The Indian Constitution: A Historic Signing Day

The Indian Constitution was signed by 284 members of the Constituent Assembly on 24 January 1950, and it came into effect on 26 January 1950. The Constituent Assembly was a partly elected and partly nominated body, established to draft a constitution for India. It was conceived and created by V. K. Krishna Menon, who first outlined its necessity in 1933. The Constituent Assembly was constituted in November 1946 through indirect elections and its first session was held on 9 December 1946. The Assembly was not elected based on complete universal adult suffrage, and Muslims and Sikhs received special representation as minorities.

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The Constituent Assembly

The first session of the Constituent Assembly was held on 11 December 1946, where Dr Rajendra Prasad was unanimously elected as its President. The Assembly sat for the first time on 9 December 1946, and on 13 December 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru introduced the famous "Objective Resolution", which laid down the philosophy of the Constitution of India. A Drafting Committee was constituted on 29 August 1947, with Dr B.R. Ambedkar as Chairman, to prepare a Draft Constitution. This committee finished its work on 26 November 1949, a date now known as Constitution or National Law Day.

The Constitution's key figures

The Indian Constitution, which came into effect on 26 January 1950, is the supreme legal document of India and the world's longest written national constitution for a sovereign nation. It is a comprehensive, elaborate, and detailed document that lays down the framework for the country's political system, defining the powers and responsibilities of government institutions, safeguarding fundamental rights, and outlining the principles of governance.

The Constituent Assembly, which was elected by the elected members of the provincial assemblies, was responsible for drafting the constitution. The 389-member assembly (reduced to 299 after the partition of India) took almost three years to draft the constitution, holding eleven sessions over a 165-day period.

Some of the key figures in the Constituent Assembly included:

• Jawaharlal Nehru, who, along with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Louis Mountbatten, convinced most of the princely states to sign the articles of integration with India.
• Rajendra Prasad, who was unanimously elected as the President of the Constituent Assembly and was one of the signatories of the Indian Constitution.
• B. R. Ambedkar, who was the Chairman of the seven-member Drafting Committee formed on 29 August 1947 to prepare the constitution. He was also the first Law Minister of Independent India.
• C. Rajagopalachari, who was sworn in as the Governor-General of India on 21 June 1948.
• Vallabhbhai Patel, who addressed the members of the Constituent Assembly at the time of the signing of the Indian Constitution.
• G. V. Mavlankar, who was the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, after India became a republic.
• Syama Prasad Mukherjee, who represented the Scheduled Classes in the Constituent Assembly.
• Frank Anthony, who represented the Anglo-Indian community.
• HP Modi, who represented the Parsis.
• Harendra Coomar Mookerjee, who represented Christians other than Anglo-Indians.
• Bahadur Gurung, who represented the Gorkha community.
• Sarojini Naidu, Durgabai Deshmukh, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, and Vijayalakshmi Pandit, who were some of the important women members of the Constituent Assembly.

The Assembly's final session

The Constituent Assembly of India was a partly elected and partly nominated body tasked with framing the country's constitution. It was elected by the Provincial assemblies of British India following the Provincial Assembly elections held in 1946 and nominated by princely states. The Assembly's first session was held on 9 December 1946, and its last session, the final session, convened on 24 January 1950.

The signing of the constitution was the culmination of a process that began in 1946, when the Constituent Assembly first convened. The Assembly held eleven sessions over a 165-day period, taking almost three years to draft the constitution. The process was not without its challenges, as the Assembly had to navigate the complexities of India's diverse society and political landscape.

The Constituent Assembly included prominent figures such as Jawaharlal Nehru, who played a key role in expressing the Assembly's hopes and aspirations. Nehru famously said, "The first task of this Assembly is to free India through a new constitution, to feed the starving people, and to clothe the naked masses, and to give every Indian the fullest opportunity to develop himself according to his capacity." Other important members included B.R. Ambedkar, C. Rajagopalachari, G.V. Mavalankar, K.M. Munshi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.

The constitution that was signed during the Assembly's final session is the world's longest for a sovereign nation. With approximately 145,000 words, it is the second-longest active constitution in the world, after the Constitution of Alabama. The Indian constitution has served as the country's supreme law, defining the framework of basic political principles and establishing the roles and responsibilities of different government institutions. It enshrines fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens, ensuring a system of integrated federalism.

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The Constitution's cost

The Indian Constitution was signed on 24 January 1950 and came into effect on 26 January 1950. The constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, which was elected by elected members of the provincial assemblies. The 389-member assembly (reduced to 299 after the partition of India) took almost three years to draft the constitution, holding eleven sessions over a 165-day period.

The estimated cost of the Constituent Assembly was ₹6.3 crore (roughly $875,000 at the time). The process took 2 years, 11 months, and 18 days to complete, at a total expenditure of ₹6.4 million (about $90,000).

The constitution was drawn from a number of sources, including previous legislation such as the Government of India Acts 1858 and 1935, and the Indian Independence Act 1947. The latter led to the creation of Pakistan and divided the Constituent Assembly in two. Each new assembly had the sovereign power to draft and enact a new constitution for their separate states.

The first session of the Constituent Assembly was held on 9 December 1946, and the first meeting was attended by 205 members, including 9 women. A Drafting Committee was constituted on 29 August 1947, with Dr B.R. Ambedkar as Chairman, to prepare a Draft Constitution. The committee finished its work on 26 November 1949, a date now known as Constitution or National Law Day. The Draft Constitution contained 315 articles organised into eighteen parts and eight schedules, covering topics like government structure, centre-state relations, and citizens' rights. The Draft was widely circulated for feedback from Assembly members, provincial governments, central ministries, and the public. The Drafting Committee reviewed suggestions in March and October 1948. On 4 November 1948, B.R. Ambedkar introduced the Draft in the Assembly, addressing some controversies. Reactions were mixed. From 15 November 1948, the Assembly debated the Draft article by article, discussing numerous amendments until 17 October 1949.

The Constitution's sources

The Indian Constitution is a unique document, drafted over three years by the Constituent Assembly, which was elected by members of the provincial assemblies. The Assembly's final session was held on 24 January 1950, when the Constitution was signed and accepted. Two days later, on 26 January 1950, it became the law of India.

The Constituent Assembly was mindful of India's needs and conditions and borrowed features from previous legislation, including:

• The Government of India Acts of 1858, 1919 and 1935
• The Indian Councils Acts of 1861, 1892 and 1909
• The Indian Independence Act of 1947

The Constitution also drew on the constitutions of other countries, including:

• The United Kingdom, from which India borrowed the idea of a parliamentary form of government and single citizenship
• The United States, from which it took the concept of fundamental rights and the government's federal structure
• Australia, which provided the provisions of freedom of trade and commerce within the country and between states
• South Africa, which gave the procedure of the amendment and the election of the Rajya Sabha members
• Germany, which provided for the suspension of fundamental rights during an emergency, an idea also borrowed from the Soviet Constitution
• Ireland, which provided the Directive Principles of State Policies

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