Framing the Constitution Class 12 Notes History Chapter 15 - CBSE

Chapter : 15

What Are Framing The Constitution ?

  • The Constitution of India was implemented on January 26, 1950, thus 26 January is celebrated as Republic Day.
  • The Constitution of India was drafted after making a lot of deliberations and debates.
  • The Constitution of India was framed between the period of December 1946 to November 1949 and there was a total of 11 sessions that were held for its drafting.
  • The independence of India came at the cost of partition and the country was facing a refugee crisis immediately after its independence.
  • The members of the Constituent Assembly was chosen indirectly by the members of the provincial assemblies but generally they belonged to the Congress party.
  • The League boycotted the Constituent Assembly and initially, the socialist also did not want to join the assembly.
  • The deliberation and arguments of the Constituent Assembly were published in the newspapers and magazines and was covered by the media.
  • The Objectives Resolution and National Flag’s resolution was moved by Jawahar Lal Nehru.
  • Dr Rajendra Prasad served as the President of the constituent assembly.
  • Sardar Patel was responsible for the drafting of important reports.
  • Dr B.R. Ambedkar served as the chairman of the drafting committee.
  • Dr B.N. Rau was the constitutional adviser to the Government of India.
  • Under the Objectives Resolution of December 1946, India has proclaimed the Independent Sovereign Republic.
  • The resolution guaranteed equality, justice and freedom to every citizen of India.
  • Somnath Lahiri, a communist leader raised apprehensions about the constituent assembly and argued that the assembly has a lot of British influence.
  • The members of the constituent assembly were expected to carry forward social, cultural as well as economical reforms.
  • A leader from Madras, B. Pocket Bahadur supported the continuation of the separate electorates in India.
  • Most of the nationalists were against this as they perceived it against the unity of the nation.
  • Sardar Patel made a statement that a separate electorate is a poison for the unity of the nation.
  • Govind Ballabh Pant said that a separate electorate is harmful to the minorities as it will lead to their isolation.
  • Begum Aiza's Rasul opposed the idea of separate electorates. She said it will increase the gap between the minorities and the majorities.
  • A socialist leader N.G. Ranga gave a new definition of minorities, He said that all the economically backward communities should be given the status of minorities.
  • Minorities should be protected, ensured employment, granted religious and cultural freedom in the constitution. This was the idea of most nationalists.
  • Jaipal Singh, a member of the constituent assembly advocated for the protection of the rights of the tribal people and held them as the biggest sufferer in the recent past.
  • J. Nagappa a leader from Madras said that depressed classes have suffered systematic marginalisation. This marginalisation is due to their backward education, no representation in the administration, etc.
  • The Constituent Assembly took the decision to abolish untouchability, opened the Hindu temples for all depressed classes and made provisions for reservation in the seats of the legislature and employment.
  • Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru advocated for establishing a strong central government to ensure efficient administration.
  • The draft of the constitution divided the subjects into three lists i.e. Union List, to be controlled by the centre, State List, to be controlled by the state and Concurrent List, to be controlled by the Union and state.
  • Article 356 bestowed power on the central government to take over the state administration on the recommendations of the Governor.
  • K. Santhanam from Madras argued for equitable sharing of power between the state and the centre as it will ensure harmony.
  • Dr. B.R. Ambedkar supported the idea of a strong centre and said that it is the need of the hour.
  • Gopalaswami Ayyangar and Balkrishna Sharma, members of the Constituent Assembly advocated for the creation of a strong centre.
  • During the 1930s Congress was convinced that Hindustani should be the national language of India.
  • R.V. Dhulekar a member of the constituent assembly said that Hindi should be adopted as the language of constitution-making.
  • Shrimati G. Durgabai from Madras showed apprehensions concerning the selection of Hindi as the national language as she perceived it as a threat to the non-hindi speaking states of the South.
  • Hindi was declared as the official language of the Union and English was allowed to continue for administrative purposes for some period.