A last-minute revision cut of this chapter: definitions, key facts, dates and tables. The full explained notes are available separately.
1 The whole chapter in one frame
Framing the Constitution · one resolution, four big debates
Objectives ResolutionNehru, 13 December 1946, the vision of the Constitution
RightsSeparate electorates, minorities, the Depressed Castes debate
State powerCentre versus provinces, Article 356
LanguageHindustani, Hindi, the official-language compromise
| Topic |
What was decided |
| Minority representation |
Separate electorates rejected; for the Depressed Castes: abolition of untouchability, temples opened to all castes, reserved seats and government jobs |
| Centre-state power |
Three lists, tilt toward the Centre, Article 356 |
| National language |
Hindi made official language (not national), English continued for 15 years |
| Franchise |
Universal adult franchise, with no staged extension |
2 Numbers worth remembering
13 Dec 1946Objectives Resolution introduced
82%Assembly members from Congress
26 Jan 1950Constitution comes into effect
| Figure |
What it refers to |
| 3 years |
Time taken by the whole Constitution-making process |
| 11 volumes |
Number of recorded volumes of debate (11 sessions, 165 sitting days) |
| 300 members |
Total Assembly members, of whom six voices dominated |
| Article 356 |
Centre’s power to take over a state’s administration on the Governor’s recommendation |
| 15 years |
Continuation of English after the official-language compromise |
| 20-25% |
Share of the Depressed Castes in the population (per Nagappa) |
3 Dates at a glance
| Date |
What happened |
| 26 July 1945 |
Labour Government comes to power in Britain |
| December 1945-January 1946 |
General elections in India |
| 16 May 1946 |
Cabinet Mission announces its constitutional scheme |
| 16 August 1946 |
Muslim League announces Direct Action Day |
| 3-6 December 1946 |
Attlee-Indian leaders talks, London (failed) |
| 9 December 1946 |
Constituent Assembly’s first session |
| 13 December 1946 |
Nehru’s Objectives Resolution |
| 29 January 1947 |
Muslim League demands dissolution of the Assembly |
| 14-15 August 1947 |
Pakistan, then India, become independent |
| 27 August 1947 |
B. Pocker Bahadur’s separate-electorates speech |
| 13 September 1949 |
Dhulekar’s reaction to the Language Committee’s compromise |
| December 1949 |
Constitution is signed |
| 26 January 1950 |
Constitution comes into effect |
4 Every definition in one place
| Term |
Meaning |
| Objectives Resolution |
Nehru’s resolution of 13 December 1946: an “Independent Sovereign Republic”, justice, equality, freedom, and safeguards for minorities |
| Separate electorates |
Community-based separate voter lists, finally rejected |
| Union/State/Concurrent List |
The Draft Constitution’s three subject lists (Centre/states/shared) |
| Article 356 |
Centre’s power to take over a state’s administration on the Governor’s recommendation |
| Hindustani |
Gandhiji’s Hindi-Urdu blended national-language vision |
| Official language |
The final compromise: Devanagari Hindi, not a national language |
| Judicious distance |
The nature of Indian secularism, not a complete separation |
| Universal adult franchise |
Voting rights for every adult, with no staged extension |
5 Six dominant voices and other speakers
| Name |
Role / argument |
| Jawaharlal Nehru |
Objectives Resolution, tricolour flag resolution, a strong Centre |
| Vallabhbhai Patel |
Reconciled views behind the scenes, opposed separate electorates |
| Rajendra Prasad |
Assembly President |
| B.R. Ambedkar |
Chairman of the Drafting Committee, favoured a strong Centre |
| K.M. Munshi, Alladi Krishnaswamy Aiyar |
Lawyers on the Drafting Committee with Ambedkar (the other two of the six) |
| B.N. Rau |
Civil servant; Constitutional Advisor, comparative background papers |
| S.N. Mukherjee |
Civil servant; Chief Draughtsman |
| Somnath Lahiri |
Communist member who saw the Assembly under British shadow |
| N.G. Ranga |
Redefined “minority” in economic terms |
| Jaipal Singh |
Reserved seats for tribals, not separate electorates |
| K. Santhanam |
Critic of the proposed centralisation |
| R.V. Dhulekar |
Aggressive advocate for Hindi |
| G. Durgabai |
Voiced the south’s fear of domination |
6 Quick revision · read this the night before the exam
Nehru introduced the Objectives Resolution on 13 December 1946, proclaiming India an “Independent Sovereign Republic” guaranteeing justice, equality and freedom, while insisting “we are not going just to copy.” 82 per cent of Assembly members were from the Congress (after the League’s boycott), but the Congress itself held no single voice. Six members played the most important roles, Nehru, Patel and Prasad (the Congress trio), Ambedkar (Drafting Committee chair) and the lawyers K.M. Munshi and Alladi Krishnaswamy Aiyar, assisted by two civil servants, B.N. Rau and S.N. Mukherjee; they framed the Constitution over three years and eleven volumes. The demand for separate electorates (B. Pocker Bahadur) was rejected almost universally after fierce opposition from Patel and Pant and the memory of Partition; Ranga redefined “minority” in economic terms, Jaipal Singh argued for reserved seats (not separate electorates) for tribals, and Ambedkar dropped his own earlier demand after Partition. The Constitution tilted power toward the Centre (three-list system, Article 356, fiscal centralisation), a deliberate shift after Partition. The language debate pitted Dhulekar’s push for Hindi against the fear of Hindi domination that Durgabai voiced for the non-Hindi-speaking south; the final compromise made Hindi the official, not national, language, with English continuing for 15 years. On one central feature, the granting of the vote to every adult Indian (universal adult franchise), there was substantial agreement; a second important feature was the emphasis on secularism (a “judicious distance” from religion, not strict separation). Read the Constituent Assembly Debates as an evolving argument, not a fixed transcript: members’ positions genuinely changed over the three years, as Ambedkar’s own shift away from separate electorates shows.
