Minor Committees of CA

The Indian Constitution, which went into force on January 26, 1950, holds the dubious distinction of being the world’s longest. However, given the country’s size and diversity, its length and complexity are certainly appropriate. India was not only huge and diverse at the time of freedom but also severely divided.

A Constitution meant to hold the country together and propel it forward needed to be a complex, well-thought-out, and carefully drafted instrument. For one thing, it aimed to heal past and current wounds by bringing Indians from all classes, castes, and groups together in a cooperative political experiment. Another objective was to develop democratic institutions in a society characterised by authority and obedience.

The Indian Constitution was prepared between December 1946 and November 1949. Its suggestions were considered in India’s Constituent Assembly during this time, clause by clause. Overall, the Assembly was a success, hosting eleven sessions over 165 days. Various committees and subcommittees worked on revising and refining the papers in between sessions.

You’ve read about the Indian Constitution in political science textbooks and seen how it’s worked throughout the decades since Independence.

In this article, we will look at the minor committees of the Indian Constitution and the history of the Constitution and the passionate debates that occurred during its development. If we attempt to hear the voices within the Constituent Assembly, we can get a sense of the process by which the Constitution was written and the vision of the new nation established.

The Constituent Assembly’s formation

The Constituent Assembly members were not elected using the universal franchise. Provincial elections were held in India during the winter of 1945-46. The provincial legislatures then chose the deputies to the Constituent Assembly.

One party controlled the newly created Constituent Assembly: the Congress. Jawaharlal Nehru gave a speech at the Constituent Assembly at midnight on August 14, 1947.

On this day, Nehru gave his famous speech, which began with the lines:

“Long years ago, we made a tryst

with destiny, and now the time

comes when we shall redeem our

pledge, not wholly or in full

measure, but very substantially.

At the stroke of the midnight hour,

when the world sleeps, India will

awake to life and freedom.”

Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel is seated second from the right in the Constituent Assembly.

The Muslim League won the majority of reserved Muslim seats in the provincial elections, while Congress won all general seats. The League, on the other hand, chose to boycott the Constituent Assembly in order to press its demand for a separate constitution for Pakistan.

The Socialists were also hesitant to participate at first because they saw the Constituent Assembly as a British creation incapable of achieving true autonomy. As a result, 82 per cent of the Constituent Assembly members were also members of Congress.

The Congress, on the other hand, was not a coherent party. Its members maintained differing viewpoints on critical issues. Some members were socialists, while others were firm proponents of landlordism. Some belonged to communal organisations, while others were adamantly secular.

As a result of the national movement, members of Congress had learnt to debate their ideas in public and to arbitrate their conflicts. Members of Congress did not sit silently in the Constituent Assembly, either.

The Constituent Assembly’s discussions were also influenced by the people’s perspectives. As the debates developed, the arguments were published in publications, and the ideas were openly debated. Complaints and suggestions

Counter-critics in the press, in turn, influenced the nature of the ultimate accord on key issues. The public was also encouraged to submit comments for what needed to be done in order to develop a feeling of community participation.

Several linguistic minorities claimed protection for their home tongues, religious minorities demanded special safeguards, and Dalits demanded an end to all caste discrimination and reservation of seats in government organisations. On the Assembly floor, important issues of cultural rights and social justice addressed in these public discussions were debated.

Minor Committees 

• Committee on Constituent Assembly Functions – G.V. Mavalankar Order of Business Committee – Dr K.M. Munshi House Committee – B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya Ad-hoc Committee on the National Flag – Dr Rajendra Prasad
• Jawaharlal Nehru Special Committee to Examine the Draft Constitution Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar Finance and Staff Committee Dr Rajendra Prasad
• Committee to Examine the Effect of the Indian Independence Act of 1947 – Usha Nath Sen Committee on Chief Commissioners’ Provinces – B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya
• Expert Committee on Financial Provisions – Nalini Ranjan Sarkar Commission on Linguistic Provinces – S.K. Dar
• S. Varadachari Ad-hoc Committee on the Supreme Court Ad-hoc Committee on Citizenship S. Varadachari

Committee on Drafting

On August 29, 1947, the Constitutional Council created the Drafting Commission, led by Dr B. Ambedkar, to develop the draft constitution. It consists of seven people. The most significant body is the drafting committee, which is tasked with the ultimate responsibility of creating a new constitution based on recommendations presented by other committees.

The original draft was released in February 1948, and Indian residents had eight months to debate it and offer revisions. The committee created a second draft in response to public comments and ideas, which was released in October of the same year. The committee examined and edited the reports multiple times until they obtained a good draft.

In conclusion

Finally, the Indian Constitution developed through a period of intense debate and discussion. Many of its provisions were obtained by the process of give and take, by finding a medium ground between two opposing points of view.

However, on one essential section of the Constitution, there was broad consensus. This was about granting the right to vote to all adult Indians.

This was an extraordinary act of faith because prior democracies gradually granted the vote in stages. Only males with property were allowed to vote in nations such as the United States and the United Kingdom at first, and then those with education were allowed to join the magical circle. After a long and arduous struggle, men from working-class or peasant origins were granted the right to vote. Allowing women this privilege required an even longer time.