"Drafting committee prepared a draft constitution clause by clause." What was the benefit of this draft constitution for India?
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Answer:
Draft Constitution prepared by the Assembly’s constitutional adviser – B.N. Rau. Rau’s Draft reflected the decisions taken by the Assembly on the reports of various Committees that were tasked with drawing up constitutional provisions on specific parts of the Constitution. The Drafting Committee, between October 1947 and February 1948, scrutinised, tweaked and added to Rau’s Draft and what emerged from this process was the Draft Constitution of India, 1948 (henceforth ‘Draft’).
The Draft consisted of 315 articles – organised around eighteen ‘Parts’, and eight 'Schedules'. It touched upon a range of topics that one would expect in a constitutional document that included the structure of government, rights and centre-state relations. Wherever the Draft moved significantly away from B.N Rau’s Draft, or there was controversy or lack of clarity on some provision, the Drafting Committee placed footnotes and brief explanations in the document.
It is important to note that this Draft was the first blueprint of the Indian Constitution that was publicly available. It was widely circulated to members of the Assembly, provincial governments, central ministries, the Supreme Court and High Courts, and the general public along with an invitation to provide feedback and suggestions. In March and October 1948, the Drafting Committee reviewed and took decisions on comments it received and prepared amendments.
On 4 November 1948, B.R. Ambedkar, Chairman of the Drafting Committee, formally introduced the Draft in the Assembly – every member had a copy along with the set of amendments recommended by the Drafting Committee in light of comments and suggestions it received. In his speech, Ambedkar gave an overview of the Draft and addressed some controversies that emerged around it. The initial reactions of the Assembly members to the Draft were mixed. While some applauded it, others were disappointed – for e.g. members were unhappy that the Draft did not base the administrative and political structure of India on principles of Panchayati Raj.
On 15th November 1948, the Assembly took up, article by article, all the provisions of the Draft for debate and discussion. It considered, deliberated and took decisions on numerous amendments moved by individual members of the Assembly and the Drafting Committee. This process went up till October 17th after which the Drafting Committee revised the Draft based on the decisions of the Assembly and produced a second version on 14th November which it put to the Assembly for another reading.
It is important to note that the Assembly’s deliberations over the Draft Constitution (including the revised version) formed the bulk of the Constituent Assembly debates and the overall constitution-making process: out of 165 sittings of the Constituent Assembly, 114 were spent debating this Draft. The Draft Constitution was finally adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949 as the Constitution of India.
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