Making of the Constitution

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1. Demand for a Constituent Assembly

Genesis of the Idea (1934): The idea of a Constituent Assembly for India was first put forward by M.N. Roy, a pioneer of the communist movement in India.
Official Demand (1935): The Indian National Congress (INC) officially demanded a Constituent Assembly to frame the Constitution of India.
Nehru's Declaration (1938): Jawaharlal Nehru declared on behalf of the INC that the Constitution of free India must be framed by an elected Constituent Assembly without outside interference.
August Offer (1940): The British Government finally accepted the demand in principle.
Cripps Proposal (1942): Sir Stafford Cripps brought a draft proposal for an independent constitution, but it was rejected by the Muslim League.
Cabinet Mission (1946): Lord Pethick Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps, and A.V. Alexander were sent to India. They rejected the idea of two constituent assemblies but proposed a scheme that largely satisfied the Muslim League.

Formation: The Constituent Assembly was constituted in November 1946 under the scheme formulated by the Cabinet Mission Plan.
Total Strength: The total strength was 389, with 296 seats for British India and 93 for Princely States.
British India Allocation: Out of 296 seats for British India, 292 were from 11 governors' provinces and 4 were from chief commissioners' provinces.
Communal Division: Seats allocated to each British province were divided among three principal communities (Muslims, Sikhs, and General) in proportion to their population.
Election Method: Representatives of each community were elected by members of that community in the provincial legislative assembly using proportional representation with a single transferable vote.
Nominations: Representatives of princely states were to be nominated by the heads of those states.
Nature of the Assembly: It was a partly elected and partly nominated body. It was not directly elected by the people of India on the basis of adult franchise but included representatives from all sections of Indian society.

First Meeting: The Assembly held its first meeting on December 9, 1946. It was attended by only 211 members because the Muslim League boycotted it to demand a separate state of Pakistan.
Temporary President: Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha, the oldest member, was elected as the temporary President following the French practice.
Permanent Officers: On December 11, 1946, Dr. Rajendra Prasad and H.C. Mukherjee were elected as the President and Vice-President respectively.
Constitutional Advisor: Sir B.N. Rau was appointed as the Constitutional Advisor to the Assembly.
Objectives Resolution: On December 13, 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru moved the historic 'Objectives Resolution', laying down the fundamentals and philosophy of the constitutional structure. It was unanimously adopted on January 22, 1947, and its modified version forms the Preamble of the present Constitution.

Acceptance of Partition: Following the Mountbatten Plan of June 3, 1947, representatives of most princely states took their seats in the Assembly.
Fully Sovereign Body: The Indian Independence Act of 1947 made the Assembly a fully sovereign body, empowering it to frame any Constitution and abrogate or alter any law made by the British Parliament in relation to India.
Legislative Role: The Assembly also became the first Parliament of free India (Dominion Legislature). Whenever it met as the Constituent body, it was chaired by Dr. Rajendra Prasad. When it met as the legislative body, it was chaired by G.V. Mavalankar.
Reduced Strength: Due to the withdrawal of Muslim League members hailing from areas included in Pakistan, the total strength of the Assembly came down to 299.

Commonwealth Membership: It ratified India's membership of the Commonwealth in May 1949.
National Symbols: It adopted the national flag on July 22, 1947. It later adopted the national anthem and the national song on January 24, 1950.
First President: It elected Dr. Rajendra Prasad as the first President of India on January 24, 1950.
Total Effort: The Constituent Assembly held 11 sessions over two years, 11 months, and 18 days. The Constitution-makers referred to the constitutions of about 60 countries.

Union Powers Committee: Chaired by Jawaharlal Nehru.
Union Constitution Committee: Chaired by Jawaharlal Nehru.
Provincial Constitution Committee: Chaired by Sardar Patel.
Drafting Committee: Chaired by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights and Minorities: Chaired by Sardar Patel.
Rules of Procedure Committee: Chaired by Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
States Committee: Chaired by Jawaharlal Nehru.
Steering Committee: Chaired by Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

Formation: It was the most important committee, set up on August 29, 1947, and tasked with preparing a draft of the new Constitution.
Composition: It consisted of seven members under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
Key Members: The other members included N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar, Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar, Dr. K.M. Munshi, Syed Mohammad Saadullah, N. Madhava Rau (replaced B.L. Mitter), and T.T. Krishnamachari (replaced D.P. Khaitan).
First Draft: After considering proposals from various committees, the Drafting Committee published the first draft of the Constitution in February 1948.

Enactment Date: The motion on the Draft Constitution was passed on November 26, 1949. Out of 299 members, 284 were present and signed the Constitution.
Initial Structure: The Constitution adopted on this date contained a Preamble, 395 Articles, and 8 Schedules.
Father of the Constitution: Dr B.R. Ambedkar is universally recognized as the 'Father of the Constitution of India'.
Partial Enforcement: Provisions pertaining to citizenship, elections, and provisional parliament came into force immediately on November 26, 1949.
Full Enforcement: The remaining major provisions came into force on January 26, 1950, chosen as Republic Day to commemorate the 'Purna Swaraj' declaration of 1930.

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