Understanding the Drafting Committee

The Government of India Act (1935) was superseded as India’s governing document on January 26, 1950, by the Constitution of India. After decades of British control, the Constitution established our nation as a fully autonomous republic in the Commonwealth of Nations, with the President of India as the titular leader of the Indian Union. Even though the constitution went into force in 1950, the Indian Constituent Assembly accepted it on November 26, 1949.

The Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution

Following India’s independence, the Constituent Assembly established a drafting committee by resolution to review the draft text of the Constitution of India provided by the Constitutional Advisor. This gave effect to the Assembly’s previous resolutions and contained any issues which are supplementary thereto or which must be covered in such a constitution. They were also supposed to deliver to the Assembly the constitutional drafts as updated by the committee.

But Who Drafted the Indian Constitution?

Seven members drafted the Indian Constitution. They were B. R. Ambedkar, Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar, N. Gopalaswami, K. M. Munshi, Mohammad Saadulla, B. L. Mitter and D. P. Khaitan. B. R. Ambedkar was elected as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee during their first meeting on 30th August 1947.

By the end of October 1947, the Drafting Committee had begun to scrutinize the text submitted by the Constitutional Advisor, B. N. Rau. It was amended and sent to the president of the Constituent Assembly.

Chairman of the Drafting Committee

Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, popularly known as Babasaheb Ambedkar, was an Indian lawyer, economist, politician, and social reformer who inspired the Dalit-Buddist movement. He also battled against social prejudice against untouchables. He was Independent India’s first Law and Justice Minister.

DrB. R. Ambedkar was the main architect of India’s Constitution.

Babasaheb was a talented student who earned a doctorate in Economics from both Columbia University and the London School of Economics and established a reputation as a scholar for his work in Law, Economics, and Political Science. Ambedkar was a part of many campaigns and negotiations for the country’s independence, publishing journals and demanding political rights and social freedom for Dalits, and contributing greatly to the foundation of the state of India.

He received the Bharat Ratna in 1990, India’s highest civilian award.

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Other Members of the Drafting Committee

The other members who drafted the Indian Constitution are:

Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar

Dewan Bahadur Sir Alladi Krishnaswami Lyer was an influential member of India’s Constituent Assembly and a key member of the Constitution of India’s drafting committee. From 1929 until 1944, Ayyar was also the Advocate General of Madras State.

He was born in the Andhra Pradesh district of Nellore in 1883. He was the son of a priest, Ekamra Sastry. In 1899, he completed his matriculation and studied history enrolled in Madras Christian College. Ayyar used his free time to take legal lessons, pass the B.L test, and become one of the bar’s most senior members. In 1930, he was known as Dewan Bahadur. He was a key figure in the writing of India’s Constitution.

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Gopalaswami Ayyanger

Sir Narasimba Gopalswami Ayyanger was a knowledgeable member of the Constitution’s Drafting Committee. He was appointed as the Rajya Sabha’s leader and a cabinet member in the Indian government. He was appointed as the first minister without a portfolio, although he was heavily involved in Kashmir affairs and was eventually made railway minister.

He represented India to the United Nations Security Council in his Kashmir Affairs capacity, and later wrote Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which guaranteed autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir.

Gopalaswami was born on March 31, 1882, at Tanjore, Madras. He attended Wesley School before moving on to Presidency and Law College in Madras. He was Assistant Professor, in 1904 at Pachaiyappa’s institution.

M. Munshi

Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi, popularly known as K.M. Munshi or by his pen name Ghanshyam Vyas, was a great Indian independence movement activist, politician, writer, and educator from Gujarat. He began his career as a lawyer and went on to become an author and politician. In 1938, he established the educational trust Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. Before India’s independence, he was a member of the Indian National Congress; he joined the Swatantra Party after independence and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

Munshi also served in several capacities, including a member of the Constituent Assembly of India, and Governor of Uttar Pradesh.

Mohammad Saadulla

Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla was the Prime Minister of Assam. In 1919, he was the Chairman of the Guwahati Municipality, and from 1924 to 1934, he was the Minister of Education and Agriculture in Assam.

He attended Cotton College in Guwahati and Presidency College in Calcutta for his education. On May 21, 1885, he was born in Guwahati to an orthodox Assamese Muslim family.

Syed Muhammad Saadulla was elected to India’s Constituent Assembly by the Assam Legislative Assembly in 1947, and he was later elected to the drafting committee as well. He was also instrumental in the formulation of the Constitution of the Republic of India. Saadulla was the only North East representative on the Drafting Committee.

L. Mitter

B.L. Mitter assisted the Dewan of Baroda. Mitter is claimed to have made substantial contributions to the Princely States’ merger with India. He was eventually replaced on the drafting committee by Madhav Rao, the Maharaja of Vadodara’s legal advisor.

D.P. Khaitan

D.P. Khaitan, also known as Debi Prasad Khaitan, was the founder of Khaitan and Co., one of India’s oldest legal companies. It employed 530 fee earners and consultants, with 115 serving as partners and directors. Debi founded this enterprise with the help of his brothers in 1911. He was a capable member of the drafting committee, which included six other people.

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 Conclusion

The Drafting Committee contains seven members who were significantly significant in the making of the during the Committee phases and the Constituent Assembly deliberations. The Drafting Committee’s proposed constitutions dominated most of the debate in the Constituent Assembly. 114 of the Constituent Assembly’s 166 sessions were spent considering the Draft Constitutions.