Question

How was the Constitution Assembly of India formed? in brief

Answer 1

An idea for a Constituent Assembly of India was proposed in 1934 by M. N. Roy, a pioneer of the Communist movement in India and an advocate of radical democracy. It became an official demand of the Indian National Congress in 1935, C. Rajagopalachari voiced the demand for a constituent Assembly on 15th November 1939 based on adult franchise, and was accepted by the British in August 1940. On 8 August 1940, a statement was made by Viceroy Lord Linlithgow about the expansion of the Governor-General's Executive Council and the establishment of a War Advisory Council. This offer, known as the August Offer, included giving full weight to minority opinions and allowing Indians to draft their own constitution. Under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946, elections were held for the first time for the Constituent Assembly. The Constitution of India was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, and it was implemented under the Cabinet Mission Plan on 16 May 1946. The members of the Constituent Assembly were elected by the provincial assemblies by a single, transferable-vote system of proportional representation. The total membership of the Constituent Assembly was 389: 292 were representatives of the states, 93 represented the princely states and four were from the chief commissioner provinces of Delhi, Ajmer-Merwara, Coorg (Near Madikeri) and British Baluchistan.

Constituent Assembly of India

Seal of the Constituent Assembly.

TypeType

Unicameral

HistoryFounded6 December 1946Disbanded24 January 1950Preceded byImperial Legislative CouncilSucceeded byParliament of IndiaLeadership

Temporary Chairman

Sachchidananda Sinha, INC

President

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, INC

Chairman of the drafting committee

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, SCF

Vice Presidents

Harendra Coomar Mookerjee
V. T. Krishnamachari

Legal Advisor

B. N. Rau

StructureSeats389 (Dec. 1946-June 1947)
299 (June 1947-Jan. 1950)

Political groups

  INC: 208 seats

  AIML: 73 seats

  Others: 15 seats

  Princely States: 93 seats

Elections

Voting system

First past the postMeeting placeHouse of Parliament, New Delhi

The elections for the 296 seats assigned to the British Indian provinces were completed by August 1946. Congress won 208 seats, and the Muslim League 73. After this election, the Muslim League refused to cooperate with the Congress,[citation needed] and the political situation deteriorated. Hindu-Muslim riots began, and the Muslim League demanded a separate constituent assembly for Muslims in India. On 3 June 1947 Lord Mountbatten, the last British Governor-General of India, announced his intention to scrap the Cabinet Mission Plan; this culminated in the Indian Independence Act 1947 and the separate nations of India and Pakistan. The Indian Independence Act was passed on 18 July 1947 and, although it was earlier declared that India would become independent in June 1948, this event led to independence on 15 August 1947. The Constituent Assembly (elected for an undivided India) met for the first time on 9 December 1946, reassembling on 14 August 1947 as a sovereign body and successor to the British parliament's authority in India. As a result of the partition, under the Mountbatten plan a separate constituent assembly was established in Pakistan on 3 June 1947. The representatives of the areas incorporated into Pakistan ceased to be members of the Constituent Assembly of India. New elections were held for the West Punjab and East Bengal (which became part of Pakistan, although East Bengal later seceded to become Bangladesh); the membership of the Constituent Assembly was 299 after the reorganization, and it met on 31 December 1947.