Constitution Assembly by and Making of the Constitution

  • The Cabinet Mission envisaged the establishment of a Constitution Assembly to frame a Constitution for the country. Members of the Constitution Assembly were elected by the Provincial Assemblies. 
  • Each Province and each India State were allotted seats in proportion of its population, roughly in the ratio of one to a million. The seats so ascertained were distributed among the main communities in each Province. The main communities recognised were Sikh, Muslim and General.

Important Committees of the Constituent Assembly and their Chairman

  • The total number of members of the Constituent Assembly was 385, of whom 93 were representative from from the Indian State and 292 from the Provinces (British India). 
  • After the partition of India number of members of the Constituent Assembly came to 299, of whom 284 were actually present on the 26 November, 1949 and signed on the finally approved Constitution of India. The Constitution Assembly, which had been elected for undivided Indy, held its first meeting on December 9, 1946, and reassembled on August 14, 1947, as the sovereign Constituent Assembly for the dominion of India. 
  • It took two years, eleven months and eighteen days for the Constituent Assembly to finalise the Constitution. 
Objective Resolution was moved in the first session of the Constituent Assembly (on December 13, 1946) by Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru which was adopted after considerable deliberation and debate in the Assembly on 22 January, 1947. The following objectives were embodied in the resolution:
1. To foster unity of the Nation and to ensure its economic and political security, to have a written Constitution, and to proclaim India as a Sovereign Democratic Republic. 
2. To have a federal form of Government with the distribution of power between the center and states. 
3. To guarantee and secure justice, equality, freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association and action to all the people of India. 
4. To provide adequate safeguard for minorities, backwards and tribal areas and depressed and other backward classes. 
5. To maintain the integrity of the territory of the republic and it's sovereign rights on land, sea and air according to justice and the law of civilised nations. 
6. To attain rightful and honoured place on the world and make its full and willing contribution to the promotion of the world peace and the welfare of mankind. 

  • The principles of the Constitution were outlined by various committee of the Assembly, and there was a general discussion on the reports of these committees. The Constituent assembly appointed the Drafting Committee with Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as the Chairman on August 29, 1947 to scrutinise the draft of the text of the Constitution of India prepared by the constitutional Adviser B.N. Rao (Bengal Narsingh Rao). 
  • The Drafting Committee, headed by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, submitted a Draft Constitution of India to the President of the assembly on February 21, 1948.
  • The members of Drafting Committee were N.Gopalaswamy Ayyangar, Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar, Dr. K.M. Munshi, Syed Mohammad Saadullah, B. L. Mitter(later replaced by N. Madhava Rao), Dr. D. P. Khaitan replaced on death in 1948 by T.T. Krishnamachari). 
  • The third and final reading of the draft was completed on November 26, 1949. On this date, the signature of the President of the Assembly was append Ed to it and the Constitution was declared as passed. 
  • The Provision relating to citizenship, election and provincial Parliament etc were implement with immediate effect, that is from the 26th November, 1949. The rest of the provision of the Constitution came into force on January 26, 1950 and this date is referred to in the Constitution as the date of its commencement. 
  • 26th November is observed as 'Constitution Day' to celebrate the 125th birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the Government of India ( Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment) decided to observe 'Constitution Day' on 26th November w.e.f 2015.