How did the Constitution of India be framed? How was it implemented? Read on to get your facts right!

The Indian Constitution was framed by a Constituent Assembly which was set up under the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946. It consisted of 389 members that represented both provinces and states as it was pre-Independence. This Assembly has it first meeting on December 9, 1946, where it elected Dr Sachhidanand Sinha as its Provisional President and Dr Rajendra Prasad as its permanent Chairman.

After the withdrawal of the Muslim League post-Independence, the strength of the Assembly reduced to 299. With 13 committees being set up, the framing of the constitution began. The draft was overlooked by a seven-member Drafting Committee which was under the Chairmanship of Dr BR Ambedkar.

The draft was published in January 1948. People were given a total of 8 months to discuss all its clauses and to suggest amendments. It was discussed by the people, the press, the provincial assemblies and the Constituent Assembly and ultimately adopted on November 26, 1949, after being signed by the President of the Assembly.

The Constitution of India borrows a lot of features from Constitutions of other places like UK, USA, Ireland, Canada and so on. However, the features have been modified to suit the needs of Indians so as to avoid any defects owing to change in the situation.

The parliamentary system of Government, rule of law, law-making procedure and single citizenship are concepts taken from the British. The Independence of Judiciary, Judicial Review, Fundamental Rights and guidelines for the removal of judges of Supreme Court and High Courts were adopted by the Americans.

The system to be federal with a strong central authority is Canadian. The Directive Principles of State Policy are from Ireland’s Constitution. The idea of the Concurrent List is Australian.

Therefore, with the union of the best ideas from various Constitutions across the globe, India formed its own unique Constitution.

Even though most parts of the Constitution was implemented immediately after it was adopted, a major part of it fully came into force on January 26, 1950. The structure of the bureaucracy changed, Indian police were taking charge everywhere, the Civil Servants were being trained and so on – India was progressing towards becoming the united self-sufficient nation that it was capable of being.

It was the Constitution that bound the people by law, morality and a way of living in a manner where nobody would be discriminated on the basis of caste, creed, race, sex, place of birth, etc. and where people enjoyed the freedom they deserved.