Founding the Republic of India

Founding the Republic of India

The Elections to the Constituent Assembly were completed in August 1946. The Assembly was constituted on 6 December, with 389 members—292 representing the Provinces, 93 the princely States and four the Chief Commissioner Provinces. The membership of the Assembly was reduced to 299 after the partition. The Congress which won 208 seats represented a wide diversity of opinions—from conservative industrialists to radical Marxists, to Hindu revivalists. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the President. An eminent jurist B.N.Rau was appointed as the Constitutional Advisor. The Assembly appointed  some 22  Committees  to  deal with the different tasks of constitution making, the most  important being the three Committees - Union Powers Committee, Union Constitution Committee and States Committee (Committee for Negotiating with States)- headed by Jawaharlal Nehru  and the two Committees- Provincial Constitution Committee  and  Advisory Committee on Fundamental  Rights headed by  Vallabhai Patel.

At the first session on 9 December, the Head of the Interim Government Jawaharlal Nehru addressed the Assembly setting the priority: “The first task of this Assembly is to free India through a new constitution, to feed the starving people, and to clothe the naked masses, and to give every Indian the fullest opportunity to develop himself according to his capacity….”  And  on 13 December, 1946, he moved the Objectives Resolution, reflecting his 'cosmic vision': “that this Constituent  Assembly declares its firm and solemn resolve to proclaim India as an Independent Sovereign Republic…and wherein all power and authority …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… and this ancient land attain its rightful and honoured place in the world and make its full and willing contribution to the promotion of world peace and the welfare of mankind.”

As a man deeply rooted in history and proud of India’s rich civilization, realizing the history being made, emotionally charged he continued in his scintillating language:“My mind goes back to the great past of India, to the 5,000 years of India’s history...almost the dawn of human history. All that past crowds upon me and exhilarates me and, at the same time, somewhat oppresses me. Am I worthy of that past? I tremble a little and feel overwhelmed by this mighty task.” After discussion and debate the Resolution was unanimously adopted on 22 January, 1947, laying the fundamental principles of the Constitution which later, inter alia, formed part of the Preamble, the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy.

Nehru’s first Cabinet had members of diverse background, representing  Hindu, Muslim, Chistian, Sikh and Parsi communities, some of whom were the bitter critics of the Congress,including Syama Prasad Mukherjee.  B.R.Ambedkar- who throughout unsparing in his criticism of the Mahatma and the Congress- was appointed the Law Minister.  As Ramachadra Guha says, “to facilitate Ambedkar's entry into the Cabinet, the Congress elected him to the Constituent.Assembly from a safe seat in Bombay.” And as a Law Minister, he was made the Chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee on 29 August 1947, with six other members- K.M.Mushi, Muhammed Saadulah, Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, Gopal Swami Ayyangar, N.Madhava Rao and T.T.Krishnamachari.

The task of the Drafting Committee was to study the reports of the various Committees of the Assembly and present a draft of the Constitution for consideration and adoption by the Assembly. Nehru set the tone and temper of the House and as Justice Krishna Iyer said, “the character of the leadership of the House was conditioned by Nehru.” And Nehru, Patel, Prasad and Azad constituted ‘an oligarchy’ and dominated the proceedings. It is unfair to call Ambedkar ‘Maker of the Constitution’, though he played a unique role in drafting the constitution. It would amount to belittling the work of Committees and the stalwarts of the freedom struggle and several eminent persons,  K.M. Munshi, B.N.Rau, Allahadi Krishna Swamy Iyer, Gopal Swami Ayyangar and the like, who made very significant contribution to the making of the constitution. Ambedkar himself acknowledged their contribution and refused to take credit.  He owed his position to Nehru and the Congress.

And Patel was not singularly responsible for integrating the princely states. He acted as per the Cabinet decision. As Subhash Kashyap said: “Without in any way meaning to detract from the unique role performed by Sardar Patel in the integration of the princely states with the rest of India…it is often forgotten that the first most crucial steps in the direction were actually taken by Nehru in his capacity as Chairman of the States Committee... Nehru showed remarkable statesmanship and through a display of the requisite firmness and a spirit of genuine accommodation and conciliation, he succeeded in bringing round a large number of States to agree to send their representatives to the Assembly.” And the integration of princely states into the Union of India, after the independence, was thus a natural corollary.

Ambedkar presented the Draft Constitution on 8 November 1948. It was discussed and debated at length and each clause was adopted by consensus.  And on 26 November 1949, the Assembly passed and adopted the Constitution, containing 395 Articles, 8 Schedules and 22 Parts, completing the mammoth task in 165 days, spread over three years. And India became a Sovereign Democratic Republic on 26 January, 1950, with the constitution coming into operation.

A conservative traditional India, with authoritarian social structure, was constituted into a Democratic Republic-the largest ever. It ended the hereditary rule and created a State in which supreme power is held by the people. Granville Austin in his book The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation rightly described the Indian Constitution  as the “first and foremost a social document. The majority of India's constitutional provisions are either directly arrived at furthering the aim of social revolution or attempt to foster this revolution by establishing conditions necessary for its achievement.”

 

The Fundamental Rights- Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right against Exploitation, Right to Freedom of Religion, Cultural and Educational Rights and Right to Constitutional Remedies- guarantee civil and political rights to all citizens, uphold the dignity of the individual, while the Directive Principles  aim at transforming India into a modern welfare nation-state, ensuring, as the Article 39  (b) and (c) says, "that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good;" and " that the  operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment," through peaceful constitutional means, unlike the French,  the Russian  and the Chinese Revolutions  which witnessed violence and bloodshed. The Fundamental Right to Property was subsequently deleted as it came in the way of State’s welfare measures.

The founding fathers of the Indian Republic were remarkable brilliant people inspired by the ideals and values of the freedom struggle,observing the spirit of mutual respect and accommodation. The constitutional principles are a synthesis of the Indian aesthetic traditional values and the modern western ideals of equality, liberty and justice. The Constitution provides for Parliamentary Democracy at the Centre and the States, maintaining unitary structure of the Union, keeping in view the unity and integrity of the nation. It ensures the independence of Judiciary and freedom of the Press to  prevent abuse of executive power, and safeguard the rights of people.