Why designing the Indian Constitution was a long and tedious process

The Indian Constitution is a framework which governs the country and its citizens. In order to make it more detailed, it had to go through a lot of formative events, and these were the events which have received a remarkable position in Indian history.

The Indian Constitution is unique in both spirit and content. Notwithstanding the fact that several features of the constitution have been borrowed from other constitutions from all around the world, it is really a unique piece of work. Two years, eleven months and seventeen days, was the time taken to draft the historic Constitution of independent India, which was adopted on November 26, 1949 and came into effect on January 2, 1950. The Constitution consists of 448 Articles in 25 Parts and 12 Schedules.  

The Beginning 

The beginning of the need to have a constitution can be traced back to 1919, which marked an important step in India’s Constitutional development during the British Rule. These reforms were an attempt to address the demands of Indians for greater participation in governance and gradual self-governance. 

The British Parliament was presented with the Commonwealth Of India Bill, 1925 which demanded fundamental rights for Indians. These rights included: individual liberty, freedom of conscience, free expression of opinion, free assembly, and equality before law.

In November 1927, the British government appointed the Simon Commission to review the working of the Government of India Act, 1919 and propose constitutional reforms for India. The Commission did not have a single Indian member, which annoyed leaders of nationalist movement. In response to the Commission, the Indian Congress passed a resolution to set up a committee, which later came to be known as the “Nehru Committee” after its chairman Motilal Nehru. The committee was formed for the purpose of drafting of “a Swaraj Constitution for India” 

The Nehru Report

The report was presented on 15th august, 1928, proposed a new dominion status for India. Major Components of the Nehru Report were, Bill of Rights, assigning equal rights to all genders as citizens, formation of a federal form of government with residuary powers in the hands of centre, and proposal for the creation of Supreme Court.  

The report received various responses; the issue of communal representation was controversial. Many Muslim leaders suggested 1/3rd representation of Muslims in the Central Legislature. Representation to Muslims in Punjab and Bengal in proportion to their populations, formation of three new provinces with a Muslim majority.  

However, the Hindu Mahasabha was opposed to the formation of the new provinces and the communal representation in Bengal and Punjab. They pressed for a strictly unitary system. 

The Constituent Assembly 

1934 was when the inception of a constituent assembly was first put forth by the pioneer of the Communist Movement, M. N. Roy, followed by the Indian National Congress. 

In 1936, the Indian National Congress held its session at Lucknow, which was presided by Jawaharlal Nehru. The official demand of the constituent assembly was raised and was rejected as it imposed the Constitution which was against the will of Indians. Later on 15th November, 1939, Rajagopalachari voiced the demand for a constituent assembly based on adult franchise, which was accepted by the British.  

The August Offer 

Viceroy Linlithgow, on 8th August 1940, made a statement promising the expansion of the Executive Council of the Viceroy of India to include more Indians. It gave more weight to minority opinion and recognised the rights of the Indians to frame their own Constitution. This was known as The August Offer.  

However, the Indian Congress could not trust the British government’s intentions. Linlithgow, proposed resolving the Indian constitution after the war through a constituent committee meeting at Wardha.   

February, 1946 

Cabinet Mission was a high-powered mission sent in February 1946 to India by the Atlee Government. The mission had three British cabinet members – Pethick Lawrence, Stafford Cripps and AV Alexander. The Cabinet Mission’s aim was to discuss the transfer of power from British to Indian leadership. 

However, the mission failed as the Congress party wanted a strong centre with minimum powers for the provinces whereas, the Muslim League wanted strong political safeguards for the Muslims like parity in the legislatures. Since both parties had many ideological differences and could not find common ground, the mission came up with its own set of proposals in May 1946. 

December 1946 

When India was on the verge of getting its freedom, the constituent assembly met for the very first time with an aim to frame an unbiased constitution, which would later be known as the world’s lengthiest constitution. The constituent Assembly consisted of three-hundred members, and was headed by Dr Rajendra Prasad.  

Later on, August 29th, 1947 a drafting committee was established under the chairmanship of Dr BR Ambekar, to come up with the draft of the constitution. After repeated debates, arguments, addition and deletion of clauses, the constitution was finally adopted on November 26th ,1949 with 284 signing members. The assembly ceased to exist from the 26th day of January, 1950, and the constitution was finally applicable.  

Long Process 

Framing of the Constitution was a long and tedious process. The Framers of our constitution framed every word of the constitution with careful deliberation and discussions, which has resulted into one of the world’s greatest constitutions till date. The Indian constitution is the supreme law of our nation, it is adopted by our people as stated in its preamble. 

The author, Satya Muley, is a Pune-based practising lawyer in Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court of India.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own and do not reflect those of DNA.)