Adoption of the Constitution 1949

Also called: Constitution Day, Samvidhan Divas · Topic: Framing the Indian Constitution · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The Adoption of the Constitution was the final act of the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949. On that day the Assembly formally passed and accepted the Constitution of India. Most of it then came into force on 26 January 1950. [1] The day of adoption, 26 November, is now marked every year as Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas).

It matters because it ended almost three years of debate. It gave India a written Constitution of its own, made through give-and-take. On its first day this Constitution gave every adult the vote.

Explanation

Background: three years of debate

• The Constituent Assembly first met on 9 December 1946. [1]
• It worked for close to three years (about 2 years, 11 months and 18 days, as usually counted).
• On most big questions members held opposed positions:
• a strong Centre or strong provinces
• one national language or many

• rights of individuals or rights of groups

• On each question they talked until they found a middle ground. Almost no clause is a pure win for one side.

• Events outside the House shaped the debates too. Partition, riots and the merger of princely states all changed what members said.
• Two leading figures were Dr Rajendra Prasad, President of the Assembly, and Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Chairman of the Drafting Committee.

The sequence of dates

• 9 December 1946: first sitting of the Constituent Assembly. [1]
• 14–26 November 1949: final debate on the draft (the "third reading"). It is recorded in Volume XI of the official debates. [1]
• 26 November 1949: the Constitution is adopted. A few provisions start working from this very day, for example those on citizenship, elections and the provisional Parliament.
• 24 January 1950: members sign the copies of the Constitution at the Assembly's last sitting.
• 26 January 1950: the rest of the Constitution comes into force. India becomes a Republic. [1]

Why 26 January was chosen

• At the Lahore session (December 1929) the Congress made Purna Swaraj (complete independence) its goal.
• 26 January 1930 was then celebrated across India as "Independence Day". People took a pledge for complete freedom.
• The leaders wanted to honour that pledge. So the Constitution was brought into force on 26 January, about two months after it was adopted.

What was adopted: its main character

• Universal adult franchise (every adult citizen gets one vote):
• Article 326 says elections to the House of the People and to every State Legislative Assembly shall be on the basis of adult suffrage. [2]
• As first written, the voting age was not less than 21 years. [1][2]
• The only bars allowed were non-residence, unsoundness of mind, crime, or corrupt or illegal practice at elections. [1]

• NCERT calls this an "unprecedented act of faith". The US and UK gave the vote in stages: first to men with property, then to educated men, then to workers and peasants, and to women last. India gave it to everyone at one stroke.

• Secularism, the Indian way:

• The word "secular" was not in the original Preamble.
• The idea was built into Fundamental Rights instead: Articles 25–28 (freedom of religion), Articles 29–30 (rights of minorities over culture and education), and Articles 14, 16 and 17 (equality). [2]
• The State keeps a "judicious distance" from religion. It treats all faiths equally, but it can still step in to reform society, as in the abolition of untouchability (Article 17). [2]

Results

• India moved from British rule to a sovereign democratic Republic under its own written Constitution.
• After adoption, the Constituent Assembly carried on as the provisional Parliament until the first general elections.
• The voting age was later lowered from 21 to 18 by the 61st Amendment (1988). This was a later change, not part of the 1949 text. [2]
• In 2015 the Government of India declared that 26 November would be observed as Constitution Day. Before that, the day was mainly marked as National Law Day.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: 1946–1950, the last years of British rule and the first years of independent India.
• Place: the Constituent Assembly met in New Delhi, in the building now known as the old Parliament House (Samvidhan Sadan). Its Central Hall was used for the sittings.
• Key people: Dr Rajendra Prasad (President of the Assembly) and Dr B.R. Ambedkar (Chairman of the Drafting Committee), along with the other members who argued over each clause.
• How we know: the Constituent Assembly Debates (CAD)
• The CAD are the word-for-word printed record of what members said. They run to eleven volumes. [1]
• Parliament of India holds and publishes them. Examples are Volume VII (4-11-1948 to 8-1-1949), Volume VIII (16-5-1949 to 16-6-1949), Volume IX (to 18-9-1949) and Volume XI (14-11-1949 to 26-11-1949), which records the final adoption debate. [1]

• The text itself: The Constitution of India, published by the Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice. [2]

• NCERT gives two cautions about the CAD as a source:

• Ideals were re-worked to fit the context. The same word could mean different things in different debates.
• Members changed their positions over three years. Some were persuaded by argument in the House. Others changed because of events outside, such as Partition. So the CAD should be read as a record of change, not a list of fixed opinions.

Don't confuse with

• Republic Day (26 January): the day the Constitution came into force in 1950. Constitution Day (26 November) marks the day it was adopted in 1949.
• Signing of the Constitution (24 January 1950): members signed the copies on this date, at the Assembly's last sitting. Signing is not the same as adoption, which happened on 26 November 1949.
• Purna Swaraj Day (26 January 1930): the Congress's earlier "Independence Day" pledge. It explains why 26 January was chosen in 1950, but it has nothing to do with the Constitution's text.
• First sitting of the Constituent Assembly (9 December 1946): this was the start of the Assembly's work. Adoption (26 November 1949) was the end of its constitution-making work. [1]

Prelims Hooks

• Constitution adopted on 26 November 1949 and in force from 26 January 1950. Signed on 24 January 1950. [1]
• Some provisions (citizenship, elections, provisional Parliament) came into force on 26 November 1949 itself. Trap: "the whole Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950" is not fully correct.
• The final adoption debates are in Volume XI (14–26 November 1949) of the eleven-volume Constituent Assembly Debates. [1]
• Article 326 provides for adult suffrage in elections to the House of the People and State Legislative Assemblies. The original voting age was 21, lowered to 18 by the 61st Amendment, 1988. [2]
• The word "secular" was not in the Preamble as adopted in 1949. Secularism was expressed through Articles 25–30 and related rights. [2]
• Chronological order: Purna Swaraj pledge (1930) → first sitting of the Assembly (9 Dec 1946) → adoption (26 Nov 1949) → signing (24 Jan 1950) → in force (26 Jan 1950).

Mains Points

• Legitimacy through compromise:
• The Assembly disagreed on the Centre vs the provinces, on language and on minority safeguards.
• Yet it agreed almost at once on universal adult franchise.

• The Constitution adopted on 26 November 1949 was a negotiated settlement, not imposed by one group. This is the source of its lasting legitimacy.

• A democratic leap at adoption:

• India gave every adult the vote before mass literacy and prosperity. This reversed the step-by-step Western path (property → education → workers → women).

• It shows that Indian democracy rested on political will, not on economic pre-conditions. [2]

• Reading the adoption as a process (historiography):

• The eleven volumes of the CAD show ideals being re-worked and members shifting under the pressure of Partition and the integration of princely states.
• A good answer treats 26 November 1949 as the end of a long process of debate, not a single moment of agreement. [1]

Related concepts

• Universal adult franchise
• Indian secularism
• Right to freedom of religion
• Cultural and educational rights
• Right to equality
• Hindu Code Bill
• Constituent Assembly Debates
• Constitution of India
• Calligraphed Constitution
• National anthem and national song adoption

Read more

• Points of agreement and the Constitution's character