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. While deliberating upon the draft Constitution, the assembly moved, discussed and disposed of as many as 2,473 amendments.
Here's a look at some of the most important members of the Constitution's drafting committee.
C Rajagopalachari was an Indian lawyer, independence activist, politician and writer. He was the first Indian Governor General of India after Lord Mountbatten left India. C Rajagopalachari was born in 1878 in Thorapalli, Tamil Nadu. Rajagopalachari was an accomplished writer who made lasting contributions to Indian English literature and also composed music. He was one of the first recipients of India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.
Prasad was a politician, lawyer and journalist and was also the first President of India. He was a comrade of Mahatma Gandhi early in the noncooperation movement for independence and was president of the Indian National Congress. He practised at the Calcutta High Court. As President of India, he duly acted as per the Constitution, independent of any political party. He travelled the world, extensively building diplomatic rapport with foreign nations.
Jawaharlal Nehru, lovingly addressed as Pandit (teacher) Nehru was born on November 14, 1889, in Allahabad. He was the first prime minister of independent India and played a vital role in the fight for independence in the year 1947. Nehru also established our parliamentary government. As a member of the Constituent Assembly, Jawaharlal Nehru played a crucial role in the making of the Indian Constitution as a debater, lawyer, leader and politician.
Vallabhbhai Patel was a political and social leader of India who played a major role in the country’s struggle for Independence and guided its integration into a united, independent nation. He was called the ‘Iron Man Of India’. In India and around the world, he was often addressed as Sardar.
Munshi obtained a degree in law and started practising in the Bombay High Court. When he was a student, his teacher Sri Aurobindo Ghosh immensely inspired him. Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi, the Indian freedom fighter entered into politics as the member of the Subjects Committee of INC.
Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was a jurist, a social reformer and a politician. He is also known as the Father of the Indian Constitution. The well-known politician that he was, his efforts to eradicate social evils like untouchability and casteism were remarkable. He also went on to write multiple essays on untouchables and untouchability. Ambedkar was appointed as India’s first Law Minister in the Cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru.
Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar was the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha. He was an Independence activist, the President (from 1946 to 1947) of the Central Legislative Assembly, then became the Speaker of the Constituent Assembly of India.
Azad was the son of an Indian Muslim scholar living in Mecca and his Arabic wife. Azad became active in important journalism in his late teens, and in 1912, he began publishing a weekly Urdu-language newspaper in Calcutta, Al-Hilal.
Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the son of eminent educationist and Calcutta University Vice-Chancellor Ashutosh Mukherjee, was a prominent member of the Congress party during the prime ministership of Jawaharlal Nehru. Mukherjee was an eminent advocate of education and was much respected even among British circles. In addition, Ashutosh Mukherjee was also the first Indian VC of the University of Calcutta.
Balwantrai Mehta was an Indian politician who served as the second Chief Minister of Gujarat state, India. He participated in the Independence movement and later held various public offices as well. He is also considered the ‘Architect of Panchayati Raj' due to his various contributions towards democratic decentralisation and policy.
