CDS Polity · Indian Constitution — Making, Foundation and Amendments
Making of the Constitution
How the Constituent Assembly was chosen, who drafted the Constitution, and the steps from the Indian Independence Act of 1947 to the Republic of 26 January 1950.
Why this matters
Eleven CDS questions, and four of them are HARD. They ask how the Assembly was elected, who sat on the Drafting Committee, and which dates and Articles began and ended the old order. The wrong options are always a nearby name or a nearby date, so learn each fact with the one it is confused with.
Concept 1 of 3: The Constituent Assembly
India's Constitution was written by an Assembly of Indians, but that Assembly was not elected by the people directly. It was set up under a British plan of 1946, and its members were chosen by the provincial legislatures that had been elected a few months before.
Definition
The facts CDS asks:
- The scheme came from the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946, not the Mountbatten Plan of 1947.
- Members from the provinces were elected indirectly by the members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies. There was no universal adult franchise.
- Seats were shared out by population, about one seat for every ten lakh people.
- Total strength 389: 292 from the Governors' provinces, 4 from the Chief Commissioners' provinces and 93 from the Princely States. After Partition it fell to 299.
- First meeting 9 December 1946; Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected its President.
- Nehru moved the Objectives Resolution on 13 December 1946; it was adopted on 22 January 1947 and became the basis of the Preamble.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1946 (July to August) | Elections to the Assembly by the provincial legislatures |
| 9 December 1946 | First meeting of the Constituent Assembly |
| 13 December 1946 | Nehru moves the Objectives ResolutionQ CDS 2018 (II): it was 'a declaration, a firm resolve and a pledge' and gave the Constitution its philosophy. |
| 22 January 1947 | Objectives Resolution adopted |
| 29 August 1947 | Drafting Committee set up under Dr B. R. Ambedkar |
| 4 November 1948 | Ambedkar moves the Draft Constitution in the Assembly |
| 26 November 1949 | Constitution adopted |
| 26 January 1950 | Constitution comes into force; India becomes a Republic |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2016 · CDS (II) 2016 — General Knowledge · Q58Moderate
Example 1 · Indian Constitution — Making, Foundation and Amendments · Making of the Constitution
Which of the following statements regarding the Constituent Assembly of India is/are correct?
1. The Assembly was elected indirectly by the members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies.
2. The elections were held on the basis of Universal Adult Franchise.
3. The scheme of election was laid down by the Cabinet Delegation.
4. The distribution of seats was done on the basis of the Mountbatten Plan.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Cabinet Mission, not Mountbatten
The election scheme and the share of seats came from the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946. The Mountbatten Plan of June 1947 was about Partition, and the Assembly already existed by then.
Indirect election, no adult franchise
Nobody voted directly for the Constituent Assembly. Its provincial members were chosen by the Provincial Legislative Assemblies, which had themselves been elected on a limited franchise.
Concept 2 of 3: The people behind the Constitution
One adviser wrote the first draft, a seven-member committee turned it into the Draft Constitution, and the whole Assembly debated it clause by clause. CDS asks who held which job, and likes to put the adviser among the committee members.
Definition
Who did what:
- Sir B. N. Rau was the Constitutional Adviser to the Assembly and prepared the first draft. He was not a member of the Drafting Committee.
- The Drafting Committee had seven members: Dr B. R. Ambedkar (chairman), N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar, Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar, K. M. Munshi, Syed Muhammad Saadulla, N. Madhava Rau and T. T. Krishnamachari.
- Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar, a leading lawyer, wanted the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution and to draw the line between liberty and social control.
- In his last speech on 25 November 1949, Ambedkar warned that on 26 January 1950 India would enter a life of contradictions: equality in politics (one person, one vote) but inequality in social and economic life.
- Much later, in 2000, the government set up the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, chaired by Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah. It reported in 2002.
| Person | Role |
|---|---|
| Sir B. N. Rau | Constitutional Adviser; prepared the first draftQ CDS 2020 (II): the adviser to the Constituent Assembly was B. N. Rau. |
| Dr B. R. Ambedkar | Chairman of the Drafting Committee |
| Dr Rajendra Prasad | President of the Assembly |
| Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar | Drafting Committee member; backed a strong Supreme CourtQ |
| K. M. Munshi, N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar | Drafting Committee members |
| Jawaharlal Nehru | Moved the Objectives Resolution; chaired the Union Powers Committee |
| Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel | Chaired the Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights and Minorities |
| Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah | Chaired the Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2000)Q |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2017 · CDS (II) 2017 — General Knowledge · Q72Moderate
Example 2 · Indian Constitution — Making, Foundation and Amendments · Making of the Constitution
Who among the following was not a member of the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly?
B. N. Rau advised; he did not sit on the Drafting Committee
B. N. Rau prepared the first draft as Constitutional Adviser. Options that list him as a Drafting Committee member are wrong; Munshi, Ayyangar, Ayyar and Saadulla were members.
Two chairs, two men
Rajendra Prasad presided over the whole Assembly. Ambedkar chaired only the Drafting Committee.
Concept 3 of 3: From the 1947 Act to 26 January 1950
Between Independence and the Republic, India was run under the old British law, changed to suit a free country. The new Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949, but only a few of its Articles began that day; the rest waited for 26 January 1950, when the old Acts were repealed.
Definition
The steps:
- The Indian Independence Act, 1947 ended British rule from 15 August 1947. India ceased to be a dependency, the Crown stopped being the source of authority, the Governor-General became a constitutional head, and the Government of India Act, 1935 (amended) served as the interim constitution.
- 26 November 1949: under Article 394, a few provisions began at once, among them citizenship (Articles 5 to 9), elections (Article 324) and the provisional Parliament (Article 379).
- 26 January 1950: the rest of the Constitution, including the Fundamental Rights, came into force.
- Article 395 repealed the Indian Independence Act, 1947 and the Government of India Act, 1935. It kept alive the Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act, 1949.
| Provision | Came into force |
|---|---|
| Citizenship (Articles 5 to 9) | 26 November 1949 |
| Elections (Article 324) | 26 November 1949 |
| Provisional Parliament (Article 379) | 26 November 1949 |
| Fundamental Rights (Part III) | 26 January 1950 |
| Repeal of the 1935 and 1947 Acts (Article 395) | 26 January 1950Q CDS 2016 (II): Article 395 repealed the 1935 and 1947 Acts only, not the Privy Council Act of 1949. |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2016 · CDS (II) 2016 — General Knowledge · Q57Hard
Example 3 · Indian Constitution — Making, Foundation and Amendments · Making of the Constitution
On 26th November, 1949, which of the following provisions of the Constitution of India came into effect?
1. Citizenship
2. Elections
3. Provisional Parliament
4. Fundamental Rights
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Adopted is not the same as in force
The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949, but most of it, including the Fundamental Rights, came into force on 26 January 1950. Only citizenship, elections, the provisional Parliament and a few other provisions began in 1949.
Article 395 did not repeal every old law
It repealed the 1935 and 1947 Acts. The 1919 Act had already been replaced by the 1935 Act, and the Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act, 1949 was expressly kept.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (3)
The Constituent Assembly8 rows
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1946 (July to August) | Elections to the Assembly by the provincial legislatures |
| 9 December 1946 | First meeting of the Constituent Assembly |
| 13 December 1946 | Nehru moves the Objectives ResolutionQ CDS 2018 (II): it was 'a declaration, a firm resolve and a pledge' and gave the Constitution its philosophy. |
| 22 January 1947 | Objectives Resolution adopted |
| 29 August 1947 | Drafting Committee set up under Dr B. R. Ambedkar |
| 4 November 1948 | Ambedkar moves the Draft Constitution in the Assembly |
| 26 November 1949 | Constitution adopted |
| 26 January 1950 | Constitution comes into force; India becomes a Republic |
The people behind the Constitution8 rows
| Person | Role |
|---|---|
| Sir B. N. Rau | Constitutional Adviser; prepared the first draftQ CDS 2020 (II): the adviser to the Constituent Assembly was B. N. Rau. |
| Dr B. R. Ambedkar | Chairman of the Drafting Committee |
| Dr Rajendra Prasad | President of the Assembly |
| Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar | Drafting Committee member; backed a strong Supreme CourtQ |
| K. M. Munshi, N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar | Drafting Committee members |
| Jawaharlal Nehru | Moved the Objectives Resolution; chaired the Union Powers Committee |
| Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel | Chaired the Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights and Minorities |
| Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah | Chaired the Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2000)Q |
From the 1947 Act to 26 January 19505 rows
| Provision | Came into force |
|---|---|
| Citizenship (Articles 5 to 9) | 26 November 1949 |
| Elections (Article 324) | 26 November 1949 |
| Provisional Parliament (Article 379) | 26 November 1949 |
| Fundamental Rights (Part III) | 26 January 1950 |
| Repeal of the 1935 and 1947 Acts (Article 395) | 26 January 1950Q CDS 2016 (II): Article 395 repealed the 1935 and 1947 Acts only, not the Privy Council Act of 1949. |
Watch out for (6)
- Cabinet Mission, not Mountbatten→ The Constituent Assembly
- Indirect election, no adult franchise→ The Constituent Assembly
- B. N. Rau advised; he did not sit on the Drafting Committee→ The people behind the Constitution
- Two chairs, two men→ The people behind the Constitution
- Adopted is not the same as in force→ From the 1947 Act to 26 January 1950
- Article 395 did not repeal every old law→ From the 1947 Act to 26 January 1950
Test yourself on Indian Constitution — Making, Foundation and Amendments
20 past CDS questions from this chapter, timed at 20 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.