Making of the Constitution: Constituent Assembly and Its Work

At a Glance

• First meeting 9 December 1946; Rajendra Prasad elected president on 11 December
• Objectives Resolution Moved by Nehru, 13 December 1946
• Adopted 26 November 1949; in force 26 January 1950
• Time taken 2 years, 11 months, 18 days
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: Independence and the New-Born Nation

Where Does It Fit?

This is the ninth topic of the category on independence and the new-born nation. The previous topic covered the integration of the Indian states. This topic covers the making of the Constitution and the work of the Constituent Assembly. The next topic covers the evolution of nationalist foreign policy. Previous topic: Integration of the Indian States, 1947-49.

What Were the Nationalist Roots of the Constitution?

The Constitution of India was framed between December 1946 and December 1949, but its roots lie in the national movement against colonial rule and in movements for responsible government in the princely states. Mridula Mukherjee, in India Since Independence, rejects the idea that the British started modern, responsible and constitutional government in India and that the Constitution of 1950 was only the culmination of British measures of 1861, 1892, 1909, 1919 and 1935, since British concessions at every stage fell far short of nationalist demands. Those measures are in Constitutional Development 1861-1935: Councils Acts to the Government of India Act.

The Simon Commission and the response are in Appointment of the Simon Commission and the Indian Response and Nehru Report, 1928, and the 1937 resolutions in Congress in the 1937 Elections. The Cabinet Mission is in Cabinet Mission Plan, 1946.

How Was the Constituent Assembly Formed?

The Assembly was elected indirectly by the provincial assemblies. Provinces were grouped as A, B and C and given seats at one member per million, divided among Muslims, Sikhs and General (all others) and elected by proportional representation with the single transferable vote. The planned strength was 389: 296 from British India (292 from the eleven governors’ provinces and four from the chief commissioners’ provinces) and 93 from the states, whose representatives were to be nominated by their rulers. In the elections of July-August 1946 the Congress won 208 seats, including all the General seats except nine, and the Muslim League won 73, all but five of the Muslim seats. The 93 state seats stayed vacant at first, though by April 1947 and 15 August 1947 states such as Baroda, Bikaner, Jaipur, Patiala, Rewa and Udaipur sent members and soon all states did.

The Muslim League boycotted the Assembly after Jinnah withdrew his acceptance. The Assembly first met on 9 December 1946 in the Constitution Hall, now the Central Hall of Parliament. J.B. Kripalani proposed Sachchidananda Sinha, the oldest member, as provisional president, and on 11 December Rajendra Prasad was elected president. Nehru moved the Objectives Resolution on 13 December 1946, which envisaged a federal polity, residuary powers in the autonomous units and sovereignty in the people, and gave the Assembly its guiding philosophy. On 26 June 1947 Mountbatten announced a separate Assembly for Pakistan. The Indian Independence Act came into force on 18 July 1947 and declared the Assembly a sovereign body, with full legislative power under its Section 8, and on the midnight of 14-15 August 1947 the Assembly took power. The League’s stand is in Grouping Clause of the Cabinet Mission Plan and Its Interpretations.

How Was the Assembly Evaluated?

The Assembly was the result of Congress compromises. It was not fully sovereign, though the Congress had demanded a sovereign body, and it was not elected on universal adult franchise. The Congress accepted communal representation, the grouping plan and limits on the Centre’s powers. The Assembly was indirectly elected by provincial assemblies chosen on the limited franchise of the 1935 Act, based on tax, property and education, which excluded more than 70 per cent of adults from voting. It reflected the composition of those assemblies, in which the Congress had a comfortable majority that rose above 80 per cent after partition.

Different ideological views were present: democratic and Marxian socialists, with the moderate group, of which Nehru was a member, holding sway; rightist voices such as Sardar Patel, Purushottam Das Tandon and S.P. Mookerjee supporting private enterprise; and Gandhians favouring village government through panchayats. The dominant influence was that of liberals and democratic socialists. Granville Austin points out that four men, Nehru, Patel, Rajendra Prasad and Abul Kalam Azad, formed a virtual oligarchy that dominated the proceedings, and that the Assembly decided by consensus, meaning unanimity or near unanimity. As an analytical point, Austin’s account implies that the real centre of decision was the Congress Working Committee, while the Assembly gave the decisions legal form and public debate.

How Did the Assembly Do Its Work?

The work moved in five stages: committees reported on basic issues; the constitutional adviser Benegal Narsing Rau, a judge of the Calcutta High Court, prepared an initial draft from their reports and his study of other constitutions; the Drafting Committee under B.R. Ambedkar produced a detailed draft that was published for public comment; the draft was debated and amended; and the Constitution was adopted.

On 22 July 1947 the Assembly adopted the national flag, and on 24 January 1950 it adopted the national anthem and national song and elected Rajendra Prasad as the first President. It continued as the provisional Parliament from 26 January 1950 until the first elections. Ambedkar’s remark that a claim to share power by a minority is called communalism while monopoly of power by the majority is called nationalism, reflects the debate on minority rights. The first elections are in First General Elections, 1951-52.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Dates and committees Frequent Prelims questions
• Evaluation of the Assembly Standard GS Paper 1 and Polity link
• Nationalist background Shows the continuity from 1895 to 1946

What Came Next?

The next topic covers the evolution of nationalist foreign policy, Panchsheel and non-alignment. Next topic: Evolution of Nationalist Foreign Policy: Panchsheel and Non-Alignment.

Key People and Terms

• Objectives Resolution Nehru’s resolution of 13 December 1946
• B.N. Rau Constitutional adviser who prepared the initial draft
• Drafting Committee Chaired by B.R. Ambedkar
• National Demand Motilal Nehru’s resolution of 1924
• Granville Austin Scholar who described the Assembly’s consensus
• Consensus Decision by unanimity or near unanimity

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about the process and character of the Assembly. These points add depth.

• Roots Nationalist drafts
• Composition Indirect election and Congress dominance
• Method Committees, drafts and consensus