Why mahatma gandhi not included in the contituent assembly?
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When the Constituent Assembly met for the first time on December 9, 1946, it was the best of times, it was also the worst of times. Indian independence was within sniffing distance, but the threat of Partition hung ominously in the air. Large-scale communal riots - a prelude to the massacres during Partition - had broken out in parts of north India triggered by the great Calcutta killings earlier that year. When the Assembly convened, the Muslim League was conspicuous by its absence. The Assembly would meet for three more sessions over the first half of 1947 before it became the legislative Assembly of an independent India at the stroke of midnight on August 14. With the violence and bloodshed of Partition as the backdrop, a drafting committee was set up later that month with Bhim Rao Ambedkar as chairman. Though we all know Ambedkar as the Father of the Indian Constitution , there were several other figures involved in the painstaking task of drafting the document who are now nearly forgotten. Indeed, there are shelves of books on the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 and the Constituent Assembly in post-revolution France, but precious little on their Indian counterparts who laboured over and debated the emerging Constitution for nearly three years.
Despite the limited franchise of the 1945 provincial elections - where just over 28 per cent of the population voted - which was the basis for the formation of the Constituent Assembly, the gathering was broadly representative of the Indian nation. The Congress had a brute majority - post-1947 , over 80 per cent of the Assembly members were from the party - but by virtue of being an 'umbrella' organisation it managed to represent a wide assortment of opinion. The Congress high command had also ensured that prominent non-partymen , who could contribute to the drafting of the Constitution, were elected to the Assembly. Ambedkar himself headed this list along with A K Ayyar, HN Kunzru, N G Ayyangar, K Santhanam, M R Jayakar, Sachidananda Sinha, Shyama Prasad Mookerjee and K M Munshi
Why was Gandhiji not incorporated in the constituent assembly that framed Indian constitution?
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Shubham Kapri, Banker and a keen observer of the surroundings.
Answered Jun 13, 2015
When the Constituent Assembly met for the first time on December 9, 1946, it was the best of times, it was also the worst of times. Indian independence was within sniffing distance, but the threat of Partition hung ominously in the air. Large-scale communal riots - a prelude to the massacres during Partition - had broken out in parts of north India triggered by the great Calcutta killings earlier that year. When the Assembly convened, the Muslim League was conspicuous by its absence. The Assembly would meet for three more sessions over the first half of 1947 before it became the legislative Assembly of an independent India at the stroke of midnight on August 14. With the violence and bloodshed of Partition as the backdrop, a drafting committee was set up later that month with Bhim Rao Ambedkar as chairman. Though we all know Ambedkar as the Father of the Indian Constitution , there were several other figures involved in the painstaking task of drafting the document who are now nearly forgotten. Indeed, there are shelves of books on the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 and the Constituent Assembly in post-revolution France, but precious little on their Indian counterparts who laboured over and debated the emerging Constitution for nearly three years.
The biggest absence was Mahatma Gandhi who was busy trying to douse the flames of communal riots. On December 13, 1946 when Nehru moved the historic 'aims and objects' of the Constituent Assembly where it was resolved to "proclaim India as an Independent Sovereign Republic and to draw up for her future governance a Constitution" , he said to thunderous applause, "There is another person who is absent here and who must be in the minds of many of us today - the great leader of our people, the father of our Nation - who has been the architect of this Assembly and all that has gone before it and possibly of much that will follow. He is not here because, in pursuit of his ideals, he is ceaselessly working in a far corner of India. But I have no doubt that his spirit hovers over this place and blesses our undertaking."
Despite the limited franchise of the 1945 provincial elections - where just over 28 per cent of the population voted - which was the basis for the formation of the Constituent Assembly, the gathering was broadly representative of the Indian nation. The Congress had a brute majority - post-1947 , over 80 per cent of the Assembly members were from the party - but by virtue of being an 'umbrella' organisation it managed to represent a wide assortment of opinion. The Congress high command had also ensured that prominent non-partymen , who could contribute to the drafting of the Constitution, were elected to the Assembly. Ambedkar himself headed this list along with A K Ayyar, HN Kunzru, N G Ayyangar, K Santhanam, M R Jayakar, Sachidananda Sinha, Shyama Prasad Mookerjee and K M Munshi
Why was Gandhiji not incorporated in the constituent assembly that framed Indian constitution?
This question previously had details. They are now in a comment.
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5 ANSWERS

Shubham Kapri, Banker and a keen observer of the surroundings.
Answered Jun 13, 2015
When the Constituent Assembly met for the first time on December 9, 1946, it was the best of times, it was also the worst of times. Indian independence was within sniffing distance, but the threat of Partition hung ominously in the air. Large-scale communal riots - a prelude to the massacres during Partition - had broken out in parts of north India triggered by the great Calcutta killings earlier that year. When the Assembly convened, the Muslim League was conspicuous by its absence. The Assembly would meet for three more sessions over the first half of 1947 before it became the legislative Assembly of an independent India at the stroke of midnight on August 14. With the violence and bloodshed of Partition as the backdrop, a drafting committee was set up later that month with Bhim Rao Ambedkar as chairman. Though we all know Ambedkar as the Father of the Indian Constitution , there were several other figures involved in the painstaking task of drafting the document who are now nearly forgotten. Indeed, there are shelves of books on the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 and the Constituent Assembly in post-revolution France, but precious little on their Indian counterparts who laboured over and debated the emerging Constitution for nearly three years.
The biggest absence was Mahatma Gandhi who was busy trying to douse the flames of communal riots. On December 13, 1946 when Nehru moved the historic 'aims and objects' of the Constituent Assembly where it was resolved to "proclaim India as an Independent Sovereign Republic and to draw up for her future governance a Constitution" , he said to thunderous applause, "There is another person who is absent here and who must be in the minds of many of us today - the great leader of our people, the father of our Nation - who has been the architect of this Assembly and all that has gone before it and possibly of much that will follow. He is not here because, in pursuit of his ideals, he is ceaselessly working in a far corner of India. But I have no doubt that his spirit hovers over this place and blesses our undertaking."
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