FIRST DAY AND ARRANGEMENTS
The Constituent Assembly met for the first time in New Delhi on 9 December, 1946 in the Constitution Hall which is now known as the Central Hall of Parliament House. Those who adorned the front row were Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Acharya J.B. Kripalani, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Smt. Sarojini Naidu, Shri Hare-Krushna Mahatab, Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Shri Sarat Chandra Bose, Shri C. Rajagopalachari and Shri M. Asaf Ali. Two hundred and seven representatives, including nine women were present.
The inaugural session began at 11 a.m. with the introduction of Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha, the temporary Chairman of the Assembly, by Acharya Kripalani. Occupying the Chair amidst acclamation, Dr. Sinha read out the goodwill messages received from different countries. After the Chairman's inaugural address and the nomination of a Deputy Chairman, the members were formally requested to present their credentials. The First Day's proceedings ended after all the 207 members present submitted their credentials and signed the Register.
In subsequent days, the Constituent Assembly took two years, eleven months and seventeen days to complete its task of drafting the Constitution of India. It held eleven sessions covering a total of 165 days of which 114 days were spent on the consideration of the Draft Constitution.
Members were chosen by indirect election by the members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies, according to the scheme recommended by the Cabinet Mission:
- 292 members were elected through the Provincial Legislative Assemblies;
- 93 members represented the Indian Princely States; and
- 4 members represented the Chief Commissioners' Provinces.
The total membership of the Assembly thus was to be 389. But as a result of the Partition under the Mountbatten Plan of 3 June, 1947, a separate Constituent Assembly was set up for Pakistan and representatives of some Provinces ceased to be members of the Assembly. As a result, the membership of the Assembly was reduced to 299.
The Objectives Resolution of Nehru
On 13 December, 1946, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru moved the Objectives Resolution:
- This Constituent Assembly declares its firm and solemn resolve to proclaim India as an Independent Sovereign Republic and to draw up for her future governance a Constitution;
- WHEREIN the territories that now comprise British India, the territories that now form the Indian States, and such other parts of India as are outside British India and the States as well as such other territories as are willing to be constituted into the Independent Sovereign India, shall be a Union of them all; and
- WHEREIN the said territories, whether with their present boundaries or with such others as may be determined by the Constituent Assembly and thereafter according to the law of the Constitution, shall possess and retain the status of autonomous Units, together with residuary powers and exercise all powers and functions of government and administration, save and except such powers and functions as are vested in or assigned to the Union, or as are inherent or implied in the Union or resulting
- WHEREIN all power and authority of the Sovereign Independent India, its constituent parts and organs of government, are derived from the people; and
- WHEREIN shall be guaranteed and secured to all the people of India justice, social economic and political : equality of status, of opportunity, and before the law; freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association and action, subject to law and public morality; and
- WHEREIN adequate safeguards shall be provided for minorities, backward and tribal areas, and depressed and other backward classes; and
- WHEREBY shall be maintained the integrity of the territory of the Republic and its Sovereign rights on land, sea, and air according to justice and the law of civilized nations; and
- This ancient land attains its rightful and honoured placed in the world and make its full and willing contribution to the promotion of world peace and the welfare of mankind.
The Resolution was unanimously adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 January 1947.
In the evening of 14 August, 1947 the Assembly met in the Constitution Hall and at midnight took over as the Legislative Assembly of an Independent India.
On 29 August, 1947, the Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar to prepare a Draft Constitution for India. While deliberating upon the draft Constitution, the Assembly moved, discussed and disposed of as many as 2,473 amendments out of a total of 7,635 tabled. The Constitution was adopted on 26 November, 1949 and the members appended their signatures to it on 24 January, 1950. In all, 284 members actually signed the Constitution. The Constitution of India came into force on 26 January, 1950. On that day, the Assembly ceased to exist, transforming itself into the Provisional Parliament of India until a new Parliament was constituted after elections in 1952.
Sessions of the Constituent Assembly | |
|---|---|
| First Session: | 9-23 December, 1946 |
| Second Session: | 20-25 January, 1947 |
| Third Session: | 28 April - 2 May, 1947 |
| Fourth Session: | 14-31 July, 1947 |
| Fifth Session: | 14-30 August, 1947 |
| Sixth Session: | 27 January, 1948 |
| Seventh Session: | 4 November,1948 - 8 January, 1949 |
| Eighth Session: | 16 May - 16 June, 1949 |
| Ninth Session: | 30 July - 18 September, 1949 |
| Tenth Session: | 6-17 October, 1949 |
| Eleventh Session: | 14-26 November, 1949 |
| The Assembly met once again on 24 January, 1950, when the members appended their signatures to the Draft Constitution. | |
IMPORTANT COMMITTEES OF THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY AND THEIR CHAIRMEN | |
|---|---|
| Name of the Committee | Chairman |
| Committee on the Rules of Procedure | Rajendra Prasad |
| Steering Committee | Rajendra Prasad |
| Finance and Staff Committee | Rajendra Prasad |
| Credentials Committee | Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar |
| House Committee | B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya |
| Order of Business Committee | K.M. Munsi |
| Ad hoc Committee on the National Flag | Rajendra Prasad |
| Committee on the Functions of the Constituent Assembly | G.V. Mavalankar |
| States Committee | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minoritiesand Tribal and Excluded Areas | Vallabhbhai Patel |
| Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee | J.B. Kripalani |
| North-East Frontier Tribal Areas and Assam Exluded & Partially Excluded Areas Sub-Committee | Gopinath Bardoloi |
| Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas (Other than those in Assam) Sub-Committee | A.V. Thakkar |
| Union Powers Committee | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Union Constitution Committee | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Drafting Committee | B.R. Ambedkar |
- [MADRAS ]
- O.V. Alagesan
- Mrs. Ammu Swaminadhan
- M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar
- Moturi Satyanarayana
- Mrs. Dakshayani Velayudhan
- Mrs. G. Durgabai
- Kala Venkatarao
- N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar
- D. Govinda Das
- Rev. Jerome D'suuza
- P. Kakkan
- K. Kamaraj
- V.C. Kesava Rao
- T.T. Krishnamachari
- Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar
- L. Krishnaswami Bharathi
- P. Kunhiraman
- M. Thirumula Rao
- V.I. Muniswamy Pillay
- M.A. Muthiah Chettiyar
- V. Nadimuthu Pillai
- S. Nagappa
- P.L. Narasimha Raju
- B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya
- C. Perumalswamy Reddy
- T. Prakasam
- S.H. Prater
- Raja Swetachalapati Ramakrishna Renga Roa of Bobbili
- R.K. Shanmukham Chetti
- T.A. Ramalingam Chettiyyar
- Ramanath Goenka
- O.P. Ramaswamy Reddiyar
- N.G. Ranga
- N. Sanjeeva Reddi
- K. Santhanam
- B. Shiva Rao
- Kallur Subba Rao
- U. Srinivasa Mallayya
- P. Subbarayan
- C. Subramaniam
- V. Subramaniam
- M.C. Veerabahu
- P.M. Velayudapani
- A.K. Menon
- T.J.M. Wilson
- Mohamed Ismail Sahib
- K.T.M. Ahmed Ibrahim
- Mahboob Ali Baig Sahib Bahadur
- B. Pocker Sahib Bahadur
- [BOMBAY ]
- Balchandra Maheshwar Gupte
- Mrs. Hansa Mehta
- Hari Vinayak Pataskar
- B.R. Ambedkar
- Joseph Alban D'Souza
- Kanayalal Nanabhai Desai
- Keshavrao Marutirao Jedhe
- Khandubhai Kasanji Desai
- Bal Gangadhar Kher
- M.R. Masani
- K.M. Munshi
- Narhar Vishnu Gadgil
- S. Nijalingappa
- S.K. Patil
- Ramchandra Manohar Nalavade
- R.R. Diwakar
- Shankarrao Deo
- G.V. Mavalankar
- Vallabhbhai J. Patel
- Abdul Kadar Mohammad Shaikh
- A.A. Khan
- [WEST BENGAL ]
- Monomohan Dass
- Arun Chandra Guha
- Lakshmi Kanta Maitra
- Mihir Lal Chattopadhyay
- Satis Chandra Samanta
- Suresh Chandra Majumdar
- Upendranath Barman
- Prabhudayal Himatsingka
- Basanta Kumar Das
- Mrs. Renuka Ray
- H.C. Mookherjee
- Surendra Mohan Ghose
- Syama Prasad Mookerjee
- Ari Bahadur Gurung
- R.E. Platel
- K.C. Neogy
- Raghib Ahsan
- Jasimuddin Ahmad
- Naziruddin Ahmad
- Abdul Hamid
- Abdul Halim Ghuznavi
- [UNITED PROVINCES ]
- Ajit Prasad Jain
- Algu Rai Shastri
- Balkrishna Sharma
- Banshi Dhar Misra
- Bhagwan Din
- Damodar Swarup Seth
- Dayal Das Bhagat
- Dharam Prakash
- A. Dharam Dass
- R. V. Dhulekar
- Feroz Ganhdi
- Gopal Narain
- Krishna Chandra Sharma
- Govind Ballabh Pant
- Verdana; Govind Malaviya
- Verdana; Har Govind Pant
- Verdana; Harihar Nath Shastri
- Hriday Nath Kunzru
- Jaspat Roy Kapoor
- Jagannath Baksh Singh
- Jawaharlal Nehru
- Jogendra Singh
- Jugal Kishore
- Jwala Prasad Srivastava
- B.V. Keskar
- Mrs. Kamala Chaudhri
- Kamalapati Tiwari
- J.B. Kripalani
- Mahavir Tyagi
- Khurshed Lal
- Masurya Din
- Mohan Lal Saksena
- Padampat Singhania
- Phool Singh
- Paragi lal
- Mrs. Purnima Banerji
- Prurshottamadas Tandon
- Hira Vallabha Tripathi
- Ram Chandra Gupta
- Shibban Lal Saxena
- Satish Chandra
- John Matthai
- Mrs. Sucheta Kripalani
- Sunder Lall
- Venkatesh Narayan Tivary
- Mohanlal Gautam
- Vishwambhar Dayal Tripathi
- Begum Aizaz Rasul
- Hyder Hussain
- Hasrat Mohani
- Abul Kalam Azad
- Muhammad Ismail Khan
- Rafi Ahmad Kidwai
- Mohd. Hifzur Rahman
- [EAST PUNJAB ]
- Bakshi Tek Chand
- Jairamdas Daulatram
- Thakurdas Bhargava
- Bikramlal Sondhi
- Yashwant Rai
- Ranbir Singh
- Achint Ram
- Nand Lal
- Sardar Baldev Singh
- Giani Gurmukh Singh Mu safir
- Sardar Hukam Singh
- Sardar Bhopinder Singh Mann
- [BIHAR ]
- Amiyo Kumar Ghosh
- Anugrahnarayan Sinha
- Banarsi Prasad Jhunjhunwala
- Bhagwat Prasad
- Boniface Lakra
- Brajeshwar Prasad
- Chandika Ram
- K.T. Shah
- Devendra Nath Samanta
- Dip Narain Sinha
- Guptanath Singh
- Jadubans Sahay
- Jagat Narain Lal
- Jagjivan Ram
- Jaipal Singh
- Kameshwara Singh of Darbhanga
- Kamaleshwari Prasad Yadav
- Mahesh Prasad Sinha
- Krishna Ballabh Sahay
- Raghunandan Prasad
- Rajendra Prasad
- Rameshwar Prasad Sinha
- Ramnarayan Singh
- Sachchidananda Sinha
- Sarangdhar Sinha
- Satyanarayan Sinha
- Binodanand Jha
- P.K. Sen
- Sri Krishna Sinha
- Sri Narayan Mahtha
- Syamanandan Sahaya
- Hussain Imam
- Saiyid Jafar Imam
- Latifur Rahman
- Mohammad Tahir
- Tajamul Hussain
- [CENTRAL PROVINCES & BERAR ]
- Raghu Vira
- Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
- B.A. Mandloi
- Brijlal Nandlal Biyani
- Thakur Cheedilal
- Seth Govind Das
- Hari Singh Gour
- Hari Vishnu Kamath
- Hemchandra Jagobaji Khandekar
- Ghanshyam Singh Gupta
- Lakshman Shrawan Bhatkar
- Panjabrao Shamrao Deshmukh
- Ravi Shankar Shukla
- R.K. Sidhva
- Shankar Tryambak Dharmadhikari
- Frank Anthony
- Kazi Syed Karimuddin
- [ASSAM ]
- Nibaran Chandra Laskar
- Dharanidhar Basu-Matari
- Gopinath Bardoloi
- J.J.M. NIchols-Roy
- Kuladhar Chaliha
- Rohini Kumar Chaudhury
- Muhammad Saadulla
- Abdur Rouf
- [ ORISSA ]
- B.Das
- Biswanath Das
- Krishna Chandra Gajapati Narayana Deo of Parlakimedi
- Harekrushna Mahatab
- Lakshminarayan Sahu
- Lokanath Misra
- Nandkishore Das
- Rajkrishna Bose
- Santanu Kumar Das
- [DELHI ]
- Deshbhandhu Gupta
- [AJMER-MERWARA ]
- Mukut Bihari Lal Bhargava
- [COORG ]
- C.M. Poonacha
- [MYSORE ]
- K. Chengalaraya Reddy
- T. Siddalingaiya
- H.R. Guruv Reddy
- S.V. Krishnamurthy Rao
- K. Hanumanthaiya
- H. Siddaveerappa
- T. Channiah
- [JAMMU AND KASHMIR ]
- Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah
- Motiram Baigra
- Mirza Mohmmad Afzal Beg
- Maulana Mohammad Sayeed Masoodi
- [ TRAVANCORE-COCHIN ]
- A. Thanu Pillai
- R. Sankar
- P.S. Nataraja Pillai
- Mrs. Annie Mascarene
- K.A. Mohamed
- P.T. Chacko
- P. Govinda Menon
- [MADHYA BHARAT ]
- V.S. Sarwate
- Brijraj Narain
- Gopikrishna Vijayavargiya
- Ram Sahai
- Kusum Kant Jain
- Radhavallabh Vijayavargiya
- Sitaram S. Jajoo
- [SAURASHTRA ]
- Balwant Rai Gopalji Mehta
- Jaisukhlal Hathi
- Amritlal Vithaldas Thakkar
- Chimanlal Chakubhai Shah
- Samaldas Laxmidas Gandhi
- [ RAJASTHAN]
- V.T. Krishnamachari
- Hiralal Shastri
- Sardar Singhjhi of Khetri
- Jaswant Singhji
- Raj Bhadur
- Manikya Lal Varma
- Gokul Lal Asava
- Ramchandra Upadhyaya
- Balwant Sinha Mehta
- Dalel Singh
- Jainarain Vyas
- [PATIALA AND EAST PUNJAB STATES UNION ]
- Ranjit Singh
- Sochet Singh
- Bhagwant Roy
- [BOMBAY STATES ]
- Vinayakrao Balshankar Vaidya
- B.N. Munavalli
- Gokulbhai Daulatram Bhatt
- Jivraj Narayan Mehta
- Gopaldas A. Desai
- Paranlal Thakurlal Munshi
- B.H. Khardekar
- Ratnappa Bharamappa Kumbhar
- [ORISSA STATES ]
- Lal Mohan Pati
- N. Madhava Rau
- Raj Kunwar
- Sarangadhar Das
- Yudhishthir Misra
- [CENTRAL PROVINCES STATES ]
- R.L. Malaviya
- Kishorimohan Tripathi
- Ramprasad Potai
- [UNITED PROVINCES STATES ]
- B.H. Zaidi
- Krishna Singh
- [MADRAS STATES ]
- V. Ramaiah
- [VINDHYA PRADESH ]
- Avdesh Pratap Singh
- Shambu Nath Shukla
- Ram Sahai Tiwari
- Mannulalji Dwidedi
- [COOCH BEHAR ]
- Himmat Singh K. Maheshwari
- [ TRIPURA AND MANIPUR]
- Girja Shankar Guha
- [BHOPAL ]
- Lal Singh
- [KUTCH ]
- Bhawani Arjun Khimji
- [ HIMACHAL PRADESH ]
- Y.S. Parmar
