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Basics Of Constitution
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Introduction To The Making
Making Of Constitution
Committees Of Constitution
Features Of Indian Constitution
Sources Of Constitution
Preamble
States and Union Territories
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STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES
Union Territories
CitizenShip
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Indian Citizenship: Articles 5-11 and the Citizenship Act of 1955
Citizenship Act of 1955: Rules for Acquisition and Loss of Indian Citizenshipx`
NRI, PIO, and OCI – Connections, Distinctions, and Contributions
Rights
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Basics
Right to Equality (Articles 14-18)
RIGHT TO FREEDOM: Article 19-22
Article 21 and 21A – Protection of Life and Personal Liberty, Right to Education
Right Against Exploitation in the Indian Constitution – Articles 23-24
RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGION: ARTICLE- 25-28
CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS: ARTICLE 29-30
Right To Constitutional Remedies: Article 32
Articles 33 to 35
Basic Structure Doctrine: Democracy, Federalism, and the Rule of Law
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Basic Structure Doctrine
Basic Structure Doctrine: Evolution, Significance & Criticisms
President
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Powers of the President of India: Executive, Legislative, Judicial, and More
President of India: Roles, Elections, and Powers Explained
Article 72: Pardoning Power of the President
Article 111 Veto Power Of President
Article 123 Ordinance Making Power of President:
President for CDS/NDA—
Article 352-360 Emergency Provisions (Part XVIII) :
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Article 352: National Emergency in India
Article 356 President’s Rule:
Article 360: Financial Emergency
SR Bommai Judgment: Upholding Constitutional Principles
Centre State Relations
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Articles 256-263 Centre State Administrative Relations
Centre-State Relations: Legislative Relations
(Articles 264-293) Centre State Financial Relations in India
Inter State Relations
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Inter-State Water Disputes Resolution
Inter-State Council
India’s Zonal Councils: Cooperative Federalism
Role and Powers of the Governor
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Governor in India
Vice-President of India
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Role and Powers of the Vice-President
Prime Minister and Council of Minister
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Prime Minister: Roles, Responsibilities, and Constitutional Provisions
The Role of Chief Minister
The Council of Ministers: Union and State
Parliament
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Member of Parliament: Composition, Process of Election, Qualifications
Presiding Officers and Leaders of Parliament
Whip System in Indian Parliament
Parliamentary Sessions and Majorities
Types of Majorities in Parliament
Parliamentary Proceedings
Legislative Procedure in Indian Parliament: Bills, Money Bills, Joint Sitting
Budget
Polity

Introduction – Foundations of Governance and Evolution of Constitutions

A constitution is a body of fundamental principles according to which a state is constituted or governed. The <a title="INDIAN CONSTITUTION: DEMOCRACY, RIGHTS & DIVERSITY" constitution is the fundamental law of the land which fulfills the aspirations and goals of a society. It is an overarching framework within which one pursues individual aspirations, goals and freedoms. It defines the fundamental values that we may not trespass.

The Constitution is a living document that grows and evolves according to the needs and aspirations of changing society through instruments such as  Amendments  to the  Constitution , Judicial interpretations and judgments, Conventions and Statutes.

Background of the Indian Constitution

Demand For A Constituent Assembly
1934 M.N. Roy put forward the idea for a  Constituent Assembly  for India.
1935 INC officially demanded a  Constituent Assembly  to frame the Indian Constitution.
1938 Jawaharlal Nehru , on behalf of the <a title="INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS HISTORY" Indian National Congress, declared that “the Constitution of free India must be framed, without outside interference, by a Constituent Assembly elected on the basis of ‘adult franchise’.
1940 Demand accepted by the British government in principle in  August Offer .
1942
  • Cripps Proposal:  A draft proposal on framing of an independent Constitution to be adopted after World War II.
  • It was rejected by the  Muslim League , which wanted India to be divided into two autonomous states with two constituent assemblies.
1946
  • Cabinet Mission Plan (CMP)  – It rejected the idea of two Constituent Assemblies but put forth a scheme more or less accepted by the Muslim League.
  • Members: Lord Patrick Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps and A V Alexander.

 

Important Dates In Constituent Assembly
9th December, 1946 First sitting of Constituent Assembly. Muslim League boycotted it.
11th December, 1946
  • Dr. Rajendra Prasad  was elected as President of the Constituent Assembly.
  • Dr. Sachidanand Sinha (oldest member), was elected as temporary chairman of the assembly following the French practice.
  • Vice-Presidents (Two): H.C. Mukherjee and V.T. Krishnamachari.
13th December, 1946 Objective Resolution was introduced by Jawahar Lal Nehru.
22nd July, 1947 The Constituent Assembly adopted the National Flag.
15th August, 1947 Transfer of Power led to the formation of dominions of India and Pakistan (14th August 1947).
26th November, 1949 The Constitution was adopted/enacted.
24th January, 1950 Adoption of National Song and National Anthem.
26th January, 1950 The Constitution came into force, making India a Republic.
25th October, 1951-

21st February, 1952

 First general elections were held.

 

Composition Of The Constituent Assembly
Constituted In November 1946, under the Cabinet Mission Plan
Strength
  • Total 389 = 296 (British India) + 93 (Princely States).
  • Out of 296, 292 were to be drawn from 11 governor’s provinces and 4 from four Chief Commissioner’s provinces.
Composition
  • Representatives of all sections of the Indian society – Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis, Anglo-Indians, Indian Christians, SCs, STs, including women of all these sections.
Seat Allocation
  • Each province and princely state were to be allotted seats in proportion to their respective <a title="POPULATION: INDIA’S DEMOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE, DISTRIBUTION, AND GROWTH TRENDS" population .
  • Seats allocated to each British province were to be divided among the three principal communities – Muslims, Sikhs, and General in proportion to their population.
Voting Method
  • Proportional representation by means of a Single transferable vote in the case of provincial representation.
  • Representatives from princely states were to be nominated by their heads.
Members
  • Partly elected (In British Provinces) and Partly nominated (by heads of Princely states) body.
  • Members were to be indirectly elected by the members of the provincial assemblies.
Note:

  • Mahatma Gandhi  was not part of the Constituent Assembly.
  • 93 seats allotted to the princely states were not filled as they decided to stay away from the Constituent Assembly.

 

Objective Resolution

  • Jawaharlal Nehru  moved this historic resolution on 13th December 1946, in the Assembly.
  • It contained the fundamentals and philosophy of the Constitutional structure.
    • Guaranteed the people of India justice: social, economic, and political; equality of status and of opportunity; freedom of thought, expression, belief, etc.
  • This resolution was adopted on 22nd January 1947, by the Assembly.

    • The Preamble of the Constitution  of India is a modified version of the Objective Resolution.

Changes Made by the Independence Act, 1947

  • Sovereign Body: The Assembly was made a fully sovereign body, free to abrogate or alter any law.
  • Dual Functions: Two separate functions were assigned to the Assembly (performed on separate days),
    • Legislative Body (Chaired by G V Mavalankar).
    • Constituent Body (chaired by Dr. Rajendra Prasad).
  • First Parliament: Thus, the Assembly became the first Parliament of free India (Dominion Legislature).
    • These two functions continued till November 26, 1949.
  • Withdrawal of Muslim League: After the withdrawal of Muslim League members, total strength came down to 299 as against 389 under the Cabinet Mission Plan.

 

Various Functions Performed by Constituent Assembly

Apart from crafting the Constitution and passing regular legislation, the Constituent Assembly also undertook the following tasks:

  • Ratified India’s membership of the Commonwealth in May 1949.
  • Adopted the National Flag on July 22, 1947.
  • Adopted National Song & National Anthem on Jan 24, 1950.
  • Elected Rajendra Prasad as the first President of India on Jan 24, 1950.
  • Final Session: It was held on 24th January 1950. However, it continued as the provisional Parliament of India from Jan 26, 1950, till the formation of the new Parliament (May 1952).
  • Total Sessions: 11; Total time: 2 years, 11 months, 18 days.
  • Total expenditure: 64 lakh.
  • Draft Constitution considered for 114 days.

  • Time taken by the Framers of Constitutions in other Countries:

    • U.S.A: Less than 4 months
    • Canada: About 2 years and 6 months
    • Australia: About 9 years
    • South Africa: 1 year

Major and Minor Committees in the Constituent Assembly

Major Committees Of  Constituent Assembly
Chairman Committees
Jawaharlal Nehru Union Powers Committee, Union Constitution Committee, States Committee.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Rules of Procedure Committee, Steering Committee.
Sardar Patel Provincial Constitution Committee, Advisory Committee on FRs, Minorities & Tribal & Excluded Areas.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Drafting Committee.

The Drafting Committee

It was set up on 29th August 1947: It consisted of 7 members

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar (Chairman), N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar, Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar, Dr. K.M. Munshi, Syed Mohammad Saadullah, N. Madhava Rau (He replaced B.L. Mitter who resigned due to ill-health) T.T. Krishnamachari (He replaced D.P. Khaitan who died in 1948).

  • The first draft was published in February 1948.
  • The people of India were given 8 months to discuss the draft and propose amendments.
  • Based on this, the drafting committee prepared a second draft, published in October 1948.
  • The Drafting Committee took less than six months to prepare its draft (sat only for 141 days)

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, as the Law Minister, led the Draft Constitution in the Assembly, known for his persuasive arguments and is regarded as the ‘Father of the Constitution of India‘ and a ‘Modern Manu‘, due to his expertise and leadership, especially representing the scheduled castes.

 

Minor Committee of Constituent Assembly

  1. Finance and Staff Committee: Dr. Rajendra Prasad
  2. House Committee: B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya
  3. Credentials Committee: Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar
  4. Order of Business Committee: Dr. K.M.Munshi
  5. Committee on the Functions of the Constituent Assembly: G.V. Mavalankar
  6. Committee on Chief Commissioners’ Provinces: B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya
  7. Expert Committee on the Financial Provisions of the Union Constitution: Nalini Ranjan Sarkar(Not an Assembly Member)
  8. Linguistic Provinces Commission: S.K. Dar (Not an Assembly Member)
  9. Special Committee to Examine the Draft Constitution: Jawaharlal Nehru
  10. Press Gallery Committee: Usha Nath Sen
  11. Ad-hoc Committees of Constitutional Assembly
    • On the National Flag: Dr. Rajendra Prasad
    • On the Supreme Court: S. Varadachari (Not an Assembly Member)
    • On Citizenship: S.Varadachari

Enactment And Enforcement Of The Constitution

Enactment Enforcement
  • Date: It was adopted on 26 November 1949.
  • Assembly Attendance: Out of a total 299 members of the Assembly, only 284 were actually present on that day and signed the Constitution.
  • At that time, it contained the Preamble, 395 Articles, and 8 Schedules.
  • The Preamble was enacted after the entire Constitution was already enacted to align with the philosophy of the Constitution.
  • Provisions Enacted on November 26, 1949: Some provisions of the Constitution came into force on Nov 26, 1949 itself, viz. Citizenship, Elections, provisional Parliament, temporary and transitional provisions, and short titles contained in Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 60, 324, 366, 367, 379, 380, 388, 391, 392 and 393.
  • Major part   came   into   force   on   Jan   26,   1950 (commencement day – celebrated as Republic Day).
  • Jan 26, 1930: Purna Swaraj Day was celebrated following the Lahore Session (December 1929) of the Indian national congress.
  • The Indian Independence Act, 1947 & GoI Act, 1935 with all its enactments, were repealed.
  • The Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act (1949) continued.

 

Additional Information

  • Expert Committee of the Congress:
    • On July 8, 1946, the Congress Party (Indian National Congress) appointed an Experts Committee to prepare material for the Constituent Assembly.
    • Members of the committee were: Jawaharlal Nehru (Chairman), M. Asaf Ali, K.M. Munshi, N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar, K.T. Shah, D.R. Gadgil, Humayun Kabir, K. Santhanam.
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