The Indian Constitution is a single document that is written and codified, and enacted by a single body. The Indian Constitution came to be adopted in the year 1949 on 26th November and members of the parliament signed it on January 24 in 1950.

The Indian Constitution is an amalgamation of supreme, rigidity, and flexibility. The Constituent Assembly had been written and debated between December 1946 to January 1950. The consensus was required by the freedom struggle which transformed society and politics. The document was lengthy and compromised 395 Articles and 8 Schedules.

Constituent Assembly of India

Making of the Indian Constitution

The draft for the Indian Constitution came to be prepared in 1928 by Motilal Nehru and other 8 members of Congress. In 1931, a resolution came to be given on the idea of a constitution for an independent India at the Karachi Session of the Congress.

Basic values like Universal Adult Franchise, the right to freedom and equality as well as rights for minorities were withdrawn from the resolution and the experience of colonial rule helped for the development of legislative institutional design for India.

Making of Indian Constitution: Timeline

The Indian Constitution took three years to be drafted and eleven sessions were held over 165 days cues from various constitutions were taken for drafting the constitution.

Demand for Constituent Assembly

The British Parliament came to be presented with Indian Commonwealth Bill in 1925, which is one of the most important constitutional reforms, and the report by Motilal Nehru was considered to be the first major attempt at full fledge constitution in 1928. Between the years 1930-32, three round table conferences were convened.

In 1934, the idea for a constituent assembly was forwarded by M.N.Roy, and in 1935, Congress demanded a constituent assembly for framing the constitution. In 1938, Jawaharlal Nehru said the constituent assembly should consist of elected members based on a universal adult franchise. In 1940, the demand was accepted by the British government and this was termed an August offer in 1942. In 1946, the Constituent Assembly was formulated on basis of a cabinet mission.

The Constituent Assembly

The members of the Constituent Assembly were the elected representatives who drafted the document of the Indian constitution. The elections to this Assembly were held in 1946 July and the first meeting was held on December 1946. Because of partition, the constituent assembly was also divided. 

The Constituent Assembly is constituted of 299 members who adopted the constitution on 26 November 1947 and came into effect on 26 January 1950. There were 8 Major committees and 15 minor committees in the constituent assembly for different subjects.

Committees of Constituent Assembly

Making of the Indian Constitution: Objective Resolution

An Objective Resolution was passed by Jawaharlal Nehru on 13th December 1946 which laid down the philosophical structure of the constitution of India. Jawaharlal Nehru had great aspirations for framing of the Constitution of India which was adopted on 22nd July 1947, based on the Preamble of the Indian Constitution.

Enactment and Enforcement of the Constitution

The motion for Draft Constitution was proclaimed on November 26, 1949, for gaining the signatures of the members as well as that of the President, and the Preamble was enacted by the Constitution. The Constitution was accepted on November 26, 1949, with a Preamble, 395 Articles, such as Articles 5 to 9, Articles 379,380, 388, 392, and 393.

Remaining of the articles came into effect on Republic Day, 26 January 1950. The Indian Independence Act of 1947 and the Government of India Act of 1935 were repealed after the Constitution of India came into effect. Our constitution at present has 448 Articles, 25 Parts, and 12 Schedules.

Women and The Constituent Assembly

Women played a very important role in the creation of the Indian Constitution, which is an important role in the Constituent Assembly and many women members of the Constituent Assembly also contributed to the creation of an independent Indian Constitution. 

Rajakumari Amrit Kaur was the first woman of independent India to be appointed to Cabinet as Health Minister and established AIIMS and Lady Irwin College in Delhi.

Indian Constitution: Challenges

After being under British rule for almost 300 years (200 years under company rule and 100 years ) India attained independence after a consistent struggle for many decades in the form of movements and sacrifices of many freedom fighters. After attaining independence the main task before our leaders were to design a constitution. The creation of the constitution for an immense and diverse nation like India was not a simple undertaking. 

• The nation was conceived through a segment based on partition. This was an awful experience for individuals in India and Pakistan. Many people on both sides of the border lost their lives in the violence created due to the partition. 
• Another challenge faced was the merger of princely states in the nation. The British left it to the choice of the princely states whether to unite into India or Pakistan. The making of the constitution in such a situation for a secure and stable future for the country was an immense task. 
• Indian diversity was a crucial factor to be kept in mind. The constitution to be made was to satisfy the people who are entangled in different religions, cultures, castes, and languages.

Merits of the Indian Constitution

Amidst these challenges, India had an advantage which is the consensus on how the nation and constitution should be. With the Indian freedom struggle, the leaders got an accurate idea about how the Indians are and what system should be right for Indian society. Even though people had some differences, the basic outline and ideas were accepted by the majority of the people. Both Motilal Nehru&#x2019s and the Congress Karachi session&#x2019s reports were focused on the incorporation of all-inclusive grown-up establishments, the right to opportunity and equity, and safeguarding the freedoms of minorities in the constitution of free India. Hence a few essential qualities were acknowledged by all pioneers much before the Constituent Assembly met.

Under British rule, India experienced the political foundations laid by them. The experience with these political foundations gave a great understanding to our leaders. The experience acquired by Indians in the working of the official foundations demonstrated to be extremely valuable for the nation in setting up its foundations. This was reflected when many ideas and features of the government act of India in 1935 were adopted into the Indian constitution.

Related Articles

1. Features of the Indian Constitution
2. Constitution of India

FAQs on Making of the Indian Constitution

Q1. What is the making of the Indian Constitution?

Answer-

The Constituent Assembly of India was in charge of making the Indian Constitution and in December 1946, Indian Constituent Assembly met for the first time and began drafting the Indian Constitution.

Q2. Who created the Constitution in India?

Answer-

The Indian Constitution was framed by the Constituent Assembly of India, Dr. Sachidanand Sinha as president, and later Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the elected president.

Q3. What are the factors that contributed to the making of the Constitution?

Answer-

Many of the leaders were inspired by the ideals of French Revolution and many were influenced by the parliamentary democracy of Britain and Bills of Rights in US.