Constituent Assembly Debates
Also called: CAD · Topic: Framing the Indian Constitution · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Framing the Constitution"
Meaning
The Constituent Assembly Debates (CAD) are the printed record of everything said in the Constituent Assembly between 1946 and 1949. They fill eleven bulky volumes. They show the clashing ideas behind each part of the Constitution: language, minority rights, the powers of the Centre, and more. They also show that members changed their minds over three years. Some were won over by argument, and others by events outside, such as Partition.
Example
The CAD record that on 27 August 1947 B. Pocker Bahadur argued for keeping separate electorates. Sardar Patel replied by calling them a "poison" in the body politic, meaning the life of the nation. Historians, students and judges still read such exchanges to understand what the framers intended.
Don't confuse with
- The Constitution itself: the CAD record the arguments. The Constitution is the final text the Assembly agreed upon.
Related concepts
- Universal adult franchise
- Indian secularism
- Right to freedom of religion
- Cultural and educational rights
- Right to equality
- Hindu Code Bill
- Constitution of India
- Adoption of the Constitution 1949
- Calligraphed Constitution
- National anthem and national song adoption