Constituent Assembly of India was partly elected and partly nominated body to frame the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...

. It was elected by the Provincial assemblies of British India following the Provincial Assembly elections held in

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

and nominated by princely states. After

India's independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic movement t ...

from the British in August 1947, its members served as the nation's 'Provisional Parliament', as well as the Constituent Assembly. It was first conceived by

V. K. Krishna Menon Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian academic, independence activist, politician, lawyer, and statesman. During his time, Menon contributed to the Indian independence movement and India's foreign r ...

, who outlined its necessity as early as 1933 and espoused the idea as a demand of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

. The

held its session at Lucknow in April 1936 presided by

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

. The official demand for a Constituent Assembly was raised and the Government of India Act, 1935 was rejected as it was an imposition on the people of India.

C. Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and Indian independence ...

again voiced the demand for a Constituent Assembly on 15 November 1939 based on adult franchise, and was accepted by the British in August 1940. On 8 August 1940, a statement was made by Viceroy Lord Linlithgow about the expansion of the Governor-General's Executive Council and the establishment of a War Advisory Council. This offer, known as the

August Offer The August Offer was an offer made by Viceroy Lord Linlithgow in 1940 promising the expansion of the Viceroy's Executive Council to include more Indians, the establishment of an advisory war council, the giving of full weight to minority opinio ...

, included giving full weight to minority opinions and allowing Indians to draft their own constitution. Under the

Cabinet Mission Plan A cabinet mission went to India on 24 March 1946 to discuss the transfer of power from the British government to the Indian political leadership with the aim of preserving India's unity and granting its independence. Formed at the initiative of ...

of 1946, elections were held for the first time for the Constituent Assembly. The Constitution of India was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, and it was implemented under the Cabinet Mission Plan on 16 May 1946. The members of the Constituent Assembly of India were elected by the Provincial Assemblies by a single, transferable-vote system of

Proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

. The total membership of the Constituent Assembly was 389 of which 292 were representatives of the provinces, 93 represented the princely states and 4 were from the chief commissioner provinces of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, Ajmer-Merwara,

Coorg Kodagu district () (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State ...

and British Baluchistan. Unlike previous elections under

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

where voting was restricted by property and educational qualifications, the elections of 1946, which would further elect representatives to the Constituent Assembly of India, saw the voting franchise extended to a much greater portion of the Indian adult population. The elections for the 296 seats assigned to the British Indian provinces were completed by August 1946.

won 208 seats (69%), and the Muslim League 73. After this election, the Muslim League refused to cooperate with the Congress and the political situation deteriorated. Hindu-Muslim riots began, and the Muslim League demanded a separate constituent assembly for Muslims in India. On 3 June 1947

Lord Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was ...

, the last British

Governor-General of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the emperor o ...

, announced his intention to scrap the Cabinet Mission Plan; this culminated in the

Indian Independence Act 1947 The Indian Independence Act 1947 ( 10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 30) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan. The Act received Royal Assent on 18 July 194 ...

and the separate nations of India and Pakistan. The Indian Independence Act was passed on 18 July 1947 and, although it was earlier declared that India would become independent in June 1948, this event led to independence on 15 August 1947. The Constituent Assembly met for the first time on 9 December 1946, reassembling on 14 August 1947 as a sovereign body and successor to the British parliament's authority in India. As a result of the partition, under the Mountbatten plan, a separate

Constituent Assembly of Pakistan The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was the supreme federal legislature of the Dominion of Pakistan. It was established in August 1947 with the primary tasks of framing Constitution of Pakistan of 1956, a constitution; and serving as an interim ...

was established on 3 June 1947. The representatives of the areas incorporated into Pakistan ceased to be members of the Constituent Assembly of India. New elections were held for the West Punjab and East Bengal (which became part of Pakistan, although East Bengal later

seceded Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal is the c ...

to become

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

); the membership of the Constituent Assembly of India was 299 after the reorganization, and it met on 31 December 1947. The constitution was drafted by 299 delegates from different castes, regions, religions, gender etc. These delegates sat over 114 days spread over 3 years (2 years 11 months and 18 days to be precise) and discussed what the constitution should contain and what laws should be included. The Drafting Committee of the Constitution was chaired by

B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Bhīmrāo Rāmjī Āmbēḍkar; 14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on t ...

Description of the constituent assembly

The Constituent Assembly of India, consisting of indirectly elected representatives, was established to draft a constitution for India (including the now-separate countries of Pakistan and Bangladesh). It existed for approx three years, the first parliament (Provisional Parliament) of India after independence in 1947. The Assembly was not elected based on complete universal adult suffrage, and Muslims and

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

received special representation as minorities. The Muslim League boycotted the Assembly, although 28 of its members out of 73 ended up joining India's Constituent Assembly. A large part of the Constituent Assembly was drawn from the

Party (69%), and included a wide diversity of ideologies and opinions—from conservatives, progressives, Marxists, liberals and Hindu revivalists. In his classic history of the Indian Constitution, the historian Granville Austin describes the Constituent Assembly as "India in microcosm." Austin shows that although the Constituent Assembly was a one-party body in an essentially one-party country, it was representative of India and the "Indian Constitution expresses the will of the many rather than the needs of the few." Further, as Achyut Chetan has shown in his book ''Founding Mothers of the Indian Republic'', the women members of the Constituent Assembly "formed a distinct group in that august body, spoke in a distinct feminist parlance, and shared a constitutional vision of justice to such an extent that they can collectively be called the ‘mothers’ of the Indian Constitution." Female members were initially Begum Aizaz Rasul, Begum Jahanara Shahnawaz, Begum Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah, Ammu Swaminathan, Dakshayani Velayaudhan, G. Durgabai, Sucheta Kripalani, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, Purnima Banerji, Kamala Chaudhri, Sarojini Naidu, Hansa Mehta, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Leela Roy, and Malati Choudhury. Renuka Ray and Annie Mascarene were later elected as well, and by 1948 the assembly had 17 female members. The Assembly met for the first time in New Delhi on 9 December 1946, and its last session was held on 24 January 1950. The hope of the Assembly was expressed by Jawaharlal Nehru:

Background and election

India was still under British rule when the Constituent Assembly was established, following negotiations between Indian leaders and members of the

1946 Cabinet Mission to India A cabinet mission went to India on 24 March 1946 to discuss the transfer of power from the British government to the Indian political leadership with the aim of preserving India's unity and granting its independence. Formed at the initiative of ...

from the United Kingdom. Provincial assembly elections were held in early 1946. Constituent Assembly members were elected indirectly by members of the newly elected provincial assemblies, and initially included representatives for those provinces that formed part of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

(some of which are now in

). The Constituent Assembly of India had 389 representatives, including fifteen women, and 299 representatives after August 1947 The

Interim Government of India The Interim Government of India, also known as the Provisional Government of India, formed on 2 September 1946 from the newly elected Constituent Assembly of India, had the task of assisting the transition of British India to independence. It ...

was formed on 2 September 1946 from the newly elected Constituent Assembly. The Congress Party held a large majority in the Assembly (69% of the seats), and the Muslim League held nearly all the seats reserved in the Assembly for Muslims. There were also members of smaller parties, such as the

Scheduled Caste Federation The Republican Party of India (RPI, often called the Republican Party or simply Republican) was a political party in India. It had its roots in the All-India Scheduled Castes Federation led by N. Sivaraj and B. R. Ambedkar. The Party was est ...

, the

Communist Party of India The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. The CPI considers the Foundation of the Communist Party of India, December 26, 1925 Cawnpore (Kanpur) conference as its foundation date. Between 1946 and 1951, the CPI led m ...

and the Unionist Party. After August 1947, the 299 Representatives of India became the Constituent Assembly of India and the Provisional Parliament of India, and the delegations from

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region of de ...

, West Punjab and the North West Frontier Province withdrew to form the

, meeting in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. 28 out of 73 members of the Muslim League joined the Indian Assembly, and 93 members were later nominated from the princely states.

Constitution and elections

At 11 AM on 9 December 1946, the Assembly began its first session, with 207 members attending. The Assembly approved the draft constitution on 26 November 1949. On 26 January 1950, the constitution took effect (commemorated as

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially calle ...

), and the Constituent Assembly became the Provisional Parliament of India (continuing until after the first elections under the new constitution in 1952).

Organization

Rajendra Prasad was elected as the president and

Harendra Coomar Mookerjee Harendra Coomar Mookherjee (3 October 1887 – 7 August 1956), also spelt as H.C. Mukherjee, was the Vice-President of the Constituent Assembly of India for drafting the Constitution of India before Partition of India, and the third Governor of ...

, a Christian from Bengal and former vice-chancellor of

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

, was vice-president. Mookerjee, additionally to chairing the assembly's Minorities Committee, was appointed governor of West Bengal after India became a republic. Jurist B. N. Rau was appointed constitutional adviser to the assembly; Rau prepared the original draft of the constitution and was later appointed a judge in the

Permanent Court of International Justice The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, existed from 1922 to 1946. It was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1920 (although the idea of an international court was several cent ...

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. The assembly's work had five stages: *Committees presented reports on issues. * B. N. Rau prepared an initial draft based on the reports and his research into the constitutions of other nations. *The drafting committee, chaired by

, presented a detailed draft constitution which was published for public discussion. *The draft constitution was discussed, and amendments were proposed and enacted. *The constitution was adopted, with a committee of experts led by the Congress Party (known as the Congress Assembly Party) played a pivotal role.

Timeline of Formation of the Constitution of India

*16 May 1946: The Cabinet Mission Plan lays down the composition and structure of the Constituent Assembly *July 1946: Completion of elections to the Constituent Assembly; 296 members from British India (undivided) and 93 members from 20 independent Indian states elected. * 11 July 1946: B N Rau appointed adviser to Constituent Assembly *9 December 1946: Formation of the Constituent Assembly (demanding a separate state, the Muslim League boycotted the meeting) *11 December 1946: President Appointed – ⁣

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independen ...

, vice-chairman

and constitutional legal adviser B. N. Rau (initially 389 members in total, which declined to 299 after partition. Out of 389, 292 were from government provinces, 4 from chief commissioner provinces and 93 from princely states) *13 December 1946: An 'Objective Resolution' was presented by

, laying down the underlying principles of the constitution, which later became the

Preamble A preamble () is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the su ...

of the constitution. *22 January 1947: Objective resolution unanimously adopted. *27 February 1947: First meeting of the Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights. This sub-committee has 12 members of which two are women – Hansa Mehta and Amrit Kaur. *16 April 1947: Report of the Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights submitted to the Advisory Committee *16–19 April 1947: The Sub-Committee on Minorities examines the Report on Fundamental Rights and gives its recommendations *21–22 April 1947: Vigorous debates in the Advisory Committee on the reports of the two sub-committees *23 April 1947: The Advisory Committee submits its report; directive principles not yet finalized *22 July 1947:

National flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

adopted. *15 August 1947: Achieved independence. India split into

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India, * * was an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations existing between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950. Until its Indian independence movement, independence, India had be ...

and

Dominion of Pakistan The Dominion of Pakistan, officially Pakistan, was an independent federal dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations, which existed from 14 August 1947 to Pakistan Day, 23 March 1956. It was created by the passing of the Indian Independence ...

. *29 August 1947: Drafting Committee appointed, with

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Bhīmrāo Rāmjī Āmbēḍkar; 14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on t ...

as the chairman. Other 6 members of the committee were: K.M.Munshi,

Muhammed Saadulah Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla KCIE (; 21 May 1885 – 8 January 1955) was the 1st Prime Minister of Assam in British India from 1937 to 1946. He was also the member of Constituent Assembly of India from 1946 to 1950. Saadulla was knighted the ...

, Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, Gopala Swami Ayyangar, N. Madhava Rao (He replaced B.L. Mitter who resigned due to ill health),

T. T. Krishnamachari Tiruvellore Thattai Krishnamachari (1899 1974) was an Indian politician who served as Finance Minister from 1956 to 1958 and from 1964 to 1966. He was also a founding member of the first governing body of the National Council of Applied Econom ...

(He replaced D.P. Khaitan who died in 1948). *16 July 1948: Along with

, V. T. Krishnamachari was also elected as the second vice-president of the Constituent Assembly. *26 November 1949: 'Constitution of India' passed and adopted by the assembly. *24 January 1950: Last meeting of the Constituent Assembly. 'The Constitution of India' (with 395 articles, 8 schedules, 22 parts) was signed and accepted by all. *26 January 1950: The '

' came into force after 2 years, 11 months, and 18 Days, at a total expenditure of ₹6.4 million to finish.

Committees of the Constituent Assembly

The Constituent Assembly appointed a total of 22 committees to deal with different tasks of constitution-making. Out of these, Eight were major committees and the others were minor committees. Major Committees # Drafting Committee –

Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Bhīmrāo Rāmjī Āmbēḍkar; 14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on t ...

# Union Power Committee –

# Union Constitution Committee –

# States Committee (Committee for negotiating with states) – ⁣

# Provincial Constitution Committee –

Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ''Vallabhbhāī Jhāverbhāī Paṭel''; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was an Indian independence activist and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime ...

# Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas –

. This committee had the following subcommittees: ## Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee – J. B. Kripalani ## Minorities Sub-Committee –

, ## North-East Frontier Tribal Areas and Assam Excluded & Partially Excluded Areas Sub-Committee – Gopinath Bordoloi ## Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas (Apart from those in Assam) Sub-Committee – A V Thakkar # Rules of Procedure Committee –

# Steering Committee –

# Ad hoc Committee on the National Flag –

# Committee for the function of the Constitution Assembly – ⁣ G V Mavlankar # House Committee – ⁣ B Pattabhi Sitaramayya # Language Committee – ⁣ Moturi Satyanarayana # Order of Business Committee – ⁣ K M Munshi

Criticism

The constitution, has been in recent times, due political differences, criticised on the basis that the members of the Constituent Assembly were not completely chosen by universal suffrage, but rather were elected by provincial assemblies. In his book ''The Constitution of India: Miracle, Surrender, Hope,'' Rajeev Dhavan tried to argue that the Indian people did not have much say in the making of the Constitution, which they had no choice but to accept.

Prominent members

, Chairman of the Drafting Committee *

, President of the Constituent Assembly * Benegal Narsing Rau, The Constitutional Advisor * Sir N. Madhava Rao, Dewan of Mysore * Deep Narayan Singh, Cabinet Minister of Bihar * Gopinath Bordoloi, 1st Chief Minister of Assam *

Syama Prasad Mukherjee Syama Prasad Mookerjee (6 July 1901 – 23 June 1953) was an Indian barrister, educationist, politician, activist, social worker, and a minister in the state and national governments. Noted for his opposition to Quit India movement within the ...

* Muhammad Saadulla * P. Subbarayan *

Kailash Nath Katju Kailash Nath Katju (17 June 1887 – 17 February 1968) was a prominent politician of India. He was the Governor of Odisha and West Bengal, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, the Union Home Minister and the Union Defence Minister. He was ...

, 1st Governor of Odisha * N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar * Tiruvellore thattai Krishnamachari *

Rameshwar Prasad Sinha Rameshwar Prasad Sinha (also transliterated as Rameshwar Prasad Singh) was an Indian statesman and a participant in the Indian independence movement. He was a Member of the Constituent Assembly of India which was elected to write the Constitutio ...

* Durgabai Deshmukh * K. M. Munshi * M. Mohammed Ismael, President of the Indian Union Muslim League * Krishna Ballabh Sahay * Frank Anthony, Anglo-Indian representative *

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (; 5 September 188817 April 1975; natively Radhakrishna) was an Indian academician, philosopher and statesman who served as the President of India from 1962 to 1967. He previously served as the vice president of ...

, Vice President of India *

John Mathai John Matthai CIE (1886–1959) was an Indian economist who served as Independent India's first Railway Minister and subsequently as well as India's Finance Minister, taking office shortly after the presentation of India's first Budget, in 1 ...

, Minister of Railways * Pratap Singh Kairon *

K. Kamaraj Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Madras from 13 April 1954 to 2 October 1963. He also served as the pr ...

, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu *

Chidambaram Subramaniam Chidambaram Subramaniam (commonly known as CS) (30 January 1910 – 7 November 2000), was an Indian politician and independence activist. He served as Minister of Finance and Minister of Defence in the union cabinet. He later served as the Go ...

* Jaipal Singh Munda, Former Indian Hockey captain, and Tribal leader * Hargovind Pant *

Kala Venkata Rao Kala Venkata Rao was an Indian independence activist and politician. He served as the Minister for Revenue in the governments of the Madras Presidency and Andhra Pradesh. He also served as the Minister of Finance in the latter. A member of t ...

, Freedom fighter, AICC general secretary, minister of Madras and later Andhra Pradesh * Hifzur Rahman Seoharwi, Islamic scholar and an activist of the Indian independence movement. * Ranbir Singh Hooda, Congress leader from Rohtak * Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, 1st Prime Minister of Independent India *

, The first Home Minister of India and the first Deputy Prime Minister of India

Members (by province/state)

Members who later withdrew after partition

Gallery

File:Jawaharal Nehru and other members taking pledge.jpg, Jawaharlal Nehru and other members taking pledge during the midnight session of the Constituent Assembly of India held on 14 and 15 August 1947. File:Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Chairman, Drafting Committee of the Indian Constitution with other members on Aug. 29, 1947.jpg, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, chairman, with other members of the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly of India, on 29 August 1947. File:Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, chairman of the Drafting Committee, presenting the final draft of the Indian Constitution to Dr. Rajendra Prasad on 25 November, 1949.jpg, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, chairman of the Drafting Committee, presenting the final draft of the Indian Constitution to Dr. Rajendra Prasad, President of constituent assembly on 25 November 1949. File:A Constituent Assembly of India meeting in 1950.jpg, Constituent Assembly of India. File:Jawaharlal Nehru addressing the constituent assembly in 1946.jpg, Jawaharlal Nehru addressing the constituent assembly in 1946.