When was India’s Constitution adopted?
Q. Which of the following are true?
1) Out of 299 members of the Constituent Assembly only 284 signed the Constitution.
2) The adopted Constitution contained Preamble, 395 Articles and 8 Schedules.
3) The Constitution was adopted and commenced on November 26, 1949.- Published on 13 Feb 17a. 1, 2
b. 2, 3
c. 1, 3
d. All of the above
ANSWER: 1, 2
- Dr. B. R. Ambedkar introduced the final draft of the Constitution in the Assembly on November 4, 1948(first reading).
- The second reading (clause by clause consideration) started on November 15, 1948 and ended on October 17, 1949.
- The third reading of the draft started on November 14, 1949.
- The motion on Draft Constitution was declared as passed on November 26, 1949.
- It received the signatures of the members and the president.
- Out of a total 299 members of the Assembly, only 284 were present on that day and signed the Constitution.
- This is also the date mentioned in the Preamble as the date on which the people of India in the Constituent Assembly adopted, enacted and gave to themselves this Constitution.
- The Constitution as adopted on November 26, 1949, contained a Preamble, 395 Articles and 8 Schedules.
- The Preamble was enacted after the entire Constitution was already enacted.
- Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the then Law Minister, is recognized as the ‘Father of the Constitution of India’. This ‘chief architect of the Constitution of India’ is also known as a ‘Modern Manu’.
- Some provisions of the Constitution related to citizenship, elections, provisional parliament, temporary and transitional provisions, and short title came into force on November 26, 1949.
- The remaining provisions (the major part) of the Constitution came into force on January 26, 1950.
- This day is referred to in the Constitution as the ‘date of its commencement’, and is celebrated as the Republic Day.
- January 26 was specifically chosen as the ‘date of commencement’ of the Constitution because of it was on this day in 1930 that ‘Purna Swaraj Day’ was celebrated.
- A resolution of for this was passed in the Lahore Session (December 1929) of the INC.
- With the commencement of the Constitution, the Indian Independence Act of 1947 and the Government of India Act of 1935, with all enactments amending or supplementing the latter Act, were repealed. The Abolition of Privy Council Jurisdiction Act (1949) was however continued.
