Exploring the Committees of the Constituent Assembly: Key Players in Shaping India's Constitution

Introduction

The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly took place in 1946 in New Delhi's Constitution Hall, now known as the Central Hall of Parliament House. Numerous accomplished individuals from various fields collaborated to draft the Indian Constitution.

In this article we will discuss Exploring the Committees of the Constituent Assembly: Key Players in Shaping India's Constitution.

The Indian Constitution was primarily crafted by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. According to Article 395 of the Indian Constitution, both the Indian Independence Act of 1947 and the Government of India Act of 1935 were repealed.

What Was the Indian Constituent Assembly?

The Constituent Assembly, also referred to as the first parliament of an independent India, was a sovereign body established to assist in the constitution-making process for the newly independent India. The Cabinet Mission Plan was responsible for creating the country's Constituent Assembly.

The current system of universal adult franchise voting was abolished by the Cabinet Mission Plan. Instead, it recommended that the recently elected provincial assemblies choose the members of the various committees of the constituent assembly.

In order to choose the members of the various committees of the constituent assembly, members of the provincial assembly used their single, transferable vote.

The Provincial Assembly chose 292 of the members. The Princely States and the Chief Commissioner Provinces of Coorg, Delhi, Ajmer-Merwara, and British Baluchistan contributed more than any other province. While the Princely States added 93 members, the Chief Commissioner provinces added 4 members.

According to each state's population, seats were distributed to the Princely States and the Provinces. Sikhs, Muslims, and all other communities were to share it equally so that each group would have a representative in the Constituent Assembly.

The Constituent Assembly had 389 members prior to the division of India and Pakistan. However, following partition, there were only 299 seats available because some princely states and provinces had joined the newly created Pakistan.

The first session of the newly formed parliament was called to order by the Constituent Assembly on December 9, 1946, with Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha served as the temporary president. On December 11, 1946, the constituent assembly chose Dr. Rajendra Prasad as president and Harendra Coomar Mookerjee as vice president.

The Committees of the Constituent Assembly

The Constituent Assembly established various committees to examine the various departments involved in creating the Constitution of an Independent India.

The constituent assembly had 22 committees in total. Only eight of them—the minor and supporting committees—were among the most significant committees.

Procedural matters were handled by 10 committees. 12 committees were in charge of important issues. The Drafting Committee has undoubtedly had a significant impact on Indian politics as a result of its critical role in the constitution-drafting process.

Chairman	Committees
B.R. Ambedkar	Drafting Committee.
Rajendra Prasad	Ad hoc Committee on the National flag. Rules of Procedure Committee. Finance and Staff Committee. Steering Committee.
Vallabhbhai Patel	Advisory Committee. Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas. Provincial Constitution Committee
G.V. Mavalankar	Functions of the Constituent Assembly.
Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar	Special Committee to Examine the Draft Constitution.
A.V. Thakkar	Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas Sub-Committee.
J.B. Kripalani	Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee.
B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya	House Committee.
H.C. Mukherjee	Minorities Sub-Committee.
Gopinath Bardoloi	North-east frontier tribal areas and assam, excluded and partially excluded areas sub-committee.
K.M. Munshi	Order of Business Committee.
Jawaharlal Nehru	States Committe. Union Constitution Committee. Union Powers Committee.

Drafting Committee

One of the eight most significant committees in the Constituent Assembly was the drafting committee. On August 29, 1947, the constituent assembly established it. On August 30, 1947, the Drafting Committee convened for the first time, and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was chosen to preside as the committee's chairman.

It was the most significant committee because it was tasked with drafting a new constitution for India based on the information provided by the other constituent assembly committees.

The first draft of the proposed constitution was made public by the drafting committee on February 21st, 1948. Then, for roughly eight months, it was examined by Indian citizens. The public also suggested additional changes.

The necessary adjustments were made following public feedback, and the next draft of the constitution was published in October 1948. The full Indian Constitution took the drafting committee 2 years, 11 months, and 17 days to complete after its inception in 1947.

Over the course of 165 days, the constitutive Assembly met a total of 11 times. Out of these, 114 days were devoted to the drafting committee's discussions and the draft(s) of the Constitution.

FAQs

Q1. What is the Constituent Assembly's most significant committee?

Ans: The most important committee of the Constituent Assembly was the Drafting Committee, which was founded on August 29, 1947. This committee was given the responsibility of creating a draft of the new Constitution.

Q2. How many committees did the Constituent Assembly appoint?

Ans: A Drafting Committee headed by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was one of the thirteen committees the Constituent Assembly established to draft the constitution.

Q3. What do you understand about the constitutional committee?

Ans: Examining public bills for issues of constitutional significance and looking into more general constitutional issues are the committee's two main tasks.

Q4. Why is the constitution committee important?

Ans: The main duty of the Constitution Committee was to conduct periodic reviews of the constitution, to make sure that the administration operates with effectiveness and efficiency, while maintaining transparency and accountability in decision-making.

Q5. Who is the Indian Constitution's father?

Ans: The Indian Constitution is credited to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar the chairman of the drafting committee as its founder.