November 26 Celebrated as Constitution Day
In 2015, the union government at the centre
declared 26 November as Constitution Day by a 19 November gazette notification.
- The day was earlier commemorated as National Law
Day, after a resolution by the Supreme Court Bar Association, a lawyers’
body, in 1979.
- According to the Gazette notification, The
Constitution Day was also a tribute to Ambedkar.
- Sixty-eight years ago, on 26 November 1949, the
Constitution of India was adopted.
Facts about the Constitution
9 December 1946: The Constituent Assembly started its first
session for the Constitution.
17:
Number of committees formed in the Constituent Assembly.
299:
Number of members of the Constituent Assembly.
284:
Number of members who finally signed the Constitution.
11: Total Number of Sessions
2 years, 11 months, 17 days – The time it took to finish the
Constitution.
Background
An idea for a Constituent Assembly of
India was proposed in 1934 by M. N. Roy, It became an official
demand of the Indian National Congress in 1935, C. Rajagopalachari voiced the
demand for a constituent Assembly on 15th November 1939 based on adult
franchise.
- Under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946,
elections were held for the first time for the Constituent Assembly.
- The Constitution of India was drafted by the
Constituent Assembly, and it was implemented under the Cabinet Mission
Plan on 16 May 1946.
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Cabinet Mission Plan 1946:
Cabinet Mission was composed of three Cabinet Ministers
of England
The mission arrived on March 24, 1946. The objective of
this mission was to
Devise a machinery to draw up the constitution of
Independent India.
Make arrangements for interim Government. Thus the
mission was like a declaration of India’s independence.
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The members of the Constituent Assembly were
elected by the provincial assemblies by a single,
transferable-vote system of proportional representation.
The total membership of the Constituent
Assembly was 389: 292 were representatives of the states, 93 represented the
princely states and four were from the chief commissioner provinces of Delhi,
Ajmer-Merwara, Coorg (Near Madikeri) and British Baluchistan.
- The elections for the 296 seats assigned to the
British Indian provinces were completed by August 1946. Congress won 208
seats, and the Muslim League 73.
- After this election, the Muslim League refused to
cooperate with the Congress
- The Interim Government of India was formed
on 2 September 1946 from the newly elected Constituent Assembly.
- The Congress held a large majority in the
Assembly (69 percent of the seats), and the Muslim League held
nearly all the seats reserved in the Assembly for Muslims. There were also
members of smaller parties, such as the Scheduled Caste Federation,
the Communist Party of India and the Unionist Party.
On 3 June 1947 Lord Mountbatten, the
last British Governor-General of India, announced his intention to scrap the
Cabinet Mission Plan; this culminated in the Indian Independence Act
1947 and the separate nations of India and Pakistan.
The Indian Independence Act was passed on 18
July 1947 and, although it was earlier declared that India would become
independent in June 21, 1948, this event led to independence on 15 August 1947.
The membership of the Constituent Assembly
was 299 after the reorganization, and it met on 31 December 1947.
- The Constituent Assembly (elected for an undivided
India) met for the first time on 9 December 1946 at 11am.
- Sachchidananda Sinha was elected temporary president
of the assembly.
- 1st Speaker – Acharya J B Kripalani
Timeline
11 December 1946: Rajendra Prasad was elected
as president and H. C. Mukherjee was elected as vice-president of the
constituent assembly. B. N. Rau was appointed as its constitutional adviser.
13 December 1946: An 'Objective Resolution'
was moved by Jawaharlal Nehru in the assembly, laying down the
underlying principles of the constitution. It finally became the Preamble of
the constitution.
22 January 1947: Objective resolution
unanimously adopted.
22 July 1947: National
flag adopted.
15 August 1947: Indian independence
achieved as the Dominion of India.
29 August 1947: Drafting Committee
appointed with Dr. B. R. Ambedkar as the Chairman.
16 July 1948: Along with Harendra Coomar
Mookerjee V. T. Krishnamachari was also elected as second
vice-president of Constituent Assembly.
26 November 1949: Constitution passed
and accepted by the assembly with a Preamble, 395 Articles and 8 Schedules.
24 January 1950: "Jana Gana Mana"
adopted as the national anthem, with the first two verses of "Vande
Mataram" the national song. Rajendra Prasad elected the first president of
India.
The assembly was chaired by Dr. Rajendra
Prasad when it met as a constituent body, and by G. V. Mavlankar when
it met as a legislative body. It completed the task of drafting a constitution
in two years, eleven months and eighteen days, at a total expenditure of
Rs,6.4 million.
Major Committees
- Drafting Committee – Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
- Union Powers Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru
- Union Constitution Committee – Jawaharlal Nehru
- Provincial Constitution Committee – Sardar
Patel
- Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities
and Tribal and Excluded Areas – Sardar Patel.
- Rules of Procedure Committee – Dr. Rajendra
Prasad
- States Committee (Committee for Negotiating with
States) – Jawaharlal Nehru
- Steering Committee – Dr. Rajendra Prasad
