Constituent Assembly

Also called: Constituent Assembly of India · Topic: Making of the Constitution: Constituent Assembly, Sources and Salient Features · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 10 "The Constitution of India: An Introduction"; Class 8, Ch 6 "The Parliamentary System: Legislature and Executive"; Class 9, Ch 6 "Democracy"; Class 11, Ch 1 "Constitution: Why and How?"

Meaning

The Constituent Assembly was the body that wrote India's Constitution. It was set up under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946 [2]. Most of its members were chosen indirectly by the provincial assemblies. The members from the princely states were nominated by their rulers. It held its first sitting on 9 December 1946, had 299 members after Partition, and adopted the Constitution on 26 November 1949.

It matters because every part of the Constitution came out of its debates. Exam questions often ask how it was formed and how representative it was, because it was not elected by every adult.

Explanation

How it was set up: the Cabinet Mission (1946)

• Cabinet Mission: three members of the British Cabinet sent to India in 1946. Their task was to agree with Indian leaders on how power would pass to India and how a constitution would be written. The three members were [3]:
• Lord Pethick-Lawrence, Secretary of State for India.
• Sir Stafford Cripps, President of the Board of Trade.

• A.V. Alexander, First Lord of the Admiralty.

• Cabinet Mission Plan: announced on 16 May 1946. The Mission issued it together with the Viceroy, Lord Wavell, because the Indian parties could not agree among themselves [3].

• A three-tier federation: a federation shares power between a central government and its units. The Plan's three tiers were the Union, groups of provinces, and the provinces [4].
• The Union would be weak. It would handle only foreign affairs, defence and communications [4].
• The provinces would form Group A (Hindu-majority), Group B (Muslim-majority provinces in the west) and Group C (Bengal and Assam) [4].

How seats were allotted and filled

• Basis: about one seat for every ten lakh (1 million) people.
• Total of 389 seats:
• 292 for the governor's provinces.
• 4 for the chief commissioners' provinces.

• 93 (at most) for the princely states.

• Community split: each province's seats were divided among general, Muslim and Sikh voters, according to their share of the population. "General" meant everyone who was not Muslim or Sikh.

• Indirect election: the people did not vote directly. Members of the provincial legislative assemblies chose the Assembly's members [2].

• Muslim members of a provincial assembly elected the Muslim seats. Sikh members elected the Sikh seats. General members elected the general seats.

• Proportional representation by single transferable vote (PR-STV): a voting method that gives each group seats in line with its voting strength.

• Each voter ranks the candidates 1, 2, 3 and so on.
• A candidate who reaches the fixed quota of votes is elected.
• Votes beyond the quota pass to the voter's next choice.

• This means smaller groups can still win some seats.

• Princely states: their members were to be chosen "by consultation". In practice the rulers nominated them. They joined the Assembly gradually from 1947.

Elections, first sitting and office-bearers

• July–August 1946 elections (for the 296 British-India seats): Congress 208, Muslim League 73, small groups and independents 15.
• League boycott: the Muslim League announced its boycott officially on 22 November 1946 [6].
• First sitting, 9 December 1946: held in the Constitution Hall, New Delhi. It is now the Central Hall of Parliament House [7]. The League stayed away.

• The Assembly was created by the Cabinet Mission Plan in 1946. 9 December was only its first sitting [2].

• Provisional President: Dr Sachchidananda Sinha chaired the house until a permanent President was elected. He took the chair because he was the oldest member [7].

• He had sat in the Imperial Legislative Council from 1910 and the Central Legislative Assembly from 1921 [8].

• President: Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected on 11 December 1946. His title was President, not "Chairman".

• Vice-Presidents: H.C. Mookerjee and V.T. Krishnamachari.
• Constitutional Adviser: Sir B.N. Rau, a civil servant and legal expert. He prepared the background papers and the first draft.

Partition and the final Assembly

• 3 June 1947 Plan (Mountbatten Plan): this plan accepted Partition.
• Members from areas going to Pakistan stopped being members.

• Those areas got a separate Constituent Assembly.

• Strength after Partition: 299. This was 229 members from 12 provinces and 70 from princely states [2].

• Time taken: 2 years, 11 months, across 11 sessions that sat for 166 days [2].
• Who sat in it:
• Members of all religions, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Parsis [2].
• 28 Scheduled Caste members and about 6 members from backward tribes [2].
• 15 women [2].
• Congress held about 82% of seats after Partition [2].

In the Constitution and practice

• Preamble: the Preamble states that "We, the people of India" adopted the Constitution "in our Constituent Assembly this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949".
• Article 394: some provisions came into force at once on 26 November 1949. The rest of the Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950.
• The legal basis was a British plan, not an election by all adults:
• The Assembly came from the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946 [2].

• Its provincial members were chosen by assemblies elected under the Government of India Act, 1935. Under that Act only people with property, tax-paying or education qualifications could vote (a limited franchise).

• Effect of the 1945–46 elections: the Muslim League won all 30 Muslim seats in the Central Legislative Assembly [5]. After that, Congress could no longer claim to speak for all of British India [5]. This led to the League's boycott of the Assembly in 1946 [6].

• Effect of Partition: with the League gone and a weak centre no longer needed, the Assembly was free to build a strong Union. The Cabinet Mission Plan had limited the Union to three subjects [4].
• How it worked: Congress was the largest group but held many opposing views, from socialists and conservatives to religious and secular members. Non-Congress experts such as B.R. Ambedkar and B.N. Rau played central roles. The Assembly debated in public and preferred consensus (broad agreement) over a simple majority vote.

Don't confuse with

• Cabinet Mission: the three-member British team that proposed the Assembly. The Assembly itself was the Indian body that wrote the Constitution. Attlee and Wavell were not members of the Mission.
• Provisional President vs President: Sachchidananda Sinha chaired only the opening sitting on 9 December 1946, as the oldest member [7]. Rajendra Prasad was the elected President from 11 December 1946.
• Constitutional Adviser vs Drafting Committee: B.N. Rau was the civil servant who prepared the first draft. Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee, a committee of the Assembly's members.
• Universal adult franchise: a vote for every adult. The Assembly was not chosen this way. It was partly elected indirectly by provincial assemblies and partly nominated by princely rulers.

Prelims Hooks

• Total seats 389 = 292 provinces + 4 chief commissioners' provinces + 93 princely states. After Partition: 299 (229 + 70) [2].
• Seats were divided among general, Muslim and Sikh communities only. There was no separate category for Scheduled Castes or Christians.
• Members were elected indirectly by provincial assemblies using PR-STV [2]. Princely-state members were chosen "by consultation", which in practice meant nomination by the rulers.
• 1946 elections: Congress 208, Muslim League 73, others 15 (296 seats).
• First sitting on 9 December 1946, with provisional President Sachchidananda Sinha [7]. Rajendra Prasad became President on 11 December 1946. The Vice-Presidents were H.C. Mookerjee and V.T. Krishnamachari.
• It had 15 women and 28 SC members [2]. It worked for 2 years, 11 months over 11 sessions [2].

Mains Points

• Legitimacy without adult franchise (GS-II): The Assembly was chosen by assemblies elected on the 1935 Act's limited franchise, and its princely members were nominated. Its acceptance still rests on three points:
• its members came from many religions, castes and regions, including 28 SC members and 15 women [2];
• its debates were open and public;
• it decided by consensus.

• If every adult had voted, it might have had more legitimacy and more women and Dalit members. But the 1946 campaigning could also have become more communal.

• One-party dominance or broad coalition? (GS-II/GS-I): Congress held about 80–82% of seats [2], which suggests one-party control. But Congress held many rival views, and non-Congress figures such as Ambedkar and B.N. Rau were central. So the Constitution reflects a negotiated national agreement, not one party's programme. This also explains why minority rights such as Articles 29–30 and reservations found wide support.

• Design of the Cabinet Mission scheme (GS-I): PR-STV and community-wise seats protected minorities inside each province. But the weak centre and the grouping of provinces encouraged communal blocs [4]. Disputes over grouping led to the League's boycott [6]. Partition later allowed the Assembly to build a strong centre.

Related concepts

• Cabinet Mission Plan
• Composition of the Constituent Assembly

Read more

• The Cabinet Mission and the composition of the Constituent Assembly