LIST OF MEMBERS OF THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY

(AS IN NOVEMBER, 1949)

MADRAS 

O.V. Alagesan

Mrs. Ammu Swaminadhan

M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar

Moturi Satyanarayana

Mrs. Dakshayani Velayudhan

Mrs. G. Durgabai

Kala Venkatarao

N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar

D. Govinda Das

Rev. Jerome D'suuza

P. Kakkan

K. Kamaraj

V.C. Kesava Rao

T.T. Krishnamachari

Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar

L. Krishnaswami Bharathi

P. Kunhiraman 

M. Thirumula Rao

V.I. Muniswamy Pillay

M.A. Muthiah Chettiyar

V. Nadimuthu Pillai

S. Nagappa

P.L. Narasimha Raju

B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya

C. Perumalswamy Reddy

T. Prakasam

S.H. Prater

Raja Swetachalapati Ramakrishna Renga Roa of Bobbili

R.K. Shanmukham Chetti

T.A. Ramalingam Chettiyyar

Ramanath Goenka

O.P. Ramaswamy Reddiyar 

N.G. Ranga

N. Sanjeeva Reddi

K. Santhanam

B. Shiva Rao

Kallur Subba Rao

U. Srinivasa Mallayya

P. Subbarayan

C. Subramaniam

V. Subramaniam

M.C. Veerabahu

P.M. Velayudapani

A.K. Menon

T.J.M. Wilson

Mohamed Ismail Sahib

K.T.M. Ahmed Ibrahim

Mahboob Ali Baig Sahib Bahadur

B. Pocker Sahib Bahadur

 BOMBAY

 Balchandra Maheshwar Gupte

Mrs. Hansa Mehta

Hari Vinayak Pataskar

B.R. Ambedkar

Joseph Alban D'Souza

Kanayalal Nanabhai Desai

Keshavrao Marutirao Jedhe

Khandubhai Kasanji Desai

Bal Gangadhar Kher

M.R. Masani

K.M. Munshi

Narhar Vishnu Gadgil 

S. Nijalingappa

S.K. Patil

Ramchandra Manohar Nalavade

R.R. Diwakar

Shankarrao Deo

G.V. Mavalankar

Vallabhbhai J. Patel

Abdul Kadar Mohammad Shaikh

A.A. Khan

 WEST BENGAL

 Monomohan Dass

Arun Chandra Guha

Lakshmi Kanta Maitra

Mihir Lal Chattopadhyay

Satis Chandra Samanta

Suresh Chandra Majumdar

Upendranath Barman

Prabhudayal Himatsingka

Basanta Kumar Das 

Mrs. Renuka Ray

H.C. Mookherjee

Surendra Mohan Ghose

Syama Prasad Mookerjee

Ari Bahadur Gurung

R.E. Platel

K.C. Neogy

Raghib Ahsan

Jasimuddin Ahmad

Naziruddin Ahmad

Abdul Hamid

Abdul Halim Ghuznavi

 UNITED PROVINCES

Ajit Prasad Jain

Algu Rai Shastri

Balkrishna Sharma

Banshi Dhar Misra

Bhagwan Din

Damodar Swarup Seth

Dayal Das Bhagat

Dharam Prakash

A. Dharam Dass

R. V. Dhulekar

Feroz Ganhdi

Gopal Narain

Krishna Chandra Sharma

Govind Ballabh Pant

Govind Malaviya

Har Govind Pant

Harihar Nath Shastri

Hriday Nath Kunzru

Jaspat Roy Kapoor

Jagannath Baksh Singh

Jawaharlal Nehru

Jogendra Singh

Jugal Kishore

Jwala Prasad Srivastava

B.V. Keskar

Mrs. Kamala Chaudhri

Kamalapati Tiwari

J.B. Kripalani

Mahavir Tyagi

Khurshed Lal

Masurya Din

Mohan Lal Saksena

Padampat Singhania

Phool Singh

Paragi lal

Mrs. Purnima Banerji

Prurshottamadas Tandon

Hira Vallabha Tripathi

Ram Chandra Gupta

Shibban Lal Saxena

Satish Chandra

John Matthai

Mrs. Sucheta Kripalani

Sunder Lall

Venkatesh Narayan Tivary

Mohanlal Gautam

Vishwambhar Dayal Tripathi

Begum Aizaz Rasul

Hyder Hussain

Hasrat Mohani

Abul Kalam Azad

Muhammad Ismail Khan

Rafi Ahmad Kidwai

Mohd. Hifzur Rahman

 EAST PUNJAB

 Bakshi Tek Chand

Jairamdas Daulatram

Thakurdas Bhargava

Bikramlal Sondhi

Yashwant Rai

Ranbir Singh

Achint Ram

Nand Lal

Sardar Baldev Singh

Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir

Sardar Hukam Singh

Sardar Bhopinder Singh Mann

 BIHAR

 Amiyo Kumar Ghosh

Anugrahnarayan Sinha

Banarsi Prasad Jhunjhunwala

Bhagwat Prasad

Boniface Lakra

Brajeshwar Prasad

Chandika Ram

K.T. Shah

Devendra Nath Samanta

Dip Narain  Sinha

Guptanath Singh

Jadubans Sahay

Jagat Narain Lal

Jagjivan Ram

Jaipal Singh

Kameshwara Singh of Darbhanga

Kamaleshwari Prasad Yadav

Mahesh Prasad Sinha

Krishna Ballabh Sahay

Raghunandan Prasad 

Rajendra Prasad

Rameshwar Prasad Sinha

Ramnarayan Singh

Sachchidananda Sinha

Sarangdhar Sinha 

Satyanarayan Sinha

Binodanand Jha

P.K. Sen

Sri Krishna Sinha

Sri Narayan Mahtha

Syamanandan Sahaya

Hussain Imam

Saiyid Jafar Imam

Latifur Rahman

Mohammad Tahir

Tajamul Hussain

 CENTRAL PROVINCES & BERAR

 Raghu Vira

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur

B.A. Mandloi

Brijlal Nandlal Biyani

Thakur Cheedilal

Seth Govind Das

Hari Singh Gour

Hari Vishnu Kamath

Hemchandra Jagobaji Khandekar

Ghanshyam Singh Gupta

Lakshman Shrawan Bhatkar

Panjabrao Shamrao Deshmukh

Ravi Shankar Shukla

R.K. Sidhva

Shankar Tryambak Dharmadhikari

Frank Anthony

Kazi Syed Karimuddin

 ASSAM

 Nibaran Chandra Laskar

Dharanidhar Basu-Matari

Gopinath Bardoloi

J.J.M. NIchols-Roy

Kuladhar Chaliha

Rohini Kumar Chaudhury

Muhammad Saadulla

Abdur Rouf

 ORISSA

 B.Das

Biswanath Das

Krishna Chandra Gajapati Narayana Deo of Parlakimedi

Harekrushna Mahatab

Lakshminarayan Sahu

Lokanath Misra

Nandkishore Das

Rajkrishna Bose

Santanu Kumar Das

 DELHI

 Deshbhandhu Gupta

 AJMER-MERWARA

 Mukut Bihari Lal Bhargava

 COORG

 C.M. Poonacha

 MYSORE

 K. Chengalaraya Reddy

T. Siddalingaiya

H.R. Guruv Reddy

S.V. Krishnamurthy Rao

K. Hanumanthaiya

H. Siddaveerappa

T. Channiah

 JAMMU AND KASHMIR

 Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah

Motiram Baigra

Mirza Mohmmad Afzal Beg

Maulana Mohammad Sayeed Masoodi

 TRAVANCORE-COCHIN

 A. Thanu Pillai

R. Sankar

P.S. Nataraja Pillai

Mrs. Annie Mascarene

K.A. Mohamed

P.T. Chacko

P. Govinda Menon

 MADHYA BHARAT

 V.S. Sarwate

Brijraj Narain

Gopikrishna Vijayavargiya

Ram Sahai

Kusum Kant Jain

Radhavallabh Vijayavargiya

Sitaram S. Jajoo

 SAURASHTRA

 Balwant Rai Gopalji Mehta

Jaisukhlal Hathi

Amritlal Vithaldas Thakkar

Chimanlal Chakubhai Shah

Samaldas Laxmidas Gandhi

 RAJASTHAN

 V.T. Krishnamachari

Hiralal Shastri

Sardar Singhjhi of Khetri

Jaswant Singhji

Raj Bhadur

Manikya Lal Varma

Gokul Lal Asava

Ramchandra Upadhyaya

Balwant Sinha Mehta

Dalel Singh

Jainarain Vyas

 PATIALA AND EAST PUNJAB STATES UNION

 Ranjit Singh

Sochet Singh

Bhagwant Roy

 BOMBAY STATES

 Vinayakrao Balshankar Vaidya

B.N. Munavalli

Gokulbhai Daulatram Bhatt

Jivraj Narayan Mehta

Gopaldas A. Desai

Paranlal Thakurlal Munshi

B.H. Khardekar

Ratnappa Bharamappa Kumbhar

 ORISSA STATES

 Lal Mohan Pati

N. Madhava Rau

Raj Kunwar

Sarangadhar Das

Yudhishthir Misra

 CENTRAL PROVINCES STATES

 R.L. Malaviya

Kishorimohan Tripathi

Ramprasad Potai

 UNITED  PROVINCES  STATES

 B.H. Zaidi

Krishna Singh

 MADRAS STATES

 V. Ramaiah

 VINDHYA PRADESH

 Avdesh Pratap Singh

Shambu Nath Shukla

Ram Sahai Tiwari

Mannulalji Dwidedi

 COOCH BEHAR

 Himmat Singh K. Maheshwari

 TRIPURA AND MANIPUR

 Girja Shankar Guha

 BHOPAL

 Lal Singh

 KUTCH

 Bhawani Arjun Khimji

 HIMACHAL  PRADESH

 Y.S. Parmar

  FIRST DAY IN THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY

The Constituent Assembly met for the first time in New Delhi on 9 December, 1946 in the Constitution Hall which is now known as the Central Hall of Parliament House. Decorated elegantly for the occasion, the Chamber wore a new look on that day with a constellation of bright lamps hanging from the high ceilings and also from the brackets on its walls.
Overwhelmed and jubilant as they were, the hon'ble members sat in semi-circular rows facing the Presidential dias. The desks which could be warmed electrically were placed on sloping green-carpeted terraces. Those who adorned the front row were Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Acharya J.B. Kripalani, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Smt. Sarojini Naidu, Shri Hare-Krushna Mahatab, Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Shri Sarat Chandra Bose, Shri C. Rajagopalachari and Shri M. Asaf Ali. Two hundred and seven representatives, including nine women were present.
The inaugural session began at 11 a.m. with the introduction of Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha, the temporary Chairman of the Assembly, by Acharya Kripalani. While welcoming Dr. Sinha and others, Acharyaji said: "As we begin every work with Divine blessings, we request Dr. Sinha to invoke these blessings so that our work may proceed smoothly. Now, I once more, on your behalf, call upon Dr. Sinha to take the Chair."
Occupying the Chair amidst acclamation, Dr. Sinha read out the goodwill messages received from different countries. After the Chairman's inaugural address and the nomination of a Deputy Chairman, the members were formally requested to present their credentials. The First Day's proceedings ended after all the 207 members present submitted their credentials and signed the Register.
Seated in the galleries, some thirty feet above the floor of the Chamber, the representatives of the Press and the visitors witnessed this memorable event. The All India Radio, Delhi broadcast a composite sound picture of the entire proceedings.

  SOME FACTS

The Constituent Assembly took almost three years (two years, eleven months and seventeen days to be precise) to complete its historic task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India. During this period, it held eleven sessions covering a total of 165 days. Of these, 114 days were spent on the consideration of the Draft Constitution.
As to its composition, members were chosen by indirect election by the members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies, according to the scheme recommended by the Cabinet Mission. The arrangement was: (i) 292 members were elected through the Provincial Legislative Assemblies; (ii) 93 members represented the Indian Princely States; and (iii) 4 members represented the Chief Commissioners' Provinces. The total membership of the Assembly thus was to be 389. However, as a result of the partition under the Mountbatten Plan of 3 June, 1947, a separate Constituent Assembly was set up for Pakistan and representatives of some Provinces ceased to be members of the Assembly. As a result, the membership of the Assembly was reduced to 299.
On 13 December, 1946, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru moved the Objectives Resolution

1.This Constituent Assembly declares its firm and solemn resolve to proclaim India as an Independent Soverign Republic and to draw up for her future governance a Constitution;

2.WHEREIN the territories that now comprise British India, the territories that now form the Indian States, and such other parts fo India as are outside British India and the States as well as such other territories as are willing to be constituted into the Independent Soverign India, shall be a Union of them all; and

3.WHEREIN the said territories, whether with their present boundaries or with such others as may be determined by the Constituent Assembly and thereafter according to the law of the Constitution, shall possess and retain the status of autonomous Units, together with residuary powers and exercise all powers and functions of goverrnment and administration, save and except such powers and functions as are vested in or assigned to the Union, or as are inherent or implied in the Union or resulting therefrom; and

4.WHEREIN all power and authority of the Soverign Independent India, its constituent parts and organs of government, are derived from the people; and

5.WHEREIN shall be guaranteed and secured to all the people of India justice, social economic and political : equality of status, of opportunity, and before the law; freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship, vocation, association and action, subject to law and public morality; and

6.WHEREIN adequate safeguards shall be provided for minorities, backward and tribal areas, and depressed and other backward classes; and

7.WHEREBY shall be maintained the integrity of the territory of the Republic and its soverign rights on land, sea, and air according to justice and the law of civilized nations; and

8.this ancient land attains its righful and honoured placed in the world and make its full and willing contribution to the promotion of world peace and the welfare of mankind.

This Resolution was unanimously adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 January 1947.
Late in the evening of 14 August, 1947 the Assembly met in the Constitution Hall and at the stroke of midnight, took over as the Legislative Assembly of an Independent India.

On 29 August, 1947, the Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar to prepare a Draft Constitution for India. While deliberating upon the draft Constitution, the Assembly moved, discussed and disposed of as many as 2,473 amendments out of a total of 7,635 tabled.

The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November, 1949 and the hon'ble members appended their signatures to it on 24 January, 1950. In all, 284 members actually signed the Constitution. On that day when the Constitution was being signed, it was drizzling outside and it was interpreted as a sign of a good omen.

The Constitution of India came into force on 2 6 January, 1950. On that day, the Assembly ceased to exist, transforming itself into the Provisional Parliament of India until a new Parliament was constituted in1952  

ADDRESS BY DR. SHANKER DAYAL SHARMA PRESIDENT OF INDIA ON THE OCCASION OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST SITTING OF THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY.

Parliament House, New Delhi

Monday, December 9, 1996 18 Agrahyana, 1918 (Saka)

It gives me immense pleasure to participate in this function to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the first sitting of the Constituent Assembly of India.

On behalf of the nation I pay tribute to all Members of the Constituent Assembly. Their painstaking efforts provided India with the basic legal and ethical framework for progress and development.

It is also my privilege to felicitate some members of the Constituent Assembly who are with us today.

The 9th of December, like the 9th of August, is important in the history of our long struggle for Freedom. Indeed, the demand for a Constituent Assembly was intrinsically linked to our larger goal of Freedom and Independence. The resolution for Purna Swaraj in 1929 had aroused great nationalist fervour and galvanized the people to take part with renewed vigour in the Freedom Movement. The clear and unambiguous articulation of this deep-rooted longing of the people of India to be in control of their own destiny contained within itself the idea of a democratic Constitution which would provide a framework for the governance of independent India by the Indian people. Clearly, such a Constitution could only be drawn up by the elected representatives of the people of India. It was from this unassailable logic that the demand for a Constituent Assembly was articulated by Panditji. The proposal was accepted by the Indian National Congress in 1934, whereafter it became a significant part of the nationalist agenda for Independent India. Mahatma Gandhi himself fully endorsed this proposal. Writing in the `Harijan' on 25th November, 1939, he said: [I quote]

"Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru has compelled me to study, among other things, the implications of a Constituent Assembly. When he first introduced it in the Congress resolutions, I reconciled myself to it because of my belief in his superior knowledge of the technicalities of democracy. But I was not free from scepticism. Hard facts have, however, made me a convert and, for that reason perhaps, more enthusiastic than Jawaharlal himself." [Unquote]

It was to take seven more years before the Constituent Assembly became a reality. This was a period which saw dramatic developments not merely in India but throughout the world. In India, our Freedom Struggle was at its peak in 1942 during the historic Quit India Movement. Internationally, there was a fundamental transformation in the geo-political situation after the Second World War. The world was in a state of flux when our peaceful and non-violent struggle attained success. It was a struggle led by women and men of character, leaders who had braved the trials and tribulations of colonial rule and had undergone tremendous suffering and hardship.

It was our beloved leaders who belonged to the masses, individuals with deep knowledge and learning and imbued with the values of our civilization, who were elected to participate in the Constituent Assembly. They had a broad global vision which encompassed all humanity and sought to harmonize the great spiritual values of our culture with the modern dynamic approach of other traditions.

The values of our ethos and their own experiences during the Freedom Struggle spurred the constant striving of our people for the ideals of liberty, equality, justice, respect for human dignity and democracy. These ideals, the goals and values of the Freedom Struggle form the real essence, the life-breath of our Constitution and are enshrined in the Preamble.

Already, in the decades before Independence our people were giving thought to their vision of an Independent India. Pandit Motilal Nehru drafted the well-known Nehru Report on the Constitution of free India. The Karachi Session of the Indian National Congress held in March, 1931 adopted the famous Resolution moved by Mahatma Gandhi which contained our charter on Fundamental Rights. It is against this historical backdrop of a long and arduous struggle and the crystallization of our vision of a sovereign, democratic nation that the first session of the Constituent Assembly was held in 1946, when, as Panditji said, we embarked on `the high adventure of giving shape, in the printed and written word, to a nation's dream and aspiration'.

There was a sense of mission in the members of the Constituent Assembly to draft a Constitution which would preserve the pluralism and essential oneness, and the unity and integrity of India. Our Constitution ensures that India remains a secular State. People belonging to different religious denominations who are all part of our vibrant pluralistic society, are guaranteed the freedom to practice their own religions. I might add that these Rights under our Constitution are available even to those who are not citizens of India.

Our Constitution is not merely a political document which provides the framework and institutions for democratic governance - our Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary. It provides a framework for the economic and social emancipation of society and particularly, the poor, the underprivileged and the downtrodden. As Granville Austine has said, "the core of the commitment to the social revolution lies in Parts III and IV, in the Fundamental Rights and in the Directive Principles of State Policy. These are the conscience of the Constitution." It is of profound import that the Fundamental Rights are enforceable by Courts of Law. Article 32 of the Constitution guarantees the implementation of these Rights. This is a very crucial safeguard against excesses by executive authority and casts a very heavy responsibility on our Judiciary, a vital pillar of our democratic polity, to ensure that fundamental human freedoms are guaranteed.

When our Constitution was adopted on 26th November, 1949 our statesmen and visionaries had said that the Constitution is as good or bad as people who are entrusted to administer it, wish it to be. The Chairman of the Drafting Committee, the brilliant jurist, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, speaking a day before the adoption of the Constitution, had said: [I quote]

"The working of a Constitution does not depend wholly upon the nature of the Constitution ... The factor on which the working of (the) organs of State depends are the people and the political parties they will set up as their instruments to carry out their wishes and their politics." [Unquote]

India has been fortunate to have leaders of outstanding calibre. They brought to bear the profound moral and ethical values of our ethos to the functioning of the institutions of our Parliamentary Democracy. In this way they ensured that democracy flourished and developed even stronger roots in our society. Many of you would recall the great care and attention, the interest and personal involvement of Panditji in the work of the Parliament, the jewel in the crown of Democracy.

During the last five decades, India can be proud to have safeguarded and enlarged the gains of freedom. We have provided flesh and blood to the constitutional edifice bequeathed to us by the founding fathers. Our Constitution has given us the framework for a strong nation, a Union of States; a nation of harmony between the Union and States and between the various institutions of our democratic polity. We can claim to have achieved significant success in the diverse and inter-connected spheres of democratic governance, our Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary. The philosophy of the Constitution nurtures a polity where the precepts and practices of democracy can become second nature to the people. Through the elections to eleven Lok Sabhas, the people of India have repeatedly displayed their determination to fulfil their duties as responsible citizens of the Republic.

Our Parliament is the pre-eminent institution of our polity. Members of Parliament are the true representatives of the people and it is the people's interests which they articulate in the context of a larger and broader national vision. As Panditji said in the Lok Sabha on 21 December, 1955: [I quote]

"(Members of Parliament) are not only Members of this or that particular area of India, but each Member of Parliament is a Member for India and represents India. ..." [Unquote]

Our Constitutional framework has also resulted in economic progress and the social emancipation of society. Effective representation is provided to the socially depressed groups in legislatures and steps are underway to ensure a strong representation for women. In recent years, we have provided a new impetus to our Panchayati Raj institutions. This has fostered the participation of the people at the grassroots level in our democratic processes in a very tangible and effective manner.

If we look at nations around us, we can be proud of our resilient, living Constitution which has adapted over time, to changing circumstances, needs and requirements. Indeed, it has become a model for constitutions in other countries.

I believe this is an important occasion for all of us to contemplate ways and means of improving the functioning of the institutions of our democratic polity. We should bring the meaning and import of the Constitution closer to the common man. This would be possible if we take up the challenge of making our institutions, our administration and systems of work, more and more directly accountable and fully mindful and sensitive to the needs and feelings of our people.

We must all comprehend the importance of unity, the true significance of canons of propriety and the value of having the freedom to voice different viewpoints which, indeed, are the hallmarks of any pluralistic society. As our sages of yore said, our aims are common, our endeavours common, and there are diverse ways to reach our goals.

At this moment in our history, as we prepare to step into a new century and millennia, let us all ask ourselves what our goals and tasks are as citizens of this great and ancient nation striving to develop and modernize. What are our responsibilities in nation building ? How best can we discharge them ? The answers are not far, nor difficult to seek. Many have been provided to us by the life and work of the great stalwarts who have preceded us. We also find them in our tradition of selfless service and sacrifice and in the timeless moral and ethical ideals of our society. Let us draw inspiration from Bapu's life and work and live up to his message of `Anasakti' and `Nishkaam Karm' or selfless service i.e. service without regard to the fruits of action.

This anniversary provides an opportunity for every citizen of India to renew the pledge to work for `Purna Swaraj', for the well-being of our people, for peace and harmony in our society and indeed, the world.

JAI HIND