🏛️ Class 12 History – Chapter 15
✳️ Framing and the Constitution || NCERT CBSE Notes
📜 Indian Constitution
🔹 The Indian Constitution is the largest written constitution in the world.
🔹 Drafted between 9 December 1946 – 28 November 1949, with 11 sessions and 165 days of sittings.
🔹 Took 2 years, 11 months, 18 days to prepare, costing around ₹64 lakh.
🔹 Defines the Indian system of governance, state-center relations, and functions of main organs of the state.
🔹 Crafted by leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar – a monumental nation-building effort.
⚡ Period of Upheaval
🔹 The years before 26 January 1950 were turbulent yet hopeful:
- Quit India Movement ✊
- Azad Hind Fauj efforts 💣
- Royal Indian Navy revolt (1946) ⚓
- Workers & peasants movements 👩🌾👨🏭🔹 But the Hindu-Muslim riots and Partition 🕊️💔 were moments of disillusionment.🔹 The Constitution helped heal past wounds and united Indians across classes, castes & communities.
📝 Demands of the Constitution
🔹 Mahatma Gandhi (1922) – India’s political future must be decided by Indians themselves 🇮🇳.
🔹 Government of India Act (1935) – an attempt to fulfill Indian aspirations.
🔹 Congress demand (1935) – Constitution to be made without foreign interference.
🔹 1938-39 – Jawaharlal Nehru & Congress Working Committee demanded a Constituent Assembly of Indians.
🏛️ Formation of Constituent Assembly
🔹 Formed in 1946 as per Cabinet Mission Plan.
🔹 Total members: 389 → 296 from British India, 93 from princely states.
🔹 Seats proportional to population: 1 member per 1 million people.
🔹 Province-wise allocation (296 members):
- General: 213
- Muslims: 79
- Sikhs: 4🔹 Members elected by provincial legislatures, not universal suffrage.
🌟 Political Composition
🔹 Congress dominated due to landslide victory in provincial elections.
🔹 Muslim League mostly boycotted and pursued Pakistan demand.
🔹 Socialists initially stayed away, viewing it as a British-created institution.
🔹 Result: 82% members were from Congress.
🔹 Congress members had diverse ideologies:
- Some inspired by socialism ✊
- Some supported Zamindari 🏡
- Some close to communal parties, others staunchly secular ☮️
💬 Discussions in the Constituent Assembly
🔹 Debates in the Constituent Assembly were influenced by public opinion 🗣️.
🔹 Arguments of different parties were printed in newspapers 📰 and publicly debated.
🔹 Suggestions from citizens were invited to ensure collective participation 🤝.
🔹 Language minorities demanded protection of their mother tongues 🗣️.
🌟 Main Leaders / Key Voices
🔹 Total members: 300, but 6 leaders played a crucial role:
- Jawaharlal Nehru 🇮🇳
- Vallabhbhai Patel 💪
- Rajendra Prasad 🏛️
- B.R. Ambedkar 📜
- K.M. Munshi ✒️
- Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer ⚖️
🔹 Administrative officers:
- B.N. Rao – Constitutional Adviser 📝
- S.N. Mukherjee – Chief Planner 📊
📌 Important Facts About the Constitution
- First meeting: 9 December 1946 (boycotted by Muslim League)
- Provisional Speaker: Dr. Satchidanand Sinha
- Second meeting: 11 December 1946
- Permanent Chairman: Rajendra Prasad
- Third meeting: 13 December 1946 – Nehru introduced Objectives Resolution
- Members: 389
- President: Dr. Rajendra Prasad
- Drafting Committee Chairman: B.R. Ambedkar
- Constitutional Adviser: B.N. Rao
- Duration of Drafting: 2 years, 11 months, 18 days
- Completed: 26 November 1949
- Enacted: 26 January 1950
- Sessions: 11 meetings, 165 days of sittings
- Head of Interim Government: Jawaharlal Nehru
- Muslim League joined Interim Government: 13 October 1946
🎯 Objectives Resolution (13 December 1946)
🔹 Presented by Jawaharlal Nehru:
- Declared India an independent, sovereign republic 🇮🇳
- Citizens guaranteed justice, equality & freedom ⚖️✊
- Protective provisions for minorities, backward & tribal areas, and oppressed classes 🛡️
🔹 Nehru emphasized framework of democracy emerging from discussions, not borrowed from elsewhere 🌐.
🔹 Proposed National Flag 🇮🇳: tricolor – saffron, white, dark green, with dark blue circle (Ashoka Chakra) in the center.
🔹 Vallabhbhai Patel – key behind-the-scenes role in drafting reports & consensus-building 🤝
📜 Role of B.R. Ambedkar & Drafting Committee
🔹 Eminent jurist & economist B.R. Ambedkar – Chairman of the Drafting Committee 🏛️
🔹 Assisted by K.M. Munshi (Gujarat) & Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer (Madras) ✒️
🔹 Responsible for getting the draft passed in Assembly – took 3 years 📚
🔹 Printed records of discussions published in huge volumes 📖
🟥 Communist Member – Somnath Lahiri
🔹 Communist member Somnath Lahiri ⚒️ highlighted British influence in the Assembly.
🔹 In 1946–47, discussions occurred while British were still in India 🏴
🔹 Interim Government, led by Nehru, functioned under Viceroy & London supervision 🌐
🔹 Lahiri warned that the Assembly was originally created by British and was implementing British plans 🧐
⚖️ The Problem of Separate Electorates
🔹 On 27 August 1947, B. Pokar Bahadur (Madras) gave a speech supporting separate electorates 🗳️.
🔹 Most nationalist leaders strongly opposed it, calling it fatal for the nation:
- RV Dhulekar, Sarkar Patel, Govind Vallabh Pant, Begum Aijaz Rasool ✊🔹 Sardar Patel: “Separate electorate is a poison that has permeated politics. If you want peace, remove it immediately.” ☠️🔹 G.B. Pant: It harms both the nation and minorities. Majority communities must understand and support minority aspirations 💞.🔹 Outcome: By 1949, majority of Muslim members agreed against separate electorates. Muslims were encouraged to actively participate in democracy 🗳️.
🌿 Tribals and Their Rights
🔹 Jaipal Singh, an Adivasi leader, highlighted exploitation, oppression, and discrimination faced by tribals ⚡.
🔹 Emphasized integration into mainstream and reservation of seats in legislature 🏛️ to amplify their voices.
🟢 Provisions for Depressed Classes
🔹 Depressed Classes = 20–25% of population, historically marginalized 🧑🤝🧑.
🔹 Faced untouchability, denial of education & jobs, and exclusion from public places ❌.
🔹 Constitutional provisions:
- Untouchability abolished 🚫
- Hindu temples opened to all 🛕
- Reservation in legislature and government jobs 🏛️🔹 Goal: Behavioral & social change to ensure inclusion 💪.
🏢 Powers of the State
🔹 Debates on division of power between central & state governments.
🔹 Constitution provides 3 lists of subjects:
- Central List – Central Government laws 🏛️
- State List – State Government laws 🏞️
- Concurrent List – Both can legislate ⚖️🔹 Central govt more powerful – ensures peace, security & international representation 🌐.🔹 States have powers for land/property taxes, sales tax, liquor tax 💰.
🏛️ Santhanam's View on Powers
🔹 K. Santhanam emphasized strong center with empowered states ⚖️.
🔹 States must have financial autonomy 💵 to function independently.
🔹 Warning: Excessive centralization could lead to rebellion & instability ⚠️.
💪 Need for Strong Government
🔹 Post-Partition events reinforced strong central government.
🔹 Leaders like Nehru, Ambedkar, Gopalaswami Iyer advocated strong centre 🏛️.
🔹 Pre-Partition agreements giving autonomy to provinces were reconsidered.
🗣️ National Language Debate
🔹 Debates in the Constituent Assembly were intense & emotional 💬.
🔹 Hindi accepted as national language by 1930s (Gandhi & Congress) 🇮🇳.
🔹 Hindi = combination of Sanskrit, Urdu, regional languages ✒️.
🔹 Gradually Hindi & Urdu separated, with Hindi taking more Sanskrit words 📝.
🟡 Arguments for Hindi
🔹 R.V. Dhulekar argued for Hindi as national & official language 📜.
🔹 Languages Committee Report:
- Hindi (Devanagari script) official language
- Transition gradual – first 15 years post-independence, English also used 🌐
- Provinces can choose own official language 🏞️
⚠️ Fear of Hindi Domination
🔹 S.G. Durgabai highlighted protests in South India 🗣️.
🔹 Fear: Hindi might suppress provincial languages & cultural heritage ⚠️.
🔹 Need for mutual understanding among all linguistic communities 🤝.
