How the Indian Constitution was made

The Constituent Assembly. India's Constitution was made by a Constituent Assembly elected for undivided India. It held its first sitting on 9 December 1946, and reassembled as the Assembly for divided India on 14 August 1947.

• Members were chosen by indirect election by members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies set up under the Government of India Act, 1935, roughly following the plan of the British Cabinet Mission: seats were allotted to provinces and princely states in proportion to population (about one seat per ten lakh people: 292 for the provinces and at least 93 for the princely states); each province's seats were divided among Muslims, Sikhs and general voters by population; members were elected by proportional representation with single transferable vote; princely states' representatives were chosen by consultation.
• After Partition (under the plan of 3 June 1947), members from areas that went to Pakistan left, reducing the Assembly to 299. The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949; 284 members signed it on 24 January 1950; it came into force on 26 January 1950.
• Framed against the violence of Partition, it committed India to a new idea of citizenship in which minorities would be secure and religious identity would have no bearing on citizenship rights.

Was it representative? Members were not elected by universal suffrage, but there was a serious attempt to make the Assembly representative: all religions were represented, and 28 members were from the Scheduled Castes. The Congress held about 82 per cent of seats after Partition, but was itself so diverse that it accommodated almost all shades of opinion.

The principle of deliberation. Members deliberated with the interests of the whole nation in mind. They disagreed on many principles (centralised or decentralised government, Centre-State relations, the judiciary's powers, property rights) and discussed almost every issue in depth. Only one provision passed almost without debate: universal suffrage. Members engaged in public reason: giving principled reasons to others rather than pushing narrow interests. Their debates rank among the great chapters in constitution-making history.

• Procedures: the Assembly had eight major committees, usually chaired by Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel or B.R. Ambedkar, men who often disagreed (Ambedkar had been a sharp critic of the Congress) but worked together. Committees drafted provisions; the whole Assembly debated them, aiming for consensus; every argument was answered with care. The Assembly met for 166 days over two years and eleven months, with sessions open to the press and public. Dr Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee; Dr Rajendra Prasad was President of the Assembly.

Inheritance of the nationalist movement. The Assembly gave concrete form to principles forged during the freedom struggle. The best summary is the Objectives Resolution moved by Nehru in 1946: India as an independent, sovereign republic; a Union of autonomous units; all power flowing from the people; social, economic and political justice, equality of status, opportunity and before law, and fundamental freedoms for all; safeguards for minorities, backward and tribal areas, and depressed classes; territorial integrity; and contribution to world peace. So the Constitution is a moral commitment, not just a maze of rules.

Institutional arrangements and borrowing. The Assembly chose a parliamentary form and a federal arrangement, and learned from other countries, adapting each idea to Indian needs rather than copying it:

• Britain: first past the post, parliamentary government, rule of law, the Speaker's role, law-making procedure.
• United States: a charter of fundamental rights, judicial review and judicial independence.
• Ireland: Directive Principles of State Policy.
• France: liberty, equality and fraternity.
• Canada: a quasi-federal form (a federation with a strong Centre) and residual powers.
• As Ambedkar said, the new things in a constitution made 'so late in the day' are the variations made to remove faults and suit the country's needs. India's Constitution has lasted as a living reality and became a model for others, notably South Africa.