The Constitution of India is the manual for democratic governance in India. It came into force on 26 January 1950 and till date is one of the biggest milestones in the history of our country. Making a constitution is no easy task, but it was especially difficult for India given the turbulent situation at the time. A newly independent country with a highly unequal social order was a formidable challenge, especially as it grappled with the effects of Partition. The Constitution of India was prepared by a Constituent Assembly constituted under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946. The assembly consisted of 389 members representing provinces (292), states (93), chief commissioner provinces (3), and Balochistan (where the British had a direct rule – 292 + Commissioned Provinces 4 = 296 and where rule through native princely states -93 nominated. 296 + 93 = 389). The strength of the Assembly was reduced to 299 (229 representing the provinces and 70 representing the states) following the withdrawal of the Muslim League members after the partition of the country. Some members of the Constituent Assembly played an important role, the most prominent being Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, whose role as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Assembly has earned him the popular nickname of 'Father of the Indian Constitution. Other Congress stalwarts like Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, and Maulana Azad were also prominent voices in the proceedings of the Assembly. A special mention was made by the Constitutional Adviser; Dr. Bengal Narasimha Rao compiled the preliminary draft which was debated in the assembly after taking inputs from constitutional experts at home and abroad.

The constitution took a long time to prepare and though it is dependent on many institutions set up by the British, it borrows various aspects from different constitutions. However, the broad demands for an indigenous Constitution meant that early debate was about whether it would be wise to follow the model created by the British. Undoubtedly, the biggest challenge before the legislature was to create a political framework that would please the various communities and princely states in India and prevent Balkanisation. The members were fully aware of the violence in Delhi they often needed curfew passes to attend the assembly session. The fact that the Assembly also functions as an interim Parliament would also inform the members about the scale of administrative work required to ensure unity.

Other major challenges faced by the assembly were

  • To make a constitution will uplift the downtrodden sections of society. This meant assuring the minorities the protection of their rights as well as the creation of a welfare state that could improve their social and economic status.
  • To ensure democratic processes for citizens in perpetuity – the fathers wanted their vision of the country to remain after their death.
  • To prepare a constitution capable of dealing effectively with communal violence. This was largely inspired by the violence caused by the Partition.
  • To make a constitution that can unify the princely states and their various demands.

The Constitution of India was not the original document. The framers of the constitution independently borrowed the good features of other constitutions. However, adopting those characteristics, he made necessary modifications for its suitability for Indian conditions and avoided its defects. The constitutions which had a deep impact on the Indian Constitution were the UK, USA, Ireland, Canada, etc. The parliamentary system of government, rule of law, the law-making process, and single citizenship were borrowed from the British Constitution. Guidelines on the independence of the judiciary, judicial review, fundamental rights, and removal of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts were adopted from the US Constitution. A federal system with a strong central authority was adopted from Canada. The Directive Principles of State Policy were borrowed from the Constitution of the Republic of Ireland. The idea of ​​the Concurrent List was taken from the Australian Constitution. The provisions relating to the Emergency were influenced by the Weimar Constitution.

This Drafting Committee prepared the draft of the Indian Constitution. There were a total of 12 sessions of the Constituent Assembly. There were 9 women in the first meeting of the Constituent Assembly but there were a total of 15 women in the entire Constituent Assembly. Begum Ayyaz Rasool was the only Muslim female member. The Constitution partially came into force on 26 November 1949. 16 Articles of the Constitution came into force on this day, including Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 24, 60, 366, 367, 380, 394, 16 Articles.

According to the Lahore session of the Congress, the first Independence Day was proposed to be celebrated on 26 January, so when Independence Day began to be celebrated on 15 August, 26 January was fixed for Republic Day. Even after the constitution was enacted and adopted, on 26 November, the constitution was partially implemented and not implemented.

The last meeting of the Constituent Assembly was held on 24 January 1950. 284 members signed the constitution. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was the first person to sign the Indian Constitution and Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the last person to sign the Constitution.

Nusrat Muhani was a member of the Muslim League who was also a member of the Constituent Assembly but did not sign. The President of the Constituent Assembly was Dr. Rajendra Prasad and when the Constituent Assembly functioned as the Parliament, it was presided over by Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar was.

On 24 January 1950, the Constituent Assembly elected Dr. Rajendra Prasad as President, then it was acting as a Parliament, not as the Constituent Assembly. The term elected was used because the Constituent Assembly had taken out an order that the form of becoming president was filled, hence the term election was used.

It is noteworthy that Dr. Ambedkar contests from Mumbai to become a member of the Constituent Assembly but loses. After this, with the help of Dr. Ambedkar Muslim League, Jasur Kulla contests from Bengal and wins.

But after independence this place was lost due to the departure of East Pakistan to Bangladesh in the process of partition, as a result, Dr. Ambedkar is no longer a member of the Constituent Assembly.

After this, the Constitutional Adviser of the Constituent Assembly, BN Rao tells Dr. Rajendra Prasad that Dr. Ambedkar is an important person for the formation of the Constituent Assembly, so the then Prime Minister of Mumbai, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, B.G. Wrote a letter to Kher to vacate the seat from Mumbai for Dr. Ambedkar, as a result, MR Jayakar resigned and Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar became a member of the Constituent Assembly.

In the last meeting of the Constituent Assembly, Dr. Rajendra Prasad had said that if I have done any good work as the President of the Constituent Assembly, then on August 29, 1948, he formed the Drafting Committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Ambedkar. ,

Bengal Narasimha Rao said that Dr. Ambedkar is not only the father of the Indian Constitution but also the mother.

The Indian Constitution is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world. The original constitution had 8 schedules, 395 articles and 22 parts.

About the Author: This Law Notes is prepared by Mr. Priyanshu Mishra, law student at Shambunath Institute of Law. He can be reached at mishraps2206@gmail.com. 

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