Chapter 12
Creation of the Constitution
The making of the Indian Constitution was a very complex process because the country full of diversity was adopting a democratic system after getting freedom from colonialism. A lot of care was taken in making the Indian Constitution. In-depth study , discussions , all classes , castes and communities were taken care of. The Constitution was formulated after carefully considering every topic, ending social unity, high-low and discrimination. It lasted from December 1946 to 1949. Every topic was discussed, which took about 2 years, 11 months and 18 days and 11 sessions and 165 meetings were held. The Indian Constitution is the largest constitution in the world. It came into existence on 26 January 1950 .
The period of turmoil after independence
- The years preceding the drafting of the Constitution were very turbulent; it was a moment of great hope as well as terrible disillusionment.
- India became independent on 15 August 1947, but it was also divided. Memories of the 1942 movement were still alive in the memories of the people.
- The efforts made by Subhash Chandra Bose were also well remembered by the people, "Royal Indian Navy" and movements of workers and farmers were also taking place.
- Both the political parties, Congress and Muslim League, failed to maintain religious harmony and social cohesion.
- Violence began in Calcutta in August 1946. This violence continued for almost a year in northern and eastern India. Many riots and massacres took place.
- Along with this, the partition of the country was announced and innumerable people were forced to move from one place to another. The day of independence was a day of joy but at the same time it was a moment of cruel choice for many Muslims of India and Hindus and Sikhs living in Pakistan. People had to move from here to there as refugees.
- Muslims were moving towards East and West Pakistan, while Hindus and Sikhs were moving towards West Bengal and East Punjab, many of them died on the way.
- Another serious challenge before the country was regarding the princely states. Nearly one-third of the British India was covered by princely states. At such a time, some Maharajas were dreaming of independent rule in a divided India, but Vallabhbhai Patel played an important role in merging these princely states into the Indian Union.
1. Formation of the Constituent Assembly
- The Constituent Assembly was formed in 1946 as per the proposal suggested by the Cabinet Mission Plan .
- Total number of members of Constituent Assembly - 389
- British India - 296 seats .
- Native State - 93 seats .
- Each province and princely state was to be allotted seats in proportion to their population, approximately one seat was allotted for every 1,000,000 people .
- The members of the Constituent Assembly were not elected on the basis of universal suffrage.
- Congress was influential in the new Constituent Assembly. In the provincial elections, Congress won a landslide victory in the general constituencies.
- The Muslim League won most of the Muslim seats but boycotted the Indian Constituent Assembly and continued to demand a separate constitution for itself and Pakistan.
- Initially, the socialists also stayed away from the Constituent Assembly because they considered it an institution created by the British.
- 82% of the members of the Constituent Assembly were from the Congress Party. There were differences among the members of the Congress on many important issues because some Congressmen were inspired by socialism, many others were supporters of the landlords, some were close to communal parties and some were staunch secularists.
- Whatever discussions took place in the Constituent Assembly were influenced by public opinion. When there were debates in the Constituent Assembly, the arguments of the various parties were published in the newspapers and these proposals were debated publicly.
- In this way, the criticism and counter-criticism in the press had a deep impact on the consensus and disagreement on any issue. Suggestions from the public were also invited to create collective participation.
- Many linguistic minorities demanded protection of their mother tongue , religious minorities wanted protection of their special interests , Dalit castes were demanding an end to exploitation , Dalits demanded reservation in government institutions.
2. Main voices in the Constituent Assembly
- The role of 6 members in the Constituent Assembly has been important
1) Jawaharlal Nehru
2) Vallabhbhai Patel
3) Rajendra Prasad
4) Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar
5) K.M. Munshi
6) Alladi Krishnaswamy
7) B.N Rao
8) S. N. Mukharji
3. Objective Resolution
- This was a historic resolution in which the basic ideals of the Constitution of independent India were outlined.
- In this India was declared an independent , sovereign republic .
- Citizens were assured of justice , equality and liberty.
- It promised that protective provisions would be made for minority, backward and tribal areas and for the oppressed and other backward classes.
- The aim of the Indian Constitution would be to incorporate the liberal ideas of democracy and the socialist ideas of economic justice and to creatively interpret these ideas in the Indian context. Nehru stressed on what was right for India.
4. Constituent Assembly and Members
- Nehru moved the Objective Resolution and introduced the National Flag. The national flag of India shall be a tricolour flag of three equal widths of saffron , white and dark green with a dark blue circle in the centre.
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was doing many important works mainly behind the scenes. He particularly helped in drafting many reports and played a role in creating consensus among conflicting opinions.
- Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the President of the Constituent Assembly. With great discretion, he gave everyone an opportunity to present their views in the Constituent Assembly.
- Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar was one of the most important members of the Constituent Assembly. Ambedkar ji had been a political opponent of the Congress but at the time of independence, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi, he was invited to take up the post of Union Law Minister. Ambedkar ji had the responsibility of getting the draft of the constitution passed in the assembly. He was made the chairman of the drafting committee of the constitution. Two other lawyers were working with him.
- K. M. Munshi of Gujarat and Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar of Madras , B. N. Rao (Constitutional Adviser to the Government) , S. N. Mukherjee (Chief Planner)
- This work took a total of 3 years; the printed records of the discussions held during this period were published in 11 volumes.
5. The will of the people
- Somnath Lahiri saw the shadow of British imperialism in the discussions of the Constituent Assembly. He urged the members of the Constituent Assembly and common Indians to completely free themselves from the influence of imperialist rule.
- 1946 - 47 Jawaharlal Nehru's interim government was ruling India but it had to do all its work under the supervision of the Viceroy and the British government sitting in London.
- Somnath Lahiri explained to his colleagues that the Constituent Assembly was created by the British and it was working to realise the plans of the British.
- Nehru acknowledged that most nationalist leaders wanted a different type of Constituent Assembly but was of the view that government is not made of government papers; government is the expression of the will of the people because people have brought us here, so we should always keep in mind the aspirations and sentiments of the people in their hearts and try to fulfill them because people had participated in the freedom movement and had envisioned this day.
- When social reformers in the 19th century opposed child marriage and supported widow remarriage, they were raising the voice for social justice.
- When Vivekananda campaigned for reform in Hinduism, he was trying to make religions more equitable. When Jyotiba Phule raised the issue of suffering of Dalit castes, when communists and socialists united the workers and farmers, they too were fighting for economic and social justice.
- The national movement against an oppressive and illegal government was a struggle for democracy, justice, citizens' rights and equality.
Debate over rights
- Along with the making of the Constitution, the debate on rights also intensified in the Constituent Assembly. In his inaugural speech, Nehru had talked about the " will of the people" and asked the constitution makers to fulfill the "aspirations and sentiments of the people". But as independence was near, different groups started expressing their wishes in different ways, which started many debates and conflicts.
1. Separate electorate
- B. Poker Bahadur:- On 27 August 1947, B. Poker Bahadur of Madras gave a speech in favour of separate electorate, saying that there could be no other way than separate electorate to ensure a meaningful participation of Muslims in the governance of the country. Bahadur felt that non-Muslims could not understand the needs of Muslims properly, nor could people of other communities choose a true representative of Muslims.
- Nationalist:- After this many nationalists got angry, minorities are everywhere, we cannot remove them even if we want to. We need such a political structure within which minorities can live in harmony with other people and the differences between communities are minimized. For this it is necessary that minorities should be fully represented in the political system, their voice should be heard and their views should be paid attention to.
- After this statement, a heated debate started between the enraged nationalists. The nationalists said that the system of separate electorates was a ploy of the British to divide the people. R.V. Dhulekar, while addressing Bahadur, said that the British played their game in the name of protection. Under the guise of this, they lured you. Now give up this habit. Now no one is going to mislead you.
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel : - Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had said that “ Separate electorate is a subject which has pervaded the entire politics of our country ”. According to him, it was such a demand which pitted one community against the other, divided the nation , gave rise to bloodshed and became the reason for the partition of the country. Patel ji said, do you want peace in this country? If you want, then leave this immediately .
- Govind Vallabh Pant: - Govind Vallabh Pant said that this proposal is dangerous not only for the nation but also for the minorities. He agreed with Bahadur's view that the success of a democracy depends on how much confidence it can generate in different sections of the society but on the issue of separate electorate, GB Pant did not agree at all. He said that this is a suicidal demand which will permanently isolate the minorities, weaken them and they will not be able to get an effective share in the governance .
2. Vote on the Objective Motion
1. N.G. Ranga :-
- Welcoming the Objective Resolution, peasant leader and socialist N.G. Ranga called for the term minority to be interpreted at the economic level.
- In the eyes of N.G. Ranga, the real minorities are the poor and the oppressed. He welcomed the fact that legal rights are being given to every person in the Constitution.
- N.G. Ranga was of the view that conditions should be created where people can effectively exercise the rights given to them by the Constitution . Ranga said that “ they need support, they need a ladder ” .
2. Jaipal Singh
- Jaipal Singh welcomed the objective resolution and said, “Is there any group among the Indian people which has not been treated properly and my group, my people, have been humiliated , neglected and exploited for the last 6000 years . In spite of this, I believe in the words of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. I believe in the resolution of all of you that now we are going to write a new chapter, a chapter of independent India where everyone will have equality of opportunities and no one will be neglected . ”
- Jaipal gave a very passionate statement to end the emotional and physical gap that existed between the tribals and the rest of the society. We say that you should mingle with us, we want to mingle with you. Jaipal Singh was not in favour of separate electorate. But he also felt that reservation in seats was needed to provide representation to the tribals in the legislature. He said that in this way others will be forced to listen to the voice of the tribals and come to them .
3. Rights of Dalit castes
1. How should the rights of Dalit castes be defined in the Constitution? During the national movements, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar had demanded separate elections for Dalit castes, which was opposed by Mahatma Gandhi, saying that by doing so this community would be permanently cut off from the rest of society.
2. Some members of the Dalit castes said that the problem of the untouchables could not be solved by protection and defence alone. Society has used their services and labour but has kept them socially at a distance. People of other castes avoid mixing with them, do not eat with them, they are not allowed to enter temples.
3. Madras member J. Nagappa said, "We have always suffered but now we are not ready to suffer more. We have realized our responsibilities and we know how to get our point across." Nagappa said that Harijans are not a minority in terms of numbers. Their share in the population is 20 to 25%. The reason for their suffering is that they have been kept on the margins of society and politics. They have neither access to education nor participation in governance.
4. While addressing the upper caste majority Constituent Assembly, Mr. K.G. Khandel of Madhya Pradesh said, “We have been suppressed for thousands of years, suppressed, suppressed to such an extent that our mind, our body do not work and now our heart has also become emotionless and we are not capable of moving forward, this is our condition.”
5. The Constituent Assembly finally suggested that untouchability should be abolished, Hindu temples should be opened to all castes, lower castes should be given reservation in legislature and government jobs. Many people believed that even this would not solve the problem, social discrimination cannot be eliminated only by passing constitutional laws, the thinking of the society will have to change, but the democratic public welcomed these provisions.
Powers of the State
- There was a lot of debate in the Constituent Assembly on what powers the central government and the state government should have ? Which of the two should get more power?
- Jawaharlal Nehru was in favour of a strong centre. In a letter to the President of the Constituent Assembly, he had said that now that partition had become a reality, a weak central government would be detrimental to the country as such a centre would not be able to coordinate common concerns in establishing peace and to raise voice for the whole country at the international level.
1. Three lists were made in the draft of the Constitution
1. Union List
- Matters falling under the Central Government only.
2. State List
- Matters falling under State Government only.
3. Concurrent List
- Shared responsibility of both Centre and State.
- The central government was given control over minerals and major industries.
- On the recommendation of the Governor under Article 356 .
- The central government was given the right to take over all the powers of the state government.
2. Powerful centre or states
- K. Santhanam's views
- K. Santhanam, member from Madras, advocated states' rights and said that redistribution of powers was necessary to strengthen not only the states but also the Centre.
- Santhanam said that it is a misconception that if the Centre has more responsibilities than required , it will not be able to work effectively. By reducing some of its responsibilities and handing them over to the states, the Centre can become stronger.
- Santhanam believed that the existing distribution of powers would weaken them. The fiscal provisions would weaken the provinces because most of the taxes, except land revenue, were given to the central government. If there was no money, how would development projects be carried out in the states ?
- I do not want a Constitution in which the units have to come and tell the Centre that I cannot educate my people, I cannot provide sanitation to them, give me doles to improve roads and set up industries. It would be better if we abolish the federal system altogether and establish a unitary system.
- Santhanam also said that if the distribution of powers is implemented without much scrutiny , our future will be in darkness and in a few years all the states will stand against the center . He strongly insisted that minimum subjects should be kept in the Concurrent List and the Union List.
- A member from Orissa even warned that the Centre would “ disintegrate ” because of the excessive decentralisation of powers in the Constitution .
3. Need for a strong government
- The demand for greater powers for the states had evoked sharp reactions in the Assembly; the need for a strong centre had been underlined on innumerable occasions.
- Ambedkarji had declared that he wanted a powerful and unified centre, even more powerful than the centre we had created in the Government Act of 1935 .
- Citing that the country was being torn apart due to the violence on the streets, many members repeatedly said that the powers of the Centre should be increased substantially so that it can stop communal violence.
- Responding to the demand for more powers for the provinces, Gopal Swami Iyer insisted that the Centre should be as strong as possible.
- Balakrishna Sharma elaborated that it is important to have a powerful Centre so that it can make plans in the interest of the country, can mobilise the available financial resources, can establish a proper governance system and can protect the country from foreign attacks.
- Before the partition of the country, the Congress had agreed to give considerable autonomy to the provinces and to some extent tried to assure the Muslim League that there would be no interference in the provinces where the Muslim League formed the government. But after seeing the partition, the opinion of most nationalists had changed. They said that there is no longer the same political pressure as before for a decentralized structure.
Language of the nation
- People speaking different languages live in India, their cultural heritage is different, in such a situation how can nation building be done ? How can people listen to each other or connect with each other when they do not even understand each other's language.
- Mahatma Gandhi believed that everyone should speak a language that people could easily understand. Hindustani, a mixture of Hindi and Urdu, was the language of a large section of the Indian population. It was a common language enriched by the exchange of different cultures. As time passed, new words and meanings from many sources were added to it and it became understood by many people from many regions. Mahatma Gandhi felt that this multi-cultural language could be an ideal language for communication between different communities.
