Making of the Constitution
Overview
It tests your understanding of the Constituent Assembly's composition, functioning, and key decisions, as well as your ability to identify which features were borrowed from which country's constitution.
The Constitution was drafted over 2 years, 11 months, and 18 days (December 1946 to November 1949). Understanding this process helps you grasp why certain provisions exist and how the framers balanced competing demands of federalism, fundamental rights, and social justice. Questions can appear as factual recall (dates, committee names, borrowed features) or as statements requiring you to identify correct/incorrect combinations.
Mastery requires memorising key dates, the roles of important committees, the sources of different constitutional features, and the exact wording and components of the Preamble.
Key Concepts
- Cabinet Mission Plan (1946): Proposed the framework for the Constituent Assembly; rejected the demand for a separate Pakistan initially but provided for grouping of provinces.
- Composition of Constituent Assembly: Initially 389 members (292 from British provinces, 93 from princely states, 4 from Chief Commissioners' provinces). After partition, reduced to 299 members.
- Indirect Election: Members were elected by provincial legislative assemblies, not by universal adult franchise. Election method used single transferable vote with proportional representation.
- Sovereign Body: From August 15, 1947, the Assembly became a fully sovereign body, free from the Cabinet Mission's limitations.
- Dual Function: The Assembly served both as a constitution-making body and as the provisional Parliament of India until 1952.
- Objective Resolution: Moved by Jawaharlal Nehru on December 13, 1946; adopted on January 22, 1947. It laid down the philosophy and guiding principles that later became the Preamble.
- Borrowed Constitution: Often called a "bag of borrowings" but the framers adapted foreign provisions to Indian conditions rather than copying blindly.
- Lengthiest Constitution: Originally had 395 Articles, 22 Parts, and 8 Schedules — making it the longest written constitution in the world.
Formulas / Key Facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First meeting | December 9, 1946 |
| Temporary Chairman | Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha |
| Permanent Chairman | Dr. Rajendra Prasad (elected December 11, 1946) |
| Chairman of Drafting Committee | Dr. B.R. Ambedkar |
| Constitutional Adviser | B.N. Rau (not a member of the Assembly) |
| Constitution adopted | November 26, 1949 (celebrated as Constitution Day) |
| Constitution came into force | January 26, 1950 (Republic Day) |
| Total sessions | 11 sessions over 165 days |
| Drafting Committee members | 7 members |
| Women members | 15 (including Sarojini Naidu, Durgabai Deshmukh, Hansa Mehta) |
Important Committees:
| Committee | Chairman |
|---|---|
| Drafting Committee | Dr. B.R. Ambedkar |
| Union Powers Committee | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Union Constitution Committee | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Provincial Constitution Committee | Sardar Patel |
| Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee | J.B. Kripalani |
| Minorities Sub-Committee | H.C. Mookerjee |
| Rules of Procedure Committee | Dr. Rajendra Prasad |
Sources of the Constitution:
| Feature | Source Country |
|---|---|
| Parliamentary system, Rule of Law, Legislative procedure, Single citizenship, Cabinet system, Writs | United Kingdom |
| Fundamental Rights, Judicial Review, Independence of Judiciary, Removal of SC/HC judges | United States |
| Directive Principles of State Policy, Presidential election method, Nomination of Rajya Sabha members | Ireland |
| Concurrent List, Freedom of trade and commerce, Joint sitting | Australia |
| Emergency provisions, Suspension of Fundamental Rights during Emergency | Germany (Weimar) |
| Fundamental Duties, Five-Year Plans | USSR |
| Amendment procedure, Election of Rajya Sabha members | South Africa |
| Procedure established by law | Japan |
| Republic, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity (ideals in Preamble) | France |
Worked Examples
Example 1: The Constituent Assembly that framed the Constitution of India was set up under which plan?
Solution: The Constituent Assembly was set up under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946. The Cripps Mission (1942) had proposed a constitution-making body but failed. The Cabinet Mission succeeded in creating the framework.
Example 2: Which of the following features has India borrowed from the Irish Constitution?
- Directive Principles of State Policy
- Fundamental Rights
- Judicial Review
- Parliamentary Privileges
Solution: The answer is (1) Directive Principles of State Policy. Fundamental Rights and Judicial Review came from the USA. Parliamentary Privileges came from the UK.
Example 3: Consider the following statements about the Preamble:
- The word 'Socialist' was part of the original Preamble.
- The Preamble is not justiciable.
Which is/are correct?
Solution: Only statement 2 is correct. 'Socialist' and 'Secular' were added by the 42nd Amendment (1976). The Preamble is not enforceable in courts (Kesavananda Bharati case confirmed it is part of the Constitution but non-justiciable).
Common Mistakes
- Confusing adoption and enforcement dates → The Constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949, but came into force on January 26, 1950. Citizenship, elections, and provisional Parliament provisions came into effect immediately on November 26, 1949.
- Thinking B.N. Rau was a Constituent Assembly member → He was the Constitutional Adviser who prepared the initial draft, but he was not a member of the Assembly or the Drafting Committee.
- Attributing Fundamental Duties to the original Constitution → Fundamental Duties were added by the 42nd Amendment (1976), inspired by the USSR Constitution. They were not part of the original document.
- Confusing sources of Concurrent List → Students often attribute it to the USA (which has no concurrent list). It was borrowed from Australia.
- Believing the Preamble was adopted first → The Preamble was adopted last (after the entire Constitution was finalised) on November 26, 1949, to ensure it reflected the document accurately.
Quick Reference
- Cabinet Mission 1946 → set up Constituent Assembly; first met December 9, 1946.
- Dr. Rajendra Prasad = President of Assembly; Dr. Ambedkar = Chairman of Drafting Committee.
- November 26, 1949 = Adoption (Constitution Day); January 26, 1950 = Enforcement (Republic Day).
- DPSP from Ireland; Fundamental Rights from USA; Parliamentary system from UK.
- 'Socialist', 'Secular', and 'Integrity' added to Preamble by 42nd Amendment, 1976.
- Preamble: part of Constitution (Kesavananda Bharati case) but not justiciable.