Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas
Topic: Making of the Constitution: Constituent Assembly, Sources and Salient Features · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
This was one of the major committees of the Constituent Assembly, chaired by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. It looked at three sensitive areas: people's basic rights, protection for minorities, and the governance of tribal and "excluded" areas (regions kept outside normal rule under the British). It split its work among sub-committees. Their reports shaped Part III (Fundamental Rights) and the safeguards for minorities and tribal areas.
Example
J.B. Kripalani chaired its Fundamental Rights Sub-committee and H.C. Mookerjee chaired its Minorities Sub-committee. Gopinath Bardoloi and A.V. Thakkar chaired its tribal-area sub-committees, whose work shaped the Sixth and Fifth Schedules.
Don't confuse with
- Provincial Constitution Committee: also chaired by Patel, but it designed the government of the provinces, not rights and safeguards.
- Drafting Committee: chaired by B.R. Ambedkar. It turned the decisions of all the committees into the actual text of the Constitution.
Related concepts
- Drafting Committee
- Union Powers Committee
- Union Constitution Committee
- States Committee
- Provincial Constitution Committee
- Fundamental Rights Sub-committee
- Steering Committee