issues;
  (ii) Second- Benegal Narsing Rau prepared an initial draft on the basis of the reports of these committees and on his own research into the constitutions of other countries;
  (iii) Third- The drafting committee, under the chairmanship of Dr B.R. Ambedkar, presented a detailed draft constitution which was published for public discussion and comments,
  (iv) Fourth- Draft constitution was debated and amendments proposed;
  (v) Fifth- Constitution of India was adopted.

Work: Committees and Consensus

• When the Constituent Assembly first met on December 9, 1946, J.B. Kripalani, the then Congress president, proposed the name of Dr Sachhidanand Sinha, the oldest member of the Assembly, for the post of the provisional president. Later, on December 11, Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected as the President of the Constituent Assembly.
• In the light of their comments and criticism, the Drafting Committee prepared a second draft which consisted of 315 Articles and 9 Schedules. This second draft was placed before the Constituent Assembly on February 21, 1948. The draft was then considered clause by clause by the Assembly. The third reading commenced on November 14 and was finished on November 26, 1949.
• Preamble was adopted last. It had taken 2 years, 11 months and 18 days to complete the task. As many as 7000 odd amendments had been proposed and nearly 2500 were actually discussed before the draft constitution was accepted.
• On November 26, 1949, the people of India in the Constituent Assembly adopted, enacted and gave to themselves the Constitution of the Sovereign Democratic Republic of India. Dr Rajendra Prasad as president of the assembly signed the document. The members of the Constituent Assembly appended their signatures to it on January 24, 1950- the last day of the Assembly. In all, 284 members actually signed the Constitution.
• Constituent Assembly, besides drafting the Constitution of India, adopted the National Flag on July 22, 1947, and adopted the National Anthem and National Song on January 24, 1950- the last day of its session.
• The Constituent Assembly elected Dr Rajendra Prasad as the first President of India on January 24, 1950.
• Late in the evening of August 14, 1947, the Assembly met in the Constitution Hall and at the stroke of midnight, took over as the Legislative Assembly of an Independent India.
• The Assembly continued as the provisional Parliament of India from January 26, 1950 till the new Parliament was installed after the first general elections.