Objective Resolution and the Formation of the Constituent Assembly

At a Glance

• What it is The story of how the Constituent Assembly of India was demanded, formed and given its first guiding statement, the Objectives Resolution
• First idea of a Constituent Assembly M.N. Roy, in 1934
• Formed November 1946, under the Cabinet Mission Plan
• First meeting 9 December 1946
• Objectives Resolution Moved by Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 December 1946; adopted unanimously on 22 January 1947
• Result Its modified version forms the Preamble of the Constitution
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Polity: Making of the Constitution

Where Does It Fit?

After the Indian Independence Act, 1947 the Constitution was to be made by Indians themselves. The body that made it was the Constituent Assembly. This topic covers how the demand for it arose, how it was formed, and the first great statement it adopted, the Objectives Resolution. Its composition and working are in the next topic.

How Did the Demand for a Constituent Assembly Develop?

• 1934: 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.
• 1935: The Indian National Congress officially demanded, for the first time, a Constituent Assembly to frame the Constitution of India.
• 1938: Jawaharlal Nehru, on behalf of the 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.
• 1939: The Congress endorsed and repeated this view by passing a resolution.
• 1940: The British Government accepted the demand in principle in the “August Offer”.
• 1942: Sir Stafford Cripps, a member of the British Cabinet, came to India with a draft proposal for framing an independent Constitution after World War II. The Muslim League rejected the Cripps Proposals, because it wanted India to be divided into two autonomous states with two separate Constituent Assemblies.
• 1946: A Cabinet Mission was sent to India. It rejected the idea of two Constituent Assemblies, but it put forward a scheme for one Constituent Assembly that more or less satisfied the Muslim League.

Timeline

• 1934 M.N. Roy proposes a Constituent Assembly
• 1935 The Congress demands one
• 1940 The August Offer
• 1942 The Cripps Proposals
• 24 March 1946 The Cabinet Mission arrives; it publishes its plan on 16 May 1946
• 8 July 1946 The Congress appoints an Experts Committee
• July-August 1946 Elections to the Constituent Assembly
• 9 December 1946 First meeting of the Assembly
• 13 December 1946 The Objectives Resolution is moved
• 22 January 1947 The Objectives Resolution is adopted

What Was the Cabinet Mission?

The Cabinet Mission had three members: Lord Pethick Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps and A.V. Alexander. It arrived in India on 24 March 1946, and it published its plan on 16 May 1946. The Constituent Assembly was constituted in November 1946 under the scheme of the Cabinet Mission Plan.

Who Prepared the Ground Within the Congress?

While the elections to the Constituent Assembly were still going on, the Congress appointed an Experts Committee on 8 July 1946 to prepare material for the Assembly. Its members were Jawaharlal Nehru (Chairman), M. Asaf Ali, K.M. Munshi, N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar, K.T. Shah, D.R. Gadgil, Humayun Kabir and K. Santhanam. Krishna Kripalani was later added as a member and convener.

The committee met twice: in New Delhi from 20 to 22 July 1946, and in Bombay from 15 to 17 August 1946. It discussed the procedure of the Assembly, the appointment of committees, and a draft of a resolution on the objectives of the Constitution, to be moved at the first session. The American constitutional expert Granville Austin observed that this committee set India on the road to her present Constitution, and that it drafted a resolution closely resembling the Objectives Resolution.

How Was the Assembly Formed?

The elections for the 296 seats allotted to British Indian provinces were held in July-August 1946. The Congress won 208 seats, the Muslim League 73, and small groups and independents the remaining 15. The 93 seats of the princely states were not filled, because the states decided to stay away.

What Happened at the First Meeting?

• The Assembly held its first meeting on 9 December 1946. The Muslim League boycotted it and insisted on a separate state of Pakistan, so only 207 members attended.
• Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha, the oldest member, was elected temporary Chairman, following the French practice.
• On 11 December 1946, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected permanent Chairman (President) of the Assembly.
• On 25 January 1947, H.C. Mukherjee was elected Vice-President. The Assembly later resolved to have two Vice-Presidents, and on 16 July 1947 V.T. Krishnamachari was elected the second Vice-President.

What Was the Objectives Resolution?

On 13 December 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru moved the historic Objectives Resolution in the Assembly. It laid down the fundamentals and philosophy of the constitutional structure. It declared the Assembly’s firm and solemn resolve to proclaim India as an Independent Sovereign Republic and to draw up a Constitution for her future governance, in which:

1. The territories of British India, the Indian States and other parts willing to join would form a Union of them all.
2. These territories would be autonomous units with residuary powers, exercising all powers of government except those given to the Union or inherent or implied in it.
3. All power and authority of sovereign independent India and its organs of government would be derived from the people.
4. All the people of India would be guaranteed justice (social, economic and political), equality of status and opportunity and before the law, and freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association and action, subject to law and public morality.
5. Adequate safeguards would be provided for minorities, backward and tribal areas, and depressed and other backward classes.
6. The integrity of the territory of the Republic and its sovereign rights on land, sea and air would be maintained according to justice and the law of civilised nations.
7. This ancient land would attain its rightful and honoured place in the world and would make its full and willing contribution to the promotion of world peace and the welfare of mankind.

The Assembly adopted the Resolution unanimously on 22 January 1947. It influenced the eventual shaping of the Constitution through all its later stages, and its modified version forms the Preamble of the present Constitution.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• A long demand: The idea of a Constituent Assembly went from M.N. Roy in 1934 to the Congress demand of 1935 and to the British acceptance in principle in 1940.
• A body of a special kind: The Assembly was a partly elected and partly nominated body, formed under the Cabinet Mission Plan.
• A guiding statement: The Objectives Resolution laid down the philosophy of the Constitution, and a modified form of it is the Preamble.

The Objectives Resolution at a Glance

What Came Next?

The Assembly went on to work as both a constitution-making body and, after the Indian Independence Act, 1947, a legislature. It set up committees, and its Drafting Committee prepared the draft of the Constitution. These are covered in the next topics.

Key People and Terms

• M.N. Roy Put forward the idea of a Constituent Assembly for the first time, in 1934
• August Offer, 1940 The British acceptance of the demand in principle
• Cabinet Mission Plan The plan under which the Constituent Assembly was constituted in November 1946
• Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha The oldest member and temporary Chairman at the first meeting
• Dr. Rajendra Prasad Elected permanent Chairman (President) of the Assembly on 11 December 1946
• Objectives Resolution Moved by Nehru; the basis of the Preamble
• Experts Committee of the Congress Appointed on 8 July 1946 to prepare material for the Assembly

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

This topic is the starting point of the Constitution’s making. Use these points to add depth.

• Demand and acceptance: The Assembly was first imagined by M.N. Roy in 1934, demanded by the Congress in 1935, and accepted in principle by the British in 1940. The Cripps Proposals failed because the Muslim League wanted two Assemblies, and the Cabinet Mission offered one scheme that more or less satisfied the League.
• A partly elected, partly nominated body: The Assembly was formed under the Cabinet Mission Plan, with members indirectly elected by the provincial assemblies, which themselves were elected on a limited franchise.
• Preparation before the first meeting: The Congress Experts Committee had drafted a resolution closely resembling the Objectives Resolution before the Assembly met.
• The philosophy of the Constitution: The Objectives Resolution declared India an Independent Sovereign Republic, with power derived from the people, justice, equality and freedom for all, and safeguards for minorities and backward groups. It influenced every later stage, and a modified form of it is the Preamble.
• The princely states stayed away at first: The 93 seats of the princely states were not filled in the beginning, because the states decided to stay away.