indian polity book series 5

Notes:

• India's first internationally recognized tourist center - Auroville area.
• 'New Lamps for the Old' is considered the Bible of extremist literature.
• Aurobindo Ghosh's other works include Life Divine, Bhavani Mandir, Savitri.
• Vande Mataram was last sung at the INC session of "1948".

* In which Indian National Congress session was Vande Mataram sung for the first time?

1. 1896 Calcutta Session
2. 1908 Madras Session
3. 1895 Pune Session
4. 1899 Lucknow Session

(Answer: 1) 1896 Calcutta Session) (As per - 22-02-2019)

Number	Category	Representation
1.	Indian National Congress	Nehru, Patel, Rajendra Prasad, Pattabhi Sitaramayya
2.	Muslims	Sayyid Muhammad Saadulla, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
3.	Sikhs	Sardar Baldev Singh, Hukum Singh
4.	Anglo-Indians	Frank Anthony
5.	Parsees	Dr. H.P. Modi
6.	Hindu Mahasabha	Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, M.R. Jayakar
7.	All India Scheduled Castes Federation	Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
8.	All India Women's Conference	Hansa Mehta
9.	All India Zamindars' Association	Darbhanga Maharaja
10.	All India Labour Federation	Babu Jagjivan Ram
11.	Minorities	Dr. H.C. Mukherjee

Following the British tradition of committees, the Constituent Assembly established 22 types of committees for the constitution drafting. Among them, Policy Determining Committees - 10, Subject Determining Committees - 12.

Committee	Chairman
Financial and Staff Committee (Policy)	Rajendra Prasad
Steering Committee (Policy)	Rajendra Prasad
Rules Committee (Policy)	Rajendra Prasad
Flag Committee (Ad-hoc)	Rajendra Prasad
Union Constitution Committee (Subject)	Jawaharlal Nehru
Union Powers Committee (Subject)	Jawaharlal Nehru
States Negotiating Committee (Subject)	Jawaharlal Nehru
Provincial Constitution Committee (Subject)	Vallabhbhai Patel
Provincial Powers Committee (Subject)	Vallabhbhai Patel
Advisory Committee (Subject)	Vallabhbhai Patel
House Committee (Policy)	Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya
Chief Commissioners Provinces Committee (Subject)	Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya
Order of Business Committee (Policy)	K.M. Munshi
Supreme Court Ad-hoc Committee (Subject)	S. Varadachariar
Credentials Committee (Subject)	Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar
Constituent Assembly Functions Committee	G.V. Mavalankar

Note: The largest committee among the Constituent Assembly Committees - Advisory Committee.

• In the Advisory Committee, 1 Chairman + 54 members = 55 members were there.
• The Advisory Committee had four sub-committees.
  1. Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee - J.B. Kripalani
  2. Minorities Sub-Committee - H.C. Mukherjee
  3. North-East Frontier Tribal Areas and Assam Sub-Committee - Gopinath Bardoloi
  4. Other Areas Tribal Areas Sub-Committee - A.V. Thakkar

Drafting Committee / Drafting Committee or Constitution Drafting Committee:

• This committee was formed on August 29, 1947.
• The most important committee among the Constituent Assembly committees.
• The number of members in this committee was 1 Chairman and 6 members.
• Drafting Committee Chairman - B.R. Ambedkar.
• Other members:
  1. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
  2. Alladi Krishnaswamy Ayyar
  3. K.M. Munshi
  4. Sayyid Muhammad Saadulla
  5. D.P. Khaitan (died in between)
  6. B.L. Mitter (resigned in between)
• Those who were appointed in place of the deceased/resigned members -
  • T.T. Krishnamachari (in place of D.P. Khaitan) - The only member among the committee members who had studied law.
  • N. Madhava Rau (in place of B.L. Mitter)
• * Who was not a member of the Drafting Committee of the Indian Constituent Assembly? (AP SI - 2018)
  1. N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
  2. N. Madhava Rau
  3. J.B. Kripalani
  4. T.T. Krishnamachari
  (Answer: 3) J.B. Kripalani)

B.R. Ambedkar:

• Born on April 14, 1891, in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh.
• Original name given by parents - Ambavadekar Bhimrao.
• R in 'B.R.' stands for Ramji (father's name).
• B in 'B.R.' stands for Bhimabai (mother's name).
• Ambedkar's teacher's name - Ambavadekar - Surname.
• First graduate in the Mahar caste.
• Known as the modern Manu.
• Father of the Indian Constitution.
• Worked as Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
• Famous as the architect of the Indian Constitution.
• In 1932, the Poona Pact took place between Ambedkar and Gandhi. (September 24, 1932)

Institutions established by Ambedkar:

1. Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha - 1924
2. Samata Sangh - 1927
3. All India SC Federation - 1942
4. People's Education Society - 1945

Parties established by Ambedkar:

1. Independent Labour Party - 1936
2. Republican Party - 1956

Journals started:

1. Mook Nayak
2. Janata
3. Bahishkrit Bharat

Methods chosen by the Constituent Assembly for policy decisions:

1. Consensus: Unanimous or near unanimous agreement of all members in decisions.
2. Coordination Method: If mutual opposition arises between one's own idea and another's idea, giving value to the right opinion with discretion.
3. Method of Adoption (Compromise):

• The first person to address the Constituent Assembly was Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha.
• The last British Governor-General to speak to the Constituent Assembly - Lord Mountbatten.
• Secretary of the Constituent Assembly - H.V. Iyengar.
• Chief Draftsman of the Constituent Assembly - N.C. Mukherjee.

Legal Advisor to the Constituent Assembly - B.N. Rau.

B.N. Rau's draft contained 243 articles and 13 appendices.

Note: The first Indian to work in the International Court of Justice was B.N. Rau.

Time taken to prepare the Indian Constitution - 2 years, 11 months, and 18 days.

Time taken for drafting the Indian Constitution - 2 years, 11 months, and 17 days.

The draft constitution contained 315 articles and 8 appendices.

Expenditure incurred for the preparation of the Indian Constitution - 64 Lakhs.

Symbol of the Indian Constituent Assembly - White Elephant (Airavata). A symbol of elephant's strength and power.

The Constituent Assembly adopted the National Flag on - August 22, 1947.

Note: Ratio of length and width in the National Flag is 3:2.

Saffron color in the National Flag (Saffron) symbolizes sacrifice, white color symbolizes truth, green color represents our connection with the soil and green plants.

The designer of the National Flag is Pingali Venkayya.

B.R. Ambedkar was initially elected from Bengal, but lost representation due to the partition of the country. Later, he was nominated from Bombay State.

Somnath Lahiri (Communist Party) lost membership in the Constituent Assembly due to the partition of the country.

Number of nominated members in the Constituent Assembly - 15.

24 Americans participated in the Constitutional debates for 7 days.

Until the Constitution was adopted, the Constituent Assembly met 11 times and conducted proceedings for 165 days.

Members of the Constituent Assembly (284 out of 299 total) signed the Constitution copy on - January 24, 1950.

Day the Draft Constitution was submitted to the Constituent Assembly - November 5, 1947.

Day the Constitution draft was printed and distributed to members and the press - February 21, 1948.

Day the Constituent Assembly started discussing the Draft Constitution - November 4, 1948.

The Constituent Assembly studied approximately 60 countries' constitutions.

The Indian Constitution was beautifully handwritten in English by - Prem Behari Narain Raizada.

Written in Hindi by - Shri Vasant Krishan Vaidya.

Each page was artistically designed to reflect Indian culture by - Nandalal Bose and artists from Shantiniketan.

Although discussions in the Constituent Assembly took place in many languages, the Constitution was written only in Hindi and English.

Amendments proposed to the Draft Constitution - 7635. Of these, the Constituent Assembly resolved - 2473.

The person who proposed the most constitutional amendments - H.V. Kamath.

Hansa Mehta introduced the flag designed by Pingali Venkayya in the Constituent Assembly.

'India is my Motherland' pledge was written by - Paidimarri Venkata Subba Rao.

Prominent leaders who were not members of the Constituent Assembly - Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (Bengal) was elected as a member even after losing in the Constituent Assembly elections.

Extraordinary members nominated without contest - Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, K.T. Shah, Gopalaswami Ayyangar.

Comments and criticisms of prominent figures on the Constituent Assembly:

• Indian Constitution is a patchwork quilt - Granville Austin.
• Indian Constitution is a lawyer's paradise - Ivor Jennings.
• Indian Constitution is lengthy and divine - Ivor Jennings.
• Weak federation with strong centralizing tendencies - Ivor Jennings.
• Indian Constitution is a bag of borrowings - Ivor Jennings.
• Indian Constitution is quasi-federal - K.C. Wheare.
• Indian Constitution is cooperative federation - Granville Austin.
• Indian Constitution is a bargaining federation - Morris Jones.
• Constituent Assembly is a one-party body - Granville Austin.
• Constituent Assembly is a Hindu-dominated body - Viscount Simon.
• The Indian Constitution has a nature to function as a federation in normal circumstances and as a unitary in emergencies - B.R. Ambedkar.
• The Indian Constitution is in a way that fulfills the needs of the Indian people - Nehru.

Sources of the Indian Constitution from the Constitutions of various countries in the world:

1. USA:	2. England Constitution
Preamble of the Constitution Fundamental Rights Judicial Review Vice-President Post President as Head Supreme Court Independent Judiciary Administration in the name of the President Procedure for removal of President, Vice-President, Supreme Court, High Court Judges	Speaker System, Parliamentary Traditions Cabinet System Single Citizenship President acting as nominal head Issuing of Writs Integrated Judicial System "Rule of Law"
3. Canada:	4. France:
Advisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court Strong Center Working of the Federal system Central dominance over residual subjects Appointment of Governor by the Central Government	Republic Pro-Tem Speaker post Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
5. Russia (Soviet Union):	6. Ireland:
Fundamental Duties (in 1976) Social, Political, Economic Justice Planning System	Directive Principles of State Policy, Proportional Representation System Presidential Election Procedure President nominating 12 members to Rajya Sabha
7. Australia:	8. South Africa:
Concurrent List Trade and Commerce Laws, Inter-state Trade Language related matters Joint sitting of both houses	Constitutional Amendment Procedure, Rajya Sabha members election procedure
9. Germany:	10. South Korea:
Suspension of Fundamental Rights during National Emergency	Suspending Fundamental Rights when the President declares a state of emergency.
11. Japan:
Law, Procedure Established by Law (Procedure Established by Law).

* The advisory jurisdiction of the Indian Supreme Court is derived from which of the following constitutions? (AP SI – 2018)

1. American Constitution
2. Australian Constitution
3. South African Constitution
4. Canadian Constitution

(Answer: 4) Canadian Constitution)

* Directive Principles are derived from which constitution? (AP Constable - 2019)

1. America
2. Britain
3. France
4. Ireland

(Answer: 4) Ireland)

* What is the main basis for the Indian Constitution? (AP Constable – 2016)

1. American Constitution
2. French Constitution
3. British Constitution
4. Government of India Act - 1935

(Answer: 4) Government of India Act - 1935)

Schedules in the Indian Constitution

* Which of the following schedules in the Indian Constitution contains matters related to Municipal Corporations?

1. 12th Schedule
2. 9th Schedule
3. 11th Schedule
4. 10th Schedule

(Answer: 1) 12th Schedule) (AP Constable - 2018)

* In which of the following years was the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act related to the prohibition of defections passed?

1. 1980
2. 1985
3. 1989
4. 1991

(Answer: 2) 1985) (AP Constable – 2018)

1st Schedule: Describes the territory of India (States, Union Territories in the country).

2nd Schedule: Salaries, allowances, and privileges of dignitaries.

3rd Schedule: Oath of office and responsibilities of dignitaries like President, Vice-President, Governor, etc.

4th Schedule: Details of allocation of seats to states in Rajya Sabha.

5th Schedule: Administration of Scheduled Tribes and areas.

6th Schedule: Administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram.

7th Schedule: Jurisdiction of legislative powers of the Union and States, details of three lists.

8th Schedule: Officially recognized languages of the Constitution (Initially 14, currently 22).

9th Schedule: Laws related to land reforms - 9th Schedule was added to the Constitution in 1951 through the First Constitutional Amendment. There is no power to conduct judicial review in court on the matters in the 9th Schedule.

• Matters in this schedule do not come under the jurisdiction of the court. However, in a judgment (Coelho/Tamil Nadu, 2007), the Supreme Court stated that the 9th Schedule also comes under judicial review.

10th Schedule: Anti-Defection Law - This 10th Schedule was added to the Constitution through the 52nd Amendment (1985). According to the Supreme Court's judgment, party whips apply only to motions of confidence and no-confidence. The Anti-Defection Law does not apply to Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Deputy Chairman. 2003, 91st Constitutional Amendment Act Anti-Defection Law, Amendment Act.

11th Schedule: Powers and functions of Panchayat Raj - In 1992, the 11th Schedule was added through the 73rd Constitutional Amendment. About this, 29 powers are added in Article 243 (G) of the Constitution.

12th Schedule: Powers and functions of Municipalities - About these, 18 functions are added in Article 243 (W) of the Constitution. Their term, functions. In 1992, the 12th Schedule was added to the Constitution through the 74th Constitutional Amendment.

* Schedules were proposed at the end of the Constitution. Schedule means appendix. In this, explanations / interpretations / additional information related to the Constitution are included.