On Thursday, a special sitting of Parliament will commemorate the day that the Constitution of India was adopted in 1949 and also pay tribute to one of its key makers, BR Ambedkar. Here are some facts about what went into the making of the law of the land:
1. The Constitution was drafted on November 26, 1949, and enforced on January 26, 1950. On November 26, the Constituent Assembly – the body formed for the purpose of drafting the Constitution – completed its proceedings. This is recognised as the day that the Constitution came into being. It is also the date mentioned in the Preamble to the Constitution. January 26 was chosen as Republic Day to commemorate the Purna Swaraj Declaration of Independence made on the same date in 1930.
2. The two-month period between the adoption and enforcement of the Constitution was used for a thorough reading and translation from English to Hindi. When the Constituent Assembly began the work of drafting the Constitution, there was much debate over the language to be used for discussion. It was agreed that members could speak in any language, and that the Constitution would be drafted in English and translated soon after into Hindi.
3. In sessions open to the public, the Constituent Assembly met for 166 days spread over two years, 11 months and 18 days before the Constitution was adopted. Contrast this with Japan, whose constitution was written by 24 Americans in seven days after World War II.
4. The members of the Constituent Assembly signed two hand-written copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English) on January 24, 1950. Two days later, the Constitution of India became the law of the land.
5. From the early 1930s, the Congress had insisted that Indians would frame their own Constitution. In 1946, Lord Wavell, the Viceroy of India, finally gave in to the demand.
6. The Constituent Assembly had diverse representation. “There was hardly any shade of public opinion not represented in the Assembly,” said K Santhanam, an educationist and political leader.There were about 300 members in the Constituent Assembly – partly elected and partly nominated. The Assembly comprised representatives of all sections of Indian society – Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis, Anglo-Indians, Indian Christians, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. There were only nine women members and Congress party leaders comprised 82% of the Assembly members. The rest were representatives from non-Congress parties – most notably BR Ambedkar, a self-proclaimed “life-long opponent of the Congress party”.
7. The Constitution of India was drafted between December 1946 and December 1949 – a most challenging period. This when religious riots, caste wars and entrenched gender inequality were threatening the social fabric of the country. In this atmosphere, the framers chose the fundamental human values of equality, liberty, justice and fraternity as our core Constitutional values. “Fundamental Rights were to be framed amidst the carnage of fundamental wrongs,” said one historian.
8. The sessions of the Constituent Assembly were marked by intense debates. One contentious issue was voting rights. Discussions were held on whether only educated people should be given the right to vote. This was opposed and eventually all citizens above the age of 21 (now reduced to 18), irrespective of educational qualifications, caste, religion or gender got the right to vote. (In the US, black men got the right to vote 80 years after the US Constitution came into being while women had to wait a further 50 years for the same right.)
9. There were several critical issues debated including language, rights, minorities, governance structures. All the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly are documented and available online.
10. On November 25, 1949, the day before the Constituent Assembly wound up its proceedings, BR Ambedkar made a moving speech. It ended with three warnings for the future.The first was regarding the place of popular protest in a democracy. “One must abandon the methods of civil disobedience, non-cooperation and satyagraha,” he said.The second warning dealt with the unthinking submission to charismatic authority. “Bhakti in religion may be the road to salvation of a soul. But in politics, bhakti or hero worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship,” Ambedkar said.His final warning was that Indians should not be content with political democracy as inequality and hierarchy were still embedded in Indian society. “If we continue to deny it (equality) for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril,” he said.
Vinita Singh Phougat is a trustee at We, The People, a network committed to raising awareness about the Constitution and responsible citizenship.
1. The Constitution was drafted on November 26, 1949, and enforced on January 26, 1950. On November 26, the Constituent Assembly – the body formed for the purpose of drafting the Constitution – completed its proceedings. This is recognised as the day that the Constitution came into being. It is also the date mentioned in the Preamble to the Constitution. January 26 was chosen as Republic Day to commemorate the Purna Swaraj Declaration of Independence made on the same date in 1930.
2. The two-month period between the adoption and enforcement of the Constitution was used for a thorough reading and translation from English to Hindi. When the Constituent Assembly began the work of drafting the Constitution, there was much debate over the language to be used for discussion. It was agreed that members could speak in any language, and that the Constitution would be drafted in English and translated soon after into Hindi.
3. In sessions open to the public, the Constituent Assembly met for 166 days spread over two years, 11 months and 18 days before the Constitution was adopted. Contrast this with Japan, whose constitution was written by 24 Americans in seven days after World War II.
4. The members of the Constituent Assembly signed two hand-written copies of the document (one each in Hindi and English) on January 24, 1950. Two days later, the Constitution of India became the law of the land.
5. From the early 1930s, the Congress had insisted that Indians would frame their own Constitution. In 1946, Lord Wavell, the Viceroy of India, finally gave in to the demand.
6. The Constituent Assembly had diverse representation. “There was hardly any shade of public opinion not represented in the Assembly,” said K Santhanam, an educationist and political leader.There were about 300 members in the Constituent Assembly – partly elected and partly nominated. The Assembly comprised representatives of all sections of Indian society – Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis, Anglo-Indians, Indian Christians, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. There were only nine women members and Congress party leaders comprised 82% of the Assembly members. The rest were representatives from non-Congress parties – most notably BR Ambedkar, a self-proclaimed “life-long opponent of the Congress party”.
7. The Constitution of India was drafted between December 1946 and December 1949 – a most challenging period. This when religious riots, caste wars and entrenched gender inequality were threatening the social fabric of the country. In this atmosphere, the framers chose the fundamental human values of equality, liberty, justice and fraternity as our core Constitutional values. “Fundamental Rights were to be framed amidst the carnage of fundamental wrongs,” said one historian.
8. The sessions of the Constituent Assembly were marked by intense debates. One contentious issue was voting rights. Discussions were held on whether only educated people should be given the right to vote. This was opposed and eventually all citizens above the age of 21 (now reduced to 18), irrespective of educational qualifications, caste, religion or gender got the right to vote. (In the US, black men got the right to vote 80 years after the US Constitution came into being while women had to wait a further 50 years for the same right.)
9. There were several critical issues debated including language, rights, minorities, governance structures. All the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly are documented and available online.
10. On November 25, 1949, the day before the Constituent Assembly wound up its proceedings, BR Ambedkar made a moving speech. It ended with three warnings for the future.The first was regarding the place of popular protest in a democracy. “One must abandon the methods of civil disobedience, non-cooperation and satyagraha,” he said.The second warning dealt with the unthinking submission to charismatic authority. “Bhakti in religion may be the road to salvation of a soul. But in politics, bhakti or hero worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship,” Ambedkar said.His final warning was that Indians should not be content with political democracy as inequality and hierarchy were still embedded in Indian society. “If we continue to deny it (equality) for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril,” he said.
Vinita Singh Phougat is a trustee at We, The People, a network committed to raising awareness about the Constitution and responsible citizenship.
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