Constituent Assembly of India, Members, Chairman, Working

The Constituent Assembly of India was a body whose sole purpose of drafting the Constitution of India. Know more about the Constituent Assembly of India, Members, Chairman & Working of the Assembly.

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Constituent Assembly

The Constitution of India is the highest law of the country and outlines the powers and duties of the government. Parliament cannot override the Constitution because it is supreme, having been created by the Constituent Assembly led by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Dr. Ambedkar famously stated, “Our struggle is not for wealth or power, but for freedom and the reclamation of human personality,” summarizing the purpose of India’s fight for independence. The Constituent Assembly took two years, eleven months, and seventeen days to draft the Constitution for Independent India. It held eleven sessions over 165 days, with 114 days focused on the Draft Constitution.

Members were chosen through indirect elections by Provincial Legislative Assemblies, following the Cabinet Mission’s plan. This included:

292 members elected from the Provincial Assemblies,
93 members from the Indian Princely States, and
4 from Chief Commissioners’ Provinces, totaling 389 members.

However, after the partition under the Mountbatten Plan on June 3, 1947, a separate Constituent Assembly was formed for Pakistan, reducing the Assembly’s membership to 299.

Read More: Salient Features of Constitution of India

Constituent Assembly of India Idea

In 1934, M.N. Roy first proposed the idea of a constituent assembly, which the Congress Party officially adopted as a demand in 1935. The British accepted this proposal in the August Offer of 1940. Following the Cabinet Mission plan of 1946, elections were held to form the constituent assembly, with members elected indirectly by provincial assembly members using a single transferable vote method for proportional representation. The assembly was established to write a constitution for independent India.

Chairman of Constituent Assembly

The Assembly became the first Parliament of India which was chaired by Dr Rajendra Prasad for performing constituent functions and for the legislative functions it was chaired by GV Mavlankar it continued to till the constitution was made.

Committees
Drafting Committee	Dr. B R Ambedkar
Union Constitution Committee	Jawaharlal Nehru
Union Powers Committee	Jawaharlal Nehru
States Committee	Jawaharlal Nehru
Steering Committee	Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Rules of Procedure Committee	Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Provincial Constitution Committee	Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas:	Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee: Acharya Kripalani Minorities Sub-Committee: H C Mookerjee Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas (Other than those in Assam) Sub-Committee: A V Thakkar North-East Frontier Tribal Areas and Assam Excluded & Partially Excluded Areas Sub-Committee: Gopinath Bardoloi

President of the Constituent Assembly

The first meeting of the constituent assembly was held on 9^th December 1946, Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha was appointed as the temporary chairman of the Constituent Assembly meeting which was attended by 211 members. Later Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected as the President and H.C. Mukherjee and V.T. Krishnamachari were elected as the Vice-President.

Chronology:

December 6, 1946: The Constituent Assembly was formed.
December 9, 1946: The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly was held in Delhi.
December 11, 1946: Rajendra Prasad was appointed president of the Constituent Assembly.
December 13, 1946: Jawaharlal Nehru presented the Objectives Resolution, which outlined guiding principles and later became the Preamble of the Constitution.
January 22, 1947: The Objectives Resolution was unanimously adopted.
July 22, 1947: The national flag was adopted by the Constituent Assembly.
August 15, 1947: India gained independence; the Constituent Assembly started functioning as Parliament.
August 29, 1947: B.R. Ambedkar was appointed chairman of the Drafting Committee.
November 26, 1949: The Constitution of India was adopted, and celebrated as Constitution Day.
January 26, 1950: The Constitution came into effect, celebrated as Republic Day.
January 24, 1950: Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the first President of India.

Working of The Constitutional Assembly

The working of the Constituent Assembly started with the historic ‘Objective Resolution’ presented by JL Nehru it laid down the fundamentals and the philosophy of the structure of the constitution. With a vision to maintain peace worldwide and ensure the welfare of mankind, the Objective Resolution proposed to keep intact the sovereignty and integrity of the nation.

The Assembly also helped in the adoption of- the national flag, national song, and national anthem on 22nd July 1947, and 24th January 1950, ratified the membership of India in the commonwealth (May 1949), also elected Dr. Rajendra Prasad as its first President.

Speaker of Constituent Assembly

In 1946, GV Mavalankar was elected as the Speaker of the Central Legislative Assembly he remained in this post till August 15, 1947. With the dissolution of the Central Legislative Assembly, the Constituent Assembly was formed. GV Mavalankar became the speaker of the constituent assembly on November 17^th, 1947.

The first Lok Sabha was constituted in 1952 and GV Mavalankar was elected as the first speaker of Lok Sabha.

Read More: Pitt’s India Act 1784

Constituent Assembly Adopted the Constitution of India

In the last meeting of the Constituent Assembly on January 24, 1950, members signed two copies of the Constitution (one in Hindi and one in English). “Jana Gana Mana” was adopted as the national anthem, and the first two verses of “Vande Mataram” were adopted as the national song. The original Constitution is beautifully handwritten and decorated by artists from Shantiniketan, including Beohar Rammanohar Sinha and Nandalal Bose. After nearly three years of effort, the Constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949, featuring a Preamble, 395 Articles, and 8 Schedules. On that day, some Articles (5 to 9, 379, 380, 388, 392, and 393) came into force, while the rest took effect on January 26, 1950. With the adoption of the Constitution, the Government of India Act 1935 and the Indian Independence Act 1947 were abolished. Today, the Indian Constitution has 448 Articles, 25 Parts, and 12 Schedules.

Note: India got its independence from the rule of the British in 1947, but became a republic in 1950. Although India was recognized as a separate nation, it was still following the British constitution and acknowledged the British Monarch. The reason behind adopting the republic in 1950 was to glorify the Indian National Congress declaration of 26^th January 1930 as ‘Independence Day’, when the Declaration of Complete Independence was officially promulgated.

FAQs

Why it is called a Constituent Assembly?

As its is an assembly of chosen representatives who gathers among themselves to draft a constitution.

Who was the temporary President of the Constituent Assembly?

Dr Sachidanand Sinha was appointed as temporary president of the Constituent Assembly. Later, Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected its president.

Who was the first chairman of Constituent Assembly?

First acting chairman of the Constituent Assembly was Dr Sachidananda Sinha and first elected chairman was Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

When the Constituent Assembly adopted Indian Constitution?

The Constituent Assembly on 26th November 1949 adopted the Constitution that included a Preamble, 395 Articles, and 8 Schedules.

How many members was there in the Constituent Assembly?

The total member of the Constituent Assembly was 389 of which 292 were of the provinces, 93 from the princely states and 4 were from the chief commissioner provinces