Making of the Indian constitution: Timeline
The Indian Constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, which was elected by elected
members of the provincial assemblies. The 389-member assembly (reduced to 299 after the partition
of India) took almost three years to draft the constitution, holding eleven sessions over a 165-day
period. It has taken a lot of cues from other countries’ constitutions. Taking inspiration and Sources
from various Constitutions, on the other hand, does not make it secondhand. Furthermore, there was
little to draw from in the way of a model.
Dates Events
1934 MN Roy gave the idea of a constituent assembly for framing the Indian
constitution.
1935 This idea of forming a constituent assembly was supported by leaders of the
Indian National Congress, and demand was put forward.
1938 Jawaharlal Nehru, on behalf of the Indian National Congress, demanded that the
constituent assembly consist of Indians only.
1940 Britishers accepted this demand in the August offer.
1942 Before the Quit India movement, Cripps’s mission said that the formation of a
constituent assembly would be after World War II (1939-1945).
1946 The Cabinet mission formed a constituent assembly. Constituent assembly had
o 389 seats (296 British India and 93 Princely states)
o Majority seats by Congress-208
9th Dec 1946 o The first meeting of the constituent assembly took place with 211
members.
o The first President of the assembly was Dr Sachidanand Sinha.
11th Dec 1946 o Permanent President Dr Rajendra Prasad.
o Vice President H. C. Mukherjee
o Constitutional advisor B. N. Rao
13th Dec 1946 Objective resolution was given by Jawaharlal Nehru, who laid the philosophical
structure of Indian constitution. It was passed on 22nd July 1947.
3rd June 1947 o Lord Mountbatten planned for two constituent assemblies.
o The number of seats was reduced to 299.
o The first Parliament of India – the constituent assembly was formed.
o The first speaker of Independent India- G.V. Malvankar.
o Chairman of constituent assembly Dr Rajendra prasad.
26th The Constitution of India was made.
November
1949
Making of the Indian constitution: Demand for
Constituent Assembly
o Annie Besant’s general assembly in 1922 agreed to call a conference to draft a constitution.
o The British Parliament was presented with the Indian Commonwealth Bill of 1925. One of
India’s most important constitutional reforms.
o The Motilal Nehru report, which was considered the first major attempt toward a full-fledged
constitution, was published in 1928.
o Between 1930 and 1932, three round tables on constitutional reform were convened.
The first round table conference took place in 1930.
o In 1934, the idea of the constituent assembly was put forward by M.N. Roy.
o In 1935, the Indian National Congress demanded a constituent assembly to frame the
constitution.
o In 1938, Jawaharlal Nehru declared that the constituent assembly must consist of elected
members on the basis of a universal adult franchise.
o In 1940, the demand was accepted by the British government. This was termed the August
offer.
o In 1942, Sir Standford Cripps proposed forming Independent nations for Hindus and
Muslims. This was referred to as the Cripps mission.
o In 1946, a constituent assembly was formed based on the cabinet mission.
Committees of Constituent Assembly Here is a brief overview of the committees of the
Constituent Assembly of India:
Committee Name Responsibilities Chairperson
Drafting Committee Drafting the actual text of the Dr. B.R.
Constitution. Ambedkar
Union Power Committee Drafting provisions related to the Jawaharlal Nehru
central government.
Provincial Constitution Committee Drafting provisions related to state Vallabhbhai Patel
governments.
Advisory Committee on Fundamental Drafting provisions related to Vallabhbhai Patel
Rights, Minorities and Tribal and fundamental rights, minorities, and
Excluded Areas tribal areas.
States Committee Negotiating with princely states for Jawaharlal Nehru
their integration into the Indian
Union.
Rules of Procedure Committee Drafting rules of procedure for the Rajendra Prasad
Constituent Assembly.
Finance and Staff Committee Managing Constituent Assembly Rajendra Prasad
finances.
House Committee Day-to-day administration of the B. Pattabhi
Constituent Assembly. Sitaramayya
Hindi Translation Committee Translating the Constitution into Alladi
Hindi. Krishnaswami
Ayyar
Urdu Translation Committee Translating the Constitution into Muhammad
Urdu. Saadullah
Drafting Committee of Indian Constitution A notable committee among the mentioned
committees is the Drafting Committee, led by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Established on August 29,
1947, its primary responsibility was to draft the Constitution of India, incorporating proposals
from various committees. The committee consisted of seven members from the Assembly:
o Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as the Chairman
o Dr. K M Munshi
o Syed Mohammad Saadullah
o N Madhava Rau
o N Gopalaswamy Ayyangar
o Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar
o T T Krishnamachari
Within a timeframe of six months, the committee prepared the first draft, which underwent revisions
based on suggestions, public comments, and criticism. The second draft was subsequently released
in October 1948.