Original manuscript of the Constitution
Topic: Making of the Constitution: Constituent Assembly, Sources and Salient Features · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 10 "The Constitution of India: An Introduction"
Meaning
The original Constitution was written by hand, not printed. Prem Behari Narain Raizada calligraphed (hand-wrote in decorative script) the English text. Nandalal Bose and his team illustrated its pages with scenes from India's history "from Mohenjo-daro to the freedom movement". The manuscript is kept in helium-filled glass cases in Parliament's library, because helium does not react with paper or ink and so helps preserve it.
Example
The illustrations include a gurukula, Rama's conquest of Lanka, Nataraja, the Mahabalipuram descent of Ganga, Akbar and Nalanda. These scenes link the new Constitution to India's long civilisational heritage.
Don't confuse with
- Authoritative Hindi text (Art. 394A): an official Hindi translation published by the President under the 58th Amendment (1987). It is not the original hand-written manuscript.
Related concepts
- Commencement of the Constitution
- Provisions in force from 26 November 1949
- Constitution Day
- Authoritative Hindi text of the Constitution