Indian Polity & Constitution
🔒 Log in to trackMaking of the Constitution & borrowed features
🔒 Log in to trackThe Constituent Assembly was formed under the Cabinet Mission Plan (1946); its members were indirectly elected by provincial assemblies. It first met on 9 December 1946 in the Central Hall of Parliament with Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha as temporary chairman. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected permanent President (11 Dec 1946); H.C. Mukherjee was Vice-President; Sir B.N. Rau was the Constitutional Adviser. Nehru's Objective Resolution (13 Dec 1946) became the basis of the Preamble.
Key facts (asked again and again)
| Fact | Answer |
|---|---|
| Time taken | 2 years, 11 months, 18 days (11 sessions) |
| Adopted | 26 November 1949 (Constitution Day / Samvidhan Divas) |
| Came into force | 26 January 1950 (marks Purna Swaraj Day, Lahore Session 1929) |
| Members | 389 originally, 299 after Partition; 284 signed (24 Jan 1950) |
| Drafting Committee (29 Aug 1947) | 7 members, chairman Dr. B.R. Ambedkar |
| Handwritten by | Prem Behari Narain Raizada; seal showed an Elephant |
| Cost | About ₹64 lakh (then) |
Important committees of the Assembly
| Committee | Chairman |
|---|---|
| Union Powers, Union Constitution, States Committees | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Provincial Constitution Committee; Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights and Minorities | Sardar Patel |
| Rules of Procedure, Steering Committee, Flag Committee | Rajendra Prasad |
| Drafting Committee | B.R. Ambedkar |
Borrowed features (very common PYQ)
| Source country | Features borrowed |
|---|---|
| UK | Parliamentary government, Rule of Law, single citizenship, Cabinet system, writs, bicameralism |
| USA | Fundamental Rights, judicial review, impeachment of President, independent judiciary, Preamble ideal |
| Ireland | Directive Principles (DPSP), method of electing the President, nomination of 12 members to Rajya Sabha |
| Canada | Federation with a strong Centre, residuary powers with Centre, appointment of Governors, advisory jurisdiction of SC |
| Australia | Concurrent List, freedom of inter-state trade and commerce, joint sitting of the two Houses |
| USSR (Russia) | Fundamental Duties, ideal of justice (social, economic, political) in the Preamble |
| France | Republic, ideals of liberty, equality, fraternity |
| Germany (Weimar) | Suspension of Fundamental Rights during Emergency |
| South Africa | Procedure for amendment, election of Rajya Sabha members |
| Japan | Concept of "procedure established by law" |
The Assembly that wrote the Constitution
India's Constituent Assembly was formed in 1946 under the Cabinet Mission Plan. Its members were indirectly elected by the provincial assemblies through proportional representation. The sanctioned strength was 389 — 292 from British provinces, 93 from princely states and 4 from chief commissioners' provinces; after Partition it came down to 299. It first met on 9 December 1946 in the Central Hall of Parliament. Dr Sachchidananda Sinha presided as temporary chairman. Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected permanent President on 11 December 1946, with H.C. Mukherjee as Vice-President. Sir B.N. Rau was the constitutional adviser who prepared the first draft that the Drafting Committee reworked.
The clock of key dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 13 Dec 1946 | Objectives Resolution moved by Nehru; adopted 22 Jan 1947 — the seed of the Preamble |
| 29 Aug 1947 | Drafting Committee formed — 7 members, chaired by Dr B.R. Ambedkar |
| 4 Nov 1948 | Draft Constitution introduced in the Assembly |
| 26 Nov 1949 | Constitution adopted (now Constitution Day) |
| 24 Jan 1950 | 284 members signed; 'Jana Gana Mana' adopted as anthem |
| 26 Jan 1950 | Constitution came into force (Republic Day) |
The Assembly took 2 years, 11 months and 18 days, held 11 sessions, and the whole exercise cost about ₹64 lakh. It then served as the provisional Parliament until the first general election (1951-52). 26 January was chosen to honour Purna Swaraj Day (26 Jan 1930), the day the Congress had demanded complete independence (decided at the Lahore session, Dec 1929).
Committee ↔ chairman (asked again and again)
| Committee | Chairman |
|---|---|
| Union Powers Committee; Union Constitution Committee; States Committee | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Provincial Constitution Committee; Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities | Sardar Patel |
| Rules of Procedure; Steering Committee; Flag Committee | Rajendra Prasad |
| Drafting Committee | Dr B.R. Ambedkar |
The rough division: Nehru took the 'national' committees, Patel the 'practical/state' ones, Prasad the procedural ones, Ambedkar the drafting pen.
Borrowed features — the source map
| Feature | Borrowed from |
|---|---|
| Federal scheme, Governors, judiciary, Public Service Commissions, emergency provisions, administrative detail | Government of India Act, 1935 (the single biggest source) |
| Parliamentary system, rule of law, single citizenship, cabinet, legislative procedure, bicameralism, writs | Britain |
| Fundamental Rights, judicial review, independence of judiciary, impeachment of the President, Vice-President as Rajya Sabha chairman, removal of judges | USA |
| Directive Principles, method of President's election, nomination of 12 members to Rajya Sabha | Ireland |
| Federation with a strong Centre, residuary powers with the Centre, appointment of Governors, advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court | Canada |
| Concurrent List, freedom of trade and commerce, joint sitting of the two Houses | Australia |
| Fundamental Duties, the ideal of justice (social, economic, political) in the Preamble | USSR |
| Ideals of liberty, equality, fraternity in the Preamble; Republic | France |
| Suspension of Fundamental Rights during Emergency | Germany (Weimar) |
| Procedure for amendment; election of Rajya Sabha members | South Africa |
| 'Procedure established by law' (Art 21 wording) | Japan |
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Assembly: people, dates and numbers
'Who was the temporary/permanent President of the Constituent Assembly', 'when did it first meet', 'how long did it take', 'how many members signed'.
Fix the four anchors: 9 Dec 1946 (first meeting), 26 Nov 1949 (adopted), 24 Jan 1950 (284 signed), 26 Jan 1950 (in force).
People: Sinha = temporary chairman, Rajendra Prasad = permanent President, H.C. Mukherjee = Vice-President, B.N. Rau = constitutional adviser, Ambedkar = Drafting Committee chairman only.
Numbers: 389 → 299 members; 2 years 11 months 18 days; 11 sessions; ₹64 lakh; 284 signatures.
The Constituent Assembly met for the first time on —
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9 December 1946, in the Central Hall of Parliament, with Dr Sachchidananda Sinha as temporary chairman.
Borrowed feature ↔ source country
A feature (DPSP, joint sitting, fundamental duties, concurrent list, writs) is named and its source country asked, often as a correctly-matched pair.
Memorise the map: FRs/judicial review/impeachment = USA; DPSP/President's election/12 RS nominees = Ireland; Duties/justice ideal = USSR; liberty-equality-fraternity/Republic = France.
Structural ones: strong Centre/residuary with Centre/Canada; concurrent list/joint sitting/Australia; amendment procedure/South Africa; 'procedure established by law'/Japan; emergency FR suspension/Germany.
In match-the-pairs, eliminate the UK — it never had a written constitution, so 'written constitution from Britain' is always wrong.
The concept of a Concurrent List and the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament was borrowed from —
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Australia — Australia's Constitution carries a concurrent list of powers and the device of a joint sitting to resolve deadlocks between the two Houses.
Committee ↔ chairman pairing
'The Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights was chaired by', or a four-row match on committees and chairmen.
Rule of thumb: Nehru = national subjects (Union Powers, Union Constitution, States); Patel = provinces and rights; Prasad = procedure, steering, flag; Ambedkar = Drafting only.
Trap: the Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights and Minorities is Patel, not Ambedkar.
Trap: the Assembly's President is Rajendra Prasad, not Ambedkar — Ambedkar chaired only the Drafting Committee.
Who among the following chaired the Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights and Minorities of the Constituent Assembly?
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Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He also chaired the Provincial Constitution Committee; the Drafting Committee was Ambedkar's.
Government of India Act 1935 and famous labels
'The bulk of the Constitution is drawn from', 'which act provided the federal scheme', plus nickname questions (Mini-Constitution, Magna Carta, heart and soul).
The single largest source is the Government of India Act, 1935 — federal scheme, Governors, judiciary, public service commissions, emergency powers.
Labels: 42nd Amendment = 'Mini-Constitution'; Part III = 'Magna Carta of India'; Article 32 = 'heart and soul' (Ambedkar); CAG = 'guardian of the public purse'.
The Act of 1935 was itself not fully federal in practice — safeguards and reserved subjects stayed with the Viceroy.
Which one of the following is described as the 'heart and soul' of the Indian Constitution?
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Article 32 (right to constitutional remedies) — Dr Ambedkar's phrase, because the writ power makes the Fundamental Rights real.
Shortcuts that save time
Nehru took the Union/States/Constitution committees (the 'national' subjects), Patel took Provinces and Rights (the 'practical' subjects), Prasad took procedure and flag, Ambedkar took the Drafting pen.
Who chaired the Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights and Minorities?
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Sardar Patel — 'Rights' belong to Patel's practical cluster.
UK-Parliament • USA-Rights • Ireland-Duties-of-state (DPSP) • Canada-Centre-strong • Australia-List-3 • USSR-Duties-of-citizens • France-Republic • Germany-Emergency-rights • Japan-law-procedure.
Fundamental Duties are inspired by which constitution?
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USSR (Russia); the DPSP counterpart from Ireland.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Confusing adoption date (26 Nov 1949) with enforcement date (26 Jan 1950).
Assuming Ambedkar presided over the Assembly — Rajendra Prasad did; Ambedkar chaired only the Drafting Committee.
Attributing joint sitting to Canada instead of Australia.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Cabinet Mission Plan 1946; indirect election; 389 seats → 299 after Partition.
9 Dec 1946 first meeting; Sinha temporary chair; Rajendra Prasad permanent President; B.N. Rau adviser.
Drafting Committee 29 Aug 1947, 7 members, Ambedkar chairman.
Adopted 26 Nov 1949, enforced 26 Jan 1950 (Purna Swaraj Day 1930); 2y-11m-18d; 11 sessions; ₹64 lakh.
Nehru — Objectives Resolution; union committees. Patel — provinces + rights. Prasad — rules/flag/steering.
Biggest source = Government of India Act 1935; DPSP-Ireland, FRs-USA, Duties-USSR, joint sitting-Australia.
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 4 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.