The Constituent Assembly was the body responsible for framing the Constitution of independent India.
It was formed under the framework of the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946.
The Assembly first met on 9 December 1946.
Its work ultimately resulted in the adoption of the Constitution on 26 November 1949.
The Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950.
The demand for a Constituent Assembly developed during the Indian national movement.
The basic idea was that India's Constitution should be framed by representatives of the Indian people rather than imposed by the British Parliament.
The demand was strongly associated with the Indian national movement and was formally articulated by the Indian National Congress in 1934.
The British government eventually accepted the principle of constitution-making through an Indian Constituent Assembly.
The Constituent Assembly was established under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946.
The Cabinet Mission consisted of:
The plan proposed a Constituent Assembly to frame India's Constitution.
The original strength of the Constituent Assembly was 389 members.
It consisted of:
The provincial representatives were elected by the members of the provincial legislative assemblies.
Representatives of princely states were nominated by the rulers of those states.
Therefore, the Constituent Assembly was not elected through universal adult franchise.
After the partition of British India, the Constituent Assembly was reorganised.
The membership was reduced from:
389 → 299
The Indian Constituent Assembly then consisted of:
The Assembly became the sovereign constitution-making body of India after independence.
The Constituent Assembly met for the first time on:
9 December 1946
The meeting was held in New Delhi.
Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha served as the temporary Chairman.
On 11 December 1946, Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected President of the Constituent Assembly.
He later became the first President of the Republic of India.
H.C. Mookherjee served as the Vice-President of the Constituent Assembly.
He played an important role in the functioning of the Assembly.
B.N. Rau served as the Constitutional Adviser to the Constituent Assembly.
He prepared important constitutional material and studied constitutional systems from different countries.
His work assisted the Drafting Committee and the Assembly in developing the constitutional framework.
The Objectives Resolution was moved by Jawaharlal Nehru on:
13 December 1946
It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on:
22 January 1947
The Resolution outlined the basic philosophy and objectives that would guide constitution-making.
It emphasised:
The Objectives Resolution later influenced the Preamble to the Constitution.
The Drafting Committee was established on:
29 August 1947
Its Chairman was:
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
The Drafting Committee was responsible for preparing the draft Constitution based on the decisions of the Constituent Assembly and the work of various committees.
The original Drafting Committee consisted of seven members:
Changes in membership occurred later because of resignations and deaths.
The Constituent Assembly worked through numerous committees.
Important committees included:
Chairman:
Jawaharlal Nehru
It examined the distribution of powers between the Union and provinces.
Chairman:
Jawaharlal Nehru
It examined the structure of the Union government.
Chairman:
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
It dealt with constitutional arrangements for provinces.
Chairman:
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
It considered:
Chairman:
Dr. Rajendra Prasad
It dealt with the procedures governing the functioning of the Assembly.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar served as Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
He played a central role in:
He is therefore widely recognised as the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, while constitution-making itself was a collective effort of the Constituent Assembly and its committees.
The Constituent Assembly took approximately:
2 years, 11 months and 18 days
to complete the Constitution.
It held 11 sessions and conducted extensive debates on constitutional provisions.
The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution on:
26 November 1949
This date is observed as:
Constitution Day
Members of the Constituent Assembly signed the Constitution on:
24 January 1950
The Constitution was signed by the members who remained in the Assembly at that time.
The Constitution came into force on:
26 January 1950
This date was chosen to commemorate the declaration of Purna Swaraj adopted by the Indian National Congress in 1930.
After independence, the Constituent Assembly performed two functions:
It framed the Constitution.
It also functioned as the legislature of independent India.
This continued until the Constitution came into force and the first general elections were held.
The legislative and constitution-making functions were conducted separately when necessary.
The Indian Independence Act, 1947 transformed the Constituent Assembly into a sovereign body.
Before independence, the Assembly was established under the Cabinet Mission framework.
After independence, it was no longer subordinate to the British Parliament for its constitution-making function.
This was an important step toward constitutional sovereignty.
The Constituent Assembly faced several criticisms.
Members were primarily elected indirectly by provincial legislatures.
The Congress had a dominant position in the Assembly.
Representatives of princely states were nominated rather than directly elected.
The Assembly did not represent the entire population through universal adult franchise.
However, despite these limitations, the Assembly included representatives with diverse political, legal, social and administrative experience.
The Assembly:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1946 | Cabinet Mission Plan |
| 9 Dec 1946 | First meeting |
| 11 Dec 1946 | Rajendra Prasad elected President |
| 13 Dec 1946 | Objectives Resolution moved |
| 22 Jan 1947 | Objectives Resolution adopted |
| 29 Aug 1947 | Drafting Committee established |
| 26 Nov 1949 | Constitution adopted |
| 24 Jan 1950 | Constitution signed |
| 26 Jan 1950 | Constitution came into force |
Remember:
1946 → Constituent Assembly established
9 December 1946 → First meeting
Sachchidananda Sinha → Temporary Chairman
Rajendra Prasad → President
B.N. Rau → Constitutional Adviser
29 August 1947 → Drafting Committee
B.R. Ambedkar → Chairman of Drafting Committee
26 November 1949 → Constitution adopted
24 January 1950 → Constitution signed
26 January 1950 → Constitution came into force
The Constituent Assembly can be analysed through:
The Constituent Assembly transformed the political aspirations of the freedom movement into a comprehensive constitutional framework. Despite not being elected through universal adult franchise, its extensive debates, committee system and broad intellectual representation enabled it to create a Constitution that combined democracy, liberty, equality, social justice, federalism and constitutional government.
Cabinet Mission Plan, 1946 → Constituent Assembly
Original strength → 389
After Partition → 299
First meeting → 9 December 1946
President → Rajendra Prasad
Constitutional Adviser → B.N. Rau
Drafting Committee Chairman → B.R. Ambedkar
Constitution adopted → 26 November 1949
Constitution signed → 24 January 1950
Constitution came into force → 26 January 1950
The Constituent Assembly converted India's struggle for self-government into a constitutional framework for an independent democratic republic.
