Isabella Carter
The Constitution of India was first drafted in 1948 by Sir B. N. Rau, a civil servant and later a judge in the International Court of Justice. The original document was handwritten by Prem Behari Narain Raizada, a noted calligraphist, in both English and Hindi. The first translation of the Constitution from English was into Bengali and published in 1983. The Hindi translation, undertaken by Raghu Vira, a linguist, scholar, and politician, was the first among Indian languages.
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What You'll Learn
The first draft of the Indian Constitution
The Indian Constituent Assembly was tasked with framing the Constitution of India. On December 13, 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru moved the Objectives Resolution, which aimed to declare India as an independent sovereign republic and create a constitution to govern its future. The Resolution established general principles to guide the work of the Constituent Assembly, which formally adopted the Resolution on January 22, 1947.
The Draft consisted of 315 articles, 18 'Parts', and eight 'Schedules'. It covered a range of topics, including the structure of government, centre-state relations, and the rights of citizens. The Draft was the first blueprint of the Indian Constitution that was publicly available and was widely circulated to members of the Assembly, provincial governments, central ministries, the Supreme Court and High Courts, and the general public, with an invitation to provide feedback and suggestions.
The Draft Constitution was scrutinised by a Special Committee comprising members of the Union Constitution Committee, Provincial Constitution Committee, Union Powers Committee, and the Drafting Committee itself. The Drafting Committee reviewed and made decisions on the comments, critiques, and suggestions it received, preparing amendments. The Draft Constitution was presented to the Constituent Assembly on November 4, 1948, by B.R. Ambedkar, the Chairman of the Drafting Committee, and was opened up for discussion in the Assembly.
The Draft Constitution was finally adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949, as the Constitution of India. The Assembly held eleven sessions in 165 days before adopting the constitution. The first article of the Constitution declares that India is a "Union of States", with the States retaining key powers and having a strong influence over the national government via the Rajya Sabha or Council of States.
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The man who hand-wrote it
The man who hand-wrote the Constitution of India was Prem Behari Narain Raizada, an Indian calligrapher born in December 1901. Coming from a family of calligraphers, Raizada lost his parents at a young age and was raised by his grandfather, a scholar of English and Persian, who taught him the art of Indian calligraphy. He went on to study at St. Stephen's College in Delhi, where he further refined his calligraphic skills.
When the Indian Constitution was being drafted by the Constituent Assembly of India in the late 1940s, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wanted the final document to be handwritten in a flowing italic style. Raizada was chosen for the task and asked what he would charge. He replied, "Not a single penny. By the grace of God, I have all the things, and am quite happy with my life."
Raizada spent six months hand-writing the Constitution, which consisted of 395 articles, 8 schedules, and a preamble in both English and Hindi. He used No. 303 pens for English calligraphy and a Hindoo dip-pen nib from Birmingham for Hindi calligraphy. The final document was a work of art, beautified and decorated by artists from Shantiniketan, including Nand Lal Bose and Beohar Rammanohar Sinha.
The Constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950, and has since been translated into several Indian languages, including Bengali, Odia, and Meitei. The Hindi translation, undertaken by linguist and scholar Raghu Vira, was the first among Indian languages.
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The first translation
The Constitution of India was first translated from English into another language and published in 1981. It was translated into Odia and published in Bhubaneswar as 'ଭାରତର ସମ୍ବିଧାନ' ('Bharatara Sambidhana'). This was achieved through the combined efforts of the Government of Odisha and the Union Government of India.
The Hindi translation of the Indian Constitution is also notable as the first translation among Indian languages. This task was undertaken by Raghu Vira, a distinguished linguist, scholar, politician, and member of the Constituent Assembly.
The Constitution of India was first translated from English into Bengali and published in 1983 in Kolkata. This was made possible through the collective efforts of the Government of West Bengal and the Union Government of India. Its second edition was published in 1987, and the third in 2022.
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The Hindi translation
Dr B.R. Ambedkar is widely regarded as the principal architect of the Indian Constitution. He was also a prolific writer and is known to have authored many books on the Indian Constitution, with "The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of A Nation" being one of the most notable.
Now, while there isn't explicit information on a Hindi translation of "The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of A Nation" by Dr B.R. Ambedkar himself, there are numerous Hindi translations of this book available, given its immense
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The Bengali translation
The Constitution of India was first translated into the Bengali language and published in 1983 as ভারতের সংবিধান ("Bharoter Songbidhan"). The translation was the result of a joint effort between the Government of West Bengal and the Union Government of India. The second edition was published in 1987, followed by a third edition in 2022, which included the One Hundred and Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.
In addition to the Bengali and Hindi translations, the Constitution of India has been translated into other Indian languages, such as Odia and Meitei (officially known as Manipuri). The Odia translation was published on April 1, 1981, in Bhubaneswar, through the collaborative efforts of the Government of Odisha and the Union Government of India. The Meitei translation was published on January 3, 2019, in Imphal, through the joint efforts of the Government of Manipur and the Union Government of India.
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Frequently asked questions
The first book on the Constitution of India, titled 'Making of India's Constitution', was written by retired Supreme Court Justice Hans Raj Khanna.
The Constitution of India was drafted by Sir B. N. Rau, who was the constitutional advisor to the assembly. The draft was then debated and amended by a seven-member drafting committee, chaired by B. R. Ambedkar.
Prem Behari Narain Raizada, a noted calligraphist, hand-wrote the original Constitution of India.
