Simone Lawson
The Indian Constitution is the supreme legal document of India and is the world's longest written national constitution. It was framed by the Constituent Assembly of India, which first met on 9 December 1946 and had 299 members as of December 1947. The Constituent Assembly was formed for the purpose of writing a constitution for independent India. The Assembly took almost three years to draft the constitution, holding eleven sessions over a 165-day period. The first draft of the Indian constitution was prepared by BN Rau, and the drafting committee was formed under the chairmanship of Dr BR Ambedkar. The constitution came into force on 26 January 1950, celebrated as Republic Day in India.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of first meeting of Constituent Assembly | 9th December 1946 |
| Date constitution was framed | 26th November 1949 |
| Date constitution came into force | 26th January 1950 |
| Number of members in Constituent Assembly | 389 (later reduced to 299) |
| Chairman of Drafting Committee | Dr B R Ambedkar |
| Chief Draftsman | S. N Mukherjee |
| Other Drafting Committee members | N Goppalaswamy Ayyangar, Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar, Dr K M Munshi, Syed Mohammed Saadullah, N Madhava Rau, T T Krishnamachari, B.L. Mitter, D.P. |
| Other notable framers | B. Shiva Rao, B. V. Keskar, B.G. Kher, H. C. Mookherjee, H. V. Kamath, A.T. Pillai, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad |
| Previous legislation borrowed from | Government of India Acts 1858, 1919 and 1935, Indian Councils Acts of 1861, 1892 and 1909, Indian Independence Act 1947 |
| Preserved | In a nitrogen-filled case at the Parliament Library Building in New Delhi |
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What You'll Learn
The Constituent Assembly of India
The Constituent Assembly met for the first time on 9 December 1946 and its last session was held on 24 January 1950. It took almost three years to complete the task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India. During this period, it held eleven sessions covering a total of 165 days. Of these, 114 days were spent considering the Draft Constitution. The Assembly had 389 members, including 292 representatives of the provinces, 93 representatives of the princely states, and 4 representatives from the chief commissioner provinces. The membership was reduced to 299 after the partition of India.
The Constituent Assembly was male-dominated, with only 15 women members. However, these women "formed a distinct group [...] spoke in a distinct feminist parlance, and shared a constitutional vision of justice", and can collectively be called the "mothers" of the Indian Constitution. Notable female members included Hansa Mehta, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Dakshayani Velayudhan, and Sarojini Naidu.
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The drafting committee
The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India and is the longest written national constitution in the world. The Constituent Assembly of India met for the first time on 9 December 1946, and the constitution was framed from this date until 26 November 1949, coming into force two months later on 26 January 1950, which is celebrated as Republic Day in India.
The Constituent Assembly was formed for the purpose of writing a constitution for independent India. 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 Assembly had 229 members elected from 12 Indian provinces and 70 members nominated from 29 Princely States.
The constitution was drawn from a number of sources. Its framers borrowed features of previous legislation such as the Government of India Acts of 1858, 1861, 1892, 1919, and 1935, the Indian Councils Acts of 1861, 1892, and 1909, and the Indian Independence Act 1947.
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The role of Dr B R Ambedkar
The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India and is the longest written national constitution in the world. It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on 26 November 1949 and became effective on 26 January 1950. The Indian Constitution and its drafting process are often seen as synonymous with Dr B R Ambedkar. He is often referred to as the "Father of the Indian Constitution" and is probably the most well-known of all Constituent Assembly members.
Ambedkar was born on 14 April 1891 to a Dalit family. His family's low-caste status resulted in his early life being marked by discrimination, segregation, and untouchability. Despite this, his academic life was prolific. He obtained a Bachelor's degree in economics and political science, two master's degrees, and a doctoral degree from the University of London in 1923. In 1927, he organised a public burning of the Manusmriti, an ancient Hindu law book that placed social and legal constraints on the 'untouchables'. Ambedkar also played a key role in social movements that fought for the rights of Dalits. In 1924, he founded the 'Bahishkrit Hitakarani Sabha' for the social upliftment of the 'depressed classes' with the motto: "Educate, Agitate, Organise".
Ambedkar became a key figure in India's constitution-making process due to the offices he held and his interventions and speeches in the Assembly. He was the Chairman of the Assembly's most crucial committee – the Drafting Committee, and a member of other important committees. As its Chairman, he had to defend the Draft Constitution, which the Committee prepared, and therefore intervened in nearly every debate. On behalf of the Scheduled Caste Federation party, Ambedkar wrote and submitted 'States and Minorities' to the Constituent Assembly’s Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights. A mini-Constitution in itself, 'States and Minorities' framed strong constitutional protection for the Scheduled Caste community. Ambedkar’s interventions and speeches, on various aspects of the Constitution, were insightful, well-reasoned, and scrupulously researched. This won him the support and respect of other members of the Assembly, who appreciated his leadership of the constitution-making project.
Ambedkar was appointed as the first Law Minister of independent India in 1947. His most important intervention in this role was in the attempt to pass the Hindu Code Bill, to reform Hindu personal laws that dictated matters like marriage, divorce, succession, and adoption.
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The constitution's social and political context
The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India and the longest written national constitution in the world. It lays down the framework for the functioning of the government, the protection of individual liberties, and the maintenance of social order. It also outlines the principles of governance, including the fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens.
The idea of a Constituent Assembly for India was first put forward by M. N. Roy, a pioneer of the communist movement in India and an advocate of radical democratism, in 1934. In 1935, the Indian National Congress (INC) officially demanded a Constituent Assembly to frame the Constitution of India. In 1938, Jawaharlal Nehru, on behalf of the INC, declared that "the Constitution of free India must be framed, without outside interference, by a Constituent Assembly elected on the basis of the adult franchise". The demand was finally accepted in principle by the British Government in the 'August Offer' of 1940.
The Constituent Assembly was constituted under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946 to frame a Constitution for India. The Assembly, which had been elected for undivided India, held its first sitting on December 9, 1946, and reassembled on August 14, 1947, as the sovereign Constituent Assembly for the Dominion of India. It was elected by indirect election by the members of the Provincial Legislative Assembly (Lower House only), according to the scheme recommended by the Cabinet Delegation. 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 constitution was drawn from a number of sources. Its framers borrowed features of previous legislation such as the Government of India Act 1858, the Indian Councils Acts of 1861, 1892 and 1909, the Government of India Acts 1919 and 1935, and the Indian Independence Act 1947. The constitution was drafted by a drafting committee formed under the chairmanship of Dr B R Ambedkar by the Constituent Assembly on 29 August 1947. S. N Mukherjee was the chief draftsman of the Constitution in the Constituent Assembly.
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The constitution's basic structure
The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India and is the world's longest written national constitution. The document lays down the framework that demarcates the fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions. It also sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens. The Indian Constitution does not contain a provision to limit the powers of the parliament to amend the constitution. However, the Supreme Court of India has ruled that an amendment cannot destroy what it seeks to modify. This means that while the constitution can be amended, its basic structure or framework cannot be altered or abolished. This concept is known as the Basic Structure Doctrine.
The Basic Structure Doctrine is a crucial legal principle that has shaped the interpretation of India's Constitution. It emerged from the landmark Kesavananda Bharati case in 1973, where the Supreme Court of India ruled that some features of the Constitution are so integral to its functioning and existence that they cannot be altered or destroyed through amendments by the Parliament of India. These features form the core structure of the Constitution and are considered immutable. The doctrine holds that while Parliament has the power to amend various parts of the Constitution, including Fundamental Rights, it cannot alter the 'basic structure'.
The Basic Structure Doctrine was developed by the Supreme Court of India in a series of constitutional law cases in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Golaknath case and the Sajjan Singh case, that culminated in the Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala case in 1973. In this case, Justice Hans Raj Khanna propounded that the Constitution of India contains certain basic features that are essential to its functioning and cannot be altered or destroyed through amendments. These basic features include the fundamental rights guaranteed to individuals by the Constitution, such as the right to property.
The Basic Structure Doctrine has been reinforced by significant judgments from the Supreme Court, which have consistently upheld its importance in protecting the Constitution's integrity. Some of the key cases that have contributed to the evolution of this doctrine include Indira Nehru Gandhi vs Raj Narain (1975), Minerva Mills vs Union of India (1980), Waman Rao vs Union of India (1981), and Indra Sawhney vs Union of India (1992). These cases have helped define the basic structure of the Constitution and reinforce its importance.
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Frequently asked questions
The Constituent Assembly of India framed the constitution.
Dr B R Ambedkar chaired the drafting committee, which also included members such as N Gopalaswamy Ayyangar, Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar, and K M Munshi.
The Constituent Assembly of India first met on 9 December 1946.
The Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949, and it came into effect on 26 January 1950.
The first draft of the Indian Constitution was prepared by B N Rau.
