What was composition of Constituent assembly for India’s Constitution?
Q. The constituent assembly was constituted under the scheme formulated by the Cabinet Mission Plan. What were the features of the scheme?
1) One seat was to be allotted for every million population.
2) Voting was to be by the method of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.
3) The representatives of princely state were to be nominated by the heads of princely states.- Published on 13 Feb 17a. 1, 2
b. 2, 3
c. 1, 3
d. All of the above
ANSWER: All of the above
- In 1934, M. N. Roy, a pioneer of communist movement in India and an advocate of radical democratism put forward the idea of a Constituent Assembly for India.
- In 1935, the Indian National Congress (INC), for the first time, officially demanded a Constituent Assembly to frame the Constitution of India.
- In 1938, Jawaharlal Nehru, declared that ‘the Constitution of free India must be framed, without outside interference, by a Constituent Assembly elected on the basis of adult franchise’.
- The demand was finally accepted in principle by the British Government in the ‘August Offer’ of 1940.
- In 1942, Sir Stafford Cripps, came to India with a draft proposal on the framing of an independent Constitution to be adopted after the World War II.
- The Cripps Proposals were rejected by the Muslim League which wanted India to be divided into two autonomous states with two separate Constituent Assemblies.
- Finally, the Cabinet Mission (Lord Pethick Lawrence, Sir Stafford Cripps and A V Alexander) Plan was accepted.
As per it -
1. Total strength of Constituent Assembly - 389 (296 - British India and 93 - Princely States)
2. Out of 296, 292 from 11 eleven governors’ provinces (Madras, Bombay, UP, Bihar, Central Provinces, Orissa, Punjab, NWFP, Sindh, Bengal and Assam) and 4 from 4 Chief Commissioner’s provinces (Delhi, Ajmer–Merwara, Coorg and British Baluchistan).
3. Seats were allotted based on population - One seat roughly for one million population.
4. Seats in British Provinces were divided amongst - Muslims, Sikhs and General (all excluding Muslims and Sikhs)
5. Representatives of each community were to be elected by members of that community in the provincial legislative assembly and voting was by proportional representation by means of single transferable vote (Indirect election).
6. Representatives from princely states would be nominated by heads of these princely states.
- Princely states decided to stay away from the constituent assembly.
- The Constituent Assembly did not include Mahatma Gandhi and M. A. Jinnah.
