Page 3 - #18120150101

Constitution is designed to keep the country together and to take it forward. A
constitution is an elaborated and carefully worked out document.

The Making of the Constituent Assembly:

• Members of the constituent assembly were indirectly elected. Members were
elected by provincial legislature. Constituent assembly was dominated by the
Congress.
• The Muslim League boycotted the assembly as it wanted separate constitution
and separate state.
• Though members were mostly from the Congress but views and opinion of its
members were diverse. In constituent assembly, there was intense debate
between the members regarding different ideas and proposals.
• Intense discussion within the constituent assembly was also influenced by opinion
of the public. Public was also asked to send in their views and ideas.
• Linguistic minorities asked for protection of their mother tongue, religious
minorities demanded for special safeguards. While dalits asked for abolition of
caste suppression and reservation in education and government jobs.

The Dominant Voices in the Constituent Assembly:

• Out of all 300 members of the constituent assembly, few members like Pt
Nehru,Vallabh Bhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad, BR Ambedkar, ICM Munshi and
Alladi Krishna Swamy Aiyar had a remarkable contribution. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru,
Vallabh Bhai Patel and Rajendra Prasad were representatives of the National
Congress.
• Pt Jawaharlal Nehru moved crucial “objectives resolution” as well as proposal of
National Flag. While Vallabh Bhai Patel played an important role in negotiating
with princely states, merging these princely states with India. He drafted several
reports and worked for reconciling the opposing point of view.
• Rajendra Prasad as a President of assembly steered the discussion along the
constructive lines and made sure that all members had a chance to speak.
• Dr BR Ambedkar joined the cabinet on advice of Gandhiji and worked as law
minister. He was the chairman of drafting committee of the constitution. KM
Munshi and Alladi Krishnaswamy Aiyar were another two lawyers who played
important role in drafting of the Constitution.
• There were two civil servants who gave vital assistance to these leaders, one
among them was B.N. Rao, who worked as constitutional advisor to government
of India and another was S.N. Mukherjee who put up complex proposal in clear
legal language.

The Objective of Indian Constitution:

• On 13th December, 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru introduced “Objective Resolution”. It
proclaimed India to be an “Independent Sovereign Republic” guaranteed its