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Making of Indian Constitution

Introduction: History

India, also known as Bharat with its iindependence stamped the end of a prolonged brawl of anticolonial struggle.The Indian Constitution is the supreme legal document in the nation.It is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic with a parliamentary system of governmentwhich is federal in structure with certain unitary features.. The Republic is governed in terms of the Constitution of India which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November, 1949 and came into force on 26th January, 1950.

This is a written document which lays down the framework demarcating fundamental basic code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of Government and its organizations and rights & duties of the citizen. Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar is regarded as the chief Architect of Indian Constitution. Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India become the first person to sign the constitution of India. It is the largest written constitution of the world. The Constitution of India is neither printed nor typed. It is handwritten and calligraphed in both Hindi and English. It was handwritten by Sh. Prem Behari Narain Raizada and was published in Dehradun by him. Every page got decorated by Shantiniketan artists including Beohar Rammanohar Sinha and Nandala Bose. It took two years, 11 months, and 18 days to complete the final draft. At present, It is containing395Articles and 12 Schedules. Till date, the constitution has been amended for 105 times.

Stages of the Making of the Indian constitution

The making of the Indian Constitution primarily took place through the Constituent Assembly, which went through several stages as under -

Stage 1 (13th December 1946 – 22nd January, 1947)

First Session of the Constituent Assembly

On 13 December 1946, the Constituent Assembly formally commenced its task of framing the Constitution of India. 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. On January 22, 1947, the Constituent Assembly adopted the Resolution.

                                                                 

Stage 2 (27th February, 1947 – 30th August, 1947)

Committee Stages and Second Session of Constituent Assembly Debates

After the first session of the Constituent Assembly, several committees were established to examine and report on various aspects of the Constitution. These included the Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities, and Tribal and Excluded Areas (comprising the Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights and the Sub-Committee on Minority Rights), Union Powers Committee, Union Constitution Committee, and Provincial Constitution Committee. These committees submitted their reports to the Constituent Assembly between April and August 1947. Meanwhile, as the committees submitted their reports, the Constituent Assembly discussed the general principles outlined in the recommendations. These deliberations concluded on 30 August 1947.

Stage 3 (01 FEB 1947 - 31 OCT 1947)

Draft Constitution by the Constitutional Adviser

Based on the reports of various committees and discussions in the Constituent Assembly mentioned in the previous stages, B.N. Rau, the Constitutional Adviser to the Constituent Assembly, prepared a Draft Constitution. The Draft Constitution was completed by October 1947 and submitted to the Drafting Committee.

 

Stage 4 (27 OCT 1947 - 21 FEB 1948)

First Draft Constitution

On 27 October 1947, the Drafting Committee began scrutinising the Draft Constitution prepared by the Constitutional Advisor, along with other notes, reports, and memoranda. After making changes, the committee submitted its final Draft Constitution to the President of the Constituent Assembly on 21 February 1948.

Stage 5 (21 FEB 1948 - 26 OCT 1948)

Public Circulation of First Draft

After the Draft Constitution was submitted to the President of the Constituent Assembly, it was published and circulated among the public. Many comments, critiques, and suggestions were received, which were then scrutinized 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 took these inputs into account and held discussions on 23, 24, 27 March and 18 October 1948. On 26 October 1948, the Committee reprinted and resubmitted the version of the Draft Constitution that had been submitted on February 21st, 1948, along with a set of amendments appended to clauses it intended to amend.

 

Stage 6 (4 NOV 1948)

Debates on the Draft Constitution

The Draft Constitution was presented to the Constituent Assembly on 4 November 1948, by B.R. Ambedkar, the Chairman of the Drafting Committee. The Draft Constitution was now opened up for discussion in the Assembly.

Stage 7 (15 NOV 1948 - 17 OCT 1949)

Second Reading of the Draft Constitution

In the second reading of the Draft Constitution, the Constituent Assembly engaged in a clause-by-clause discussion of every Article in the Draft Constitution. Most significant and extensive debates of the Constituent Assembly occurred during this period, which lasted until 17 October 1949. During this stage, Assembly members frequently proposed amendments to the Draft Constitution, seeking to modify or eliminate specific articles or clauses. But the majority of amendments were ultimately rejected.

Stage 8

Revision of the Draft Constitution

After the debates surrounding the Draft Constitution concluded, the Drafting Committee proceeded to revise it in accordance with decisions made in the Constituent Assembly. This involved tasks such as renumbering articles, making minor changes to the language, and adding or removing clauses. The revised Draft Constitution was then submitted to the President of the Constituent Assembly on 3 November 1949. It was subsequently introduced in the Assembly on 14 November 1949.

Stage 9 (14 NOV 1949 - 26 NOV 1949)

Third Reading of Drafting Constitution

During the third reading of the Draft Constitution there were only a few significant debates, and most of the speeches consisted of general comments on the Constitution as a whole. While some members expressed satisfaction with the final version of the Constitution, others raised concerns.

Stage 10 (26 Jan 1950)

Enactment and Adoption of the Constitution of India

On 26 November 1949, the third reading of the Constitution came to an end with the Constituent Assembly voting in favour of the motion proposed by Ambedkar in the previous stage. The final version of the Constitution was signed by members of the Assembly on 24 January 1950, and it came into effect on 26 January 1950.

Conclusion 

Every constitution is important to its country. The Indian constitution is one of the most flexible and tolerant constitutions written, given the diversity of the country. The constitutional assembly and making of the constitution lay down the moral, political, social, and humanitarian premise on which India as a country should roll.

The constitution of India is the longest written constitution in the world. It is secular, socialist as well as sovereign, making sure India prospers and serves the best nation to its people. 

Though like any other constitution, the Indian constitution has criticism. It is believed that the making of the constitution was hardly by the Indian people and was rather dealt with by a handful number of people who were the then nation’s builders. The citizens had no choice or say but just to accept it the way it was.

But even with some arguments and criticism, the making of the Indian constitution remains to be the most important and historic event for India. maintaining integrity within the nation

 

Bibliography

Austin, Granville. (1966). The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation. New Delhi, Oxford University Press.

Rao, S. (1967). Framing of India’s Constitutions. Indian Institute of Public Administration.

Bhat Manzoor Rashid. (2022).Historical Review of Indian Constitution: Traditional Journal of Law and Social Sciences (TJLSS)

Bajpai, R. (2008). Minority representation and the making of the Indian constitution. Politics and ethics of the Indian constitution, 354-91.

Elangovan Arvind. (2014). The Making of the Indian Constitution: A Case for a Non-nationalist Approach. History Compass, Volume12, Issue1

Mukherjee, Mithi, India in the Shadows of Empire: A Legal and Political History, 1774–1950 (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2010).

Tiwary, Uma Kant, The Making of the Indian Constitution (Allahabad: Central Book Depot, 1967).

Consitution of India: National Portal of India, www.india.gov.in