Formation of Indian Constitution

The formation of the Indian Constitution was deeply influenced by British laws, national movements, and constitutional developments during colonial rule. To understand these influences better, read the detailed Historical Background of Indian Polity section.

Composition of Constituent Assembly

Constituted in November 1946 under the Cabinet Mission Plan.
Total seats in the Constituent Assembly = 389 ➜ 296 seats from British India & 93 seats from Princely States.
Seats were allotted according to the population of provinces and states.
Seats were divided among 3 communities: Muslims, Sikhs & General

Members were elected through:

Proportional Representation
Single Transferable Vote (STV) system
Representatives of Princely States were nominated by the rulers of princely states.

Constituent Assembly was a: Partly elected & Partly nominated body.
Voting rights were limited. Franchise was based on: Tax, Property & Education

Election to Constituent Assembly

Indian National Congress (INC) won: 208 seats
Muslim League won: 73 seats
Others won: 15 seats
Princely States (93 seats): Did not participate initially
Many princely states boycotted the Assembly

Congress dominated with 208 seats, Muslim League got 73, others 15, while princely states boycotted.”

Working of Constituent Assembly

First meeting held on 6 December 1946.
Temporary President: Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha
Permanent President: Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Vice Presidents: H.C. Mukherjee & V.T. Krishnamachari

Objective Resolution

Moved by: Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 December 1946.
Adopted on: 22 January 1947
Modified version later became: Preamble of the Indian Constitution

Aims of Objective Resolution

India to become: Independent, Sovereign, Republic
Union of India to include: British India, Princely States & Future territories
Provinces to get: Autonomous powers & Self-government
Source of all power: People of India
Ensure: Justice, Equality, Freedom
Maintain: Public order & Morality
Safeguards for: Backward classes, Tribal areas & Depressed classes
Protection of: Land, Sea, Air & Territory
Promote: World peace & Human welfare

Tricks

ISR ➜ I = Independent ➜ S = Sovereign ➜ R = Republic
JEF ➜ J = Justice ➜ E = Equality ➜ F = Freedom

Nehru’s Objective Resolution (1946) declared India an Independent Sovereign Republic with people’s power, justice, equality, safeguards, security, peace and welfare.”

Indian Independence Act, 1947

3 Major Changes

1. Constituent Assembly

Constituent Assembly became a Sovereign Body
Constituent Assembly became fully independent.
It could make its own decisions without British control.

2. Two Separate Functions of the Assembly

(A) Making Ordinary Laws ⇢ Worked as the legislature (law-making body) for India ⇢ Chaired by G. V. Mavlankar.

(B) Making the Constitution ⇢ Worked as the Constituent Assembly to draft the Constitution of India ⇢ Chaired by Dr. Rajendra Prasad

3. First Parliament of Free India

Constituent Assembly also acted as the Parliament of free India. It was called the Dominion Legislature.

This dual role continued till 26 November 1949. On this day, the Constitution of India was adopted

Other Functions of Constituent

1947 – Adopted the National Flag of India 🇮🇳
1949 – Ratified India’s membership in the Commonwealth
1950 – Adopted the National Anthem Jana Gana Mana
1950 – Elected Dr. Rajendra Prasad as the first President of India

Final session of the Constituent Assembly was held on 24 January 1950, After this, the Constituent Assembly worked as the Provisional Parliament Provisional Parliament continued till April 1952

First elected Parliament of India was formed in May 1952

Committees of the Constituent Assembly

Committees and Chairpersons

Person / Committee	Role / Committee Headed	Easy Memory Cue
Jawaharlal Nehru	Union Powers Committee	Nehru → Strong Union Powers
Jawaharlal Nehru	Union Constitution Committee	Nehru → Constitution for the Union
Jawaharlal Nehru	States Committee	Nehru → Handling princely states/issues
Rajendra Prasad	Steering Committee	Rajendra Prasad → Steering the Assembly
Rajendra Prasad	Rules of Procedure Committee	Rajendra Prasad → Rules & discipline
Vallabhbhai Patel	Provincial Constitution Committee	Patel → Provinces administration
Vallabhbhai Patel	Advisory Committee	Patel → Advising on minorities & rights
Vallabhbhai Patel	Had 5 Sub-Committees	Patel’s Advisory Committee → 5 parts
B. R. Ambedkar	Drafting Committee	Ambedkar → Drafted the Constitution

“Nehru handled Union, Prasad handled Procedure, Patel handled Provinces, Ambedkar handled Drafting.”

Advisory Committee and Its Sub-Committees

Main Committee / Sub-Committee	Chairman	Main Work	Easy Memory Cue
Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal & Excluded Areas	Vallabhbhai Patel	Overall advice on rights, minorities, and tribal areas	Patel = Protection & Integration
Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee	J. B. Kripalani	Fundamental Rights	Kripalani = Rights
Minorities Sub-Committee	H. C. Mukherjee	Minority safeguards	Mukherjee = Minorities
North-East Frontier Tribal Areas and Assam Excluded & Partially Excluded Areas Sub-Committee	Gopinath Bordoloi	Tribal areas of Assam & North-East	Bordoloi = Assam & NE
Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas (Other than Assam) Sub-Committee	A. V. Thakkar	Tribal/excluded areas outside Assam	Thakkar = Other Tribal Areas
North-West Frontier Tribal Areas Sub-Committee	(Not commonly emphasized in exams)	Management of North-West frontier tribal areas	NW Frontier = Tribal Borders

Patel headed the Advisory Committee. It had 5 sub-committees.

Kripalani → Rights
Mukherjee → Minorities
Bordoloi → Assam & NE Tribes
Thakkar → Other Excluded Areas
Frontier Committee → NW Tribal Areas

Minor Committees of the Constituent Assembly

Administration Committees

Finance and Staff Committee
Credentials Committee
House Committee
Order of Business Committee
Press Gallery Committee

These managed the working of the Assembly.

Constitutional & Legal Committees

Ad-hoc Committee on the Supreme Court
Special Committee to Examine the Draft Constitution
Ad-hoc Committee on Citizenship
Committee on the Functions of the Constituent Assembly

These shaped the Constitution and legal system.

Nation-Building Committees

Ad-hoc Committee on the National Flag
Linguistic Provinces Commission
Committee on Chief Commissioner’s Provinces
Committee to Examine the Effect of the Indian Independence Act, 1947

These dealt with identity, provinces, and independence issues.

Drafting Committee of Constituent Assembly

The Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly of India was formed on 29 August 1947 to prepare the Draft Constitution of India. Chairman - Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

Members of the Drafting Committee

N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer
K. M. Munshi
Mohammad Saadulla
B. L. Mitter
D. P. Khaitan
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

Later changes:

B. L. Mitter resigned due to ill health and was replaced by N. Madhava Rau.
After the death of D. P. Khaitan, T. T. Krishnamachari was appointed.

Constitution of India

The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950.

At the time of adoption, it contained:

Preamble
395 Articles
8 Schedules

The Drafting Committee was headed by: Dr. B. R. Ambedkar

The Drafting Committee took less than 6 months to prepare the Draft Constitution. In total, the Committee sat for only 141 days.

Enactment of the Constitution

Readings of the Draft Constitution of India

1. First Reading (1948)

Started on 4 November 1948
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar introduced the Draft Constitution in the Constituent Assembly.

2. Second Reading (1948–1949)

Conducted from 15 November 1948 to 17 October 1949
Detailed discussion on: Articles, Amendments & Provisions of the Constitution

3. Third Reading (1949)

Held from 14 November to 26 November 1949
Final debate and approval of the Constitution took place.

Important Facts

The motion on the Draft Constitution was passed on 26 November 1949.
On this day, the people of India through the Constituent Assembly: Adopted, Enacted & Gave to themselves the Constitution.
Out of total 299 members, 284 members were present during the final signing.

Constitution as Adopted Contained: Preamble, 395 Articles & 8 Schedules

Enforcement of the Constitution

Important Dates Related to the Indian Constitution

26 January 1930 – Purna Swaraj Day

Celebrated as Purna Swaraj (Complete Independence) Day
Based on the Lahore Session (December 1929) of the Indian National Congress
President of Lahore Session: Jawaharlal Nehru

26 January 1950 – Constitution Came into Full Force

The Constitution of India became fully operational on this date.
India became a: Sovereign Democratic Republic (Later amended to Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic)

Acts Repealed

Act	Status
Indian Independence Act 1947	Repealed
Government of India Act 1935	Repealed

Act Continued

Act	Status
Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act, 1949	Continued

Articles Enforced on 26 November 1949. Articles - 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 60 ,324, 366, 367 , 379, 380 , 388, 391, 392, 393

Topic	Related Articles
Citizenship	Articles 5–9
Oath of President	Article 60
Elections	Article 324
Definitions & Interpretation	Articles 366–367
Provisional Parliament	Articles 379–380
Temporary & Transitional Provisions	Articles 388, 391, 392
Short Title of Constitution	Article 393

Criticism of the Constituent Assembly

Not a Sovereign Body
Not a Representative Body
Dominated by Congress
Time-Consuming
Dominated by Hindus
Lawyer-Politician Domination
Expert Committee of the Congress (1946)

On 8 July 1946, the Indian National Congress appointed an Expert Committee to prepare material for the Constituent Assembly.

Constituent Assembly Committee Details

Chairman: Jawaharlal Nehru

Members

M. Asaf Ali
K. M. Munshi
N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
K. T. Shah
D. R. Gadgil
Humayun Kabir
K. Santhanam

Additional Member: Krishna Kripalani was later co-opted as member and secretary of the committee.

Meetings of the Committee

Place	Date
New Delhi	20 to 22 July 1946
Mumbai (Bombay)	15 to 17 August 1946

Other Important Facts

Elephant was the symbol (seal) of the Constituent Assembly.
S. N. Mukherjee - Chief Draftsman
B. N. Rau - Constitutional Advisor (Legal Advisor)
Prem Behari Narain Raizada - Calligrapher of the original Constitution
The original Constitution of India was handwritten in a beautiful calligraphy style.

Hindi Text of the Constitution

Originally, the Constitution of India had no provision for an authoritative Hindi text. Later, this provision was added by the 58th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1987

The amendment inserted a new article394 - A in Part XXII of the Constitution.
Article 394-A deals with the authoritative Hindi translation of the Constitution of India.

Article 394-A – Hindi Text of the Constitution

Provisions of Article 394-A

1. Publication by the President

The President shall publish under his authority:

Hindi translation of the Constitution of India
Hindi translation of every Constitutional Amendment originally made in English

2. Same Meaning as English Text

The Hindi translation of the Constitution and its amendments shall have the same meaning as the original English text.

3. Authoritative Hindi Text

The published Hindi translation shall be considered the authoritative text in Hindi for all purposes.

Topic	Detail
Amendment	58th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1987
New Article Added	Article 394-A
Part	Part XXII
Main Purpose	Authoritative Hindi text of Constitution

Parts of Indian Constituiton

Formation of Indian Constitution