Simone Lawson
The Constitution of India was first drafted in 1946 by the Constituent Assembly of India, which was indirectly elected by the provincial legislatures. The assembly met for the first time in Delhi on December 9, 1946, and by November 1949, the draft constitution was approved. The constitution came into effect in January 1950 and the Constituent Assembly was transformed into a Provisional Parliament. The first copy of the constitution was handwritten by Prem Behari Narain Raizada, a calligrapher, in both Hindi and English. The first person to sign the constitution was India's first president, Rajendra Prasad.
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What You'll Learn
The Constituent Assembly
The drafting committee, chaired by B.R. Ambedkar, played a crucial role in the constitution-making process. They scrutinized and revised the initial draft prepared by BN Rau, the constitutional advisor, and submitted it for the assembly's consideration. The final copy of the Constitution was handwritten by Prem Behari Narain Raizada and published in Dehradun. It was decorated by artists from Shantiniketan, including Beohar Rammanohar Sinha and Nandalal Bose. The Constitution has been amended 106 times so far.
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BN Rau's role
BN Rau, born Benegal Narsing Rau, was a civil servant, jurist, diplomat, and statesman. He played a crucial role in drafting the Indian Constitution as the constitutional advisor to the Constituent Assembly. Appointed in 1946, Rau was responsible for the general structure of the democratic framework of the Constitution and prepared its initial draft, which was presented in February 1948. This draft consisted of 243 articles and 13 schedules, which, after discussions, debates, and amendments, evolved into 395 articles and 8 schedules. Rau's draft was then scrutinised, debated, and revised by the seven-member drafting committee chaired by BR Ambedkar.
Rau's contributions to the Indian Constitution were significant but often overlooked. He was not a member of the Constituent Assembly but was the key expert who did most of the primary thinking and writing. His role was largely behind the scenes, and after independence, the narrative of the Indian Constitution was predominantly framed as a story of successful Indian nationalism, with political leaders taking centre stage. However, Rau's impact extended beyond India. In 1947, he assisted in drafting the Constitution of Burma (Myanmar), working closely with Burma's Prime Minister, U Aung San.
Before his work on the Indian Constitution, Rau had a distinguished career. He entered the Indian Civil Service in 1910 and graduated from the Universities of Madras and Cambridge. Between 1935 and 1937, he revised the entire Indian statutory code, for which he was knighted in 1938. He then served as a judge on the Calcutta High Court (also known as the Bengal High Court) from 1939 until his resignation in 1950 to become India's representative to the United Nations Security Council. During his time at the United Nations, he served as the council's president and played a role in recommending armed assistance to South Korea. Later, he was a member of the Korean War post-armistice United Nations Command Military Armistice Commission (UNCMAC).
Rau's expertise in constitutional matters was sought internationally. In 1946, while the Constituent Assembly was discussing the draft Constitution, he travelled to the United States, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom to consult with judges, scholars, and authorities on constitutional law. He met with Justice Felix Frankfurter of the American Supreme Court, who advised against including a "due process" clause in the Indian Constitution. Rau's work in the Reforms Office of the Government of India and his interventions in negotiations between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League further demonstrated his commitment to constitutional and federal issues.
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BR Ambedkar's role
B.R. Ambedkar is regarded as the chief architect of India's constitution. Appointed as the first Law Minister of independent India in 1947, Ambedkar 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'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. He was appointed as the chair of the drafting committee, which revised the initial draft prepared by BN Rau, the constitutional advisor, and submitted it for consideration of the assembly.
Ambedkar's most important intervention as the Law Minister was in the attempt to pass the Hindu Code Bill, to reform Hindu personal laws that dictated matters like marriage, divorce, succession, and adoption. The Bill faced intense criticism, and the Government ultimately relented and withdrew the Bill, forcing Ambedkar to resign in frustration in 1951.
Ambedkar also introduced the Draft Constitution on 4 November 1948 to the Assembly, invoking 'constitutional morality'. On 25 November 1949, a day before the Constitution was adopted, Ambedkar argued that India must strive to be a social democracy and not merely a political democracy. He also contributed to land revenue tax and excise duty policies to stabilize the economy and played a significant role in land reform and state economic development.
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Prem Behari Narain Raizada's role
Prem Behari Narain Raizada, born on December 16, 1901, was the calligrapher who hand-wrote the Constitution of India. Hailing from a family of calligraphers, Raizada was trained in the art by his grandfather, Ram Prasad Saxena, a scholar of English and Persian, and his uncle, Mahashya Chatur Behari Narayan Saxena. He further refined his calligraphic skills at St. Stephen's College in Delhi.
When the Constituent Assembly of India completed the drafting of the Constitution in the late 1940s, India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, wanted the document to be handwritten and calligraphed, rather than printed. Raizada was chosen for this task and agreed to do it without remuneration. However, he requested that his name be included on each page of the Constitution and his grandfather's name be added to the last page, which was granted.
Over the course of six months, Raizada worked in a room in the Constitution Hall of India (now known as the Constitution Club of India). He used 432 pen-holder nibs, brought from England and Czechoslovakia, to meticulously inscribe the 251 pages of the manuscript, which weighed 3.75 kg (8.26 lbs). The document consisted of 395 articles, 8 schedules, and a preamble, and was presented to the then Indian President Rajendra Prasad on November 26, 1949.
The Constitution of India, which came into effect on January 26, 1950, is the world's longest written constitution. Raizada's contribution was not just in the physical act of writing but also in the aesthetic elevation of the document. His flowing italic style of calligraphy, along with artwork by artists from Shantiniketan, including Nandalal Bose, added to the beauty and significance of the Constitution.
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Adoption and implementation
The Constituent Assembly of India met for the first time in Delhi on December 9, 1946, in the Constitution Hall, now known as the Central Hall of the old Parliament House. The assembly was tasked with drafting India's constitution, which was to be the world's longest, and first adopted in 1950.
The assembly held eleven sessions over 165 to 167 days, across two years, 11 months, and 18 days. The constitution was debated by members of the Constituent Assembly, with approximately 36 lakh words spoken during debates. The assembly met for 101 days from November 1948 to October 1949 for clause-by-clause discussions on the draft Constitution.
The first draft of the constitution was prepared by BN Rau, the constitutional advisor, in February 1948. It consisted of 243 articles and 13 schedules, which were revised and amended by the seven-member drafting committee chaired by BR Ambedkar. The committee scrutinised and revised the draft, which was then submitted for consideration of the assembly. The drafting committee members frequently responded to comments made by other members during the discussion. The final draft of the constitution contained 395 articles and 8 schedules, with 1.45 lakh words.
The first copy of the constitution was handwritten and calligraphed in both Hindi and English. The Hindi translation was undertaken by Raghu Vira, a distinguished linguist, scholar, politician, and member of the Constituent Assembly. The first person to sign the constitution was India's first president, Rajendra Prasad.
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Frequently asked questions
The Constituent Assembly of India drafted the country's first constitution in the late 1940s. The assembly's constitutional advisor, BN Rau, was responsible for the constitution's general structure and prepared its initial draft in February 1948.
The Constituent Assembly was made up of 278 representatives and 15 women. The parties represented in the assembly included the Congress Party, the Muslim League, the Scheduled Caste Federation, the Indian Communist Party, and the Union Party.
Jawaharlal Nehru asked Prem Behari Narain Raizada to write out the first copy of the constitution. Raizada was a calligrapher and wrote the constitution by hand in a flowing italic style.
The Constituent Assembly met for 11 sessions and 167 days over a period of two years, 11 months, and 18 days to debate and amend the constitution. The final draft was published in Dehradun and came into effect in January 1950.
