Hello everyone,
Today the capsule summarises the topic- Making of the Constitution.
There are 7 ten-mark, 1 fifteen-mark, and 0 twenty-mark questions in the last 12 years PYQs
1 – EVOLUTION (1858-1935)
Colonial statutes that pre-shaped constitutional ideas
- Government of India Acts 1858, 1919, 1935 – central & provincial executive/legislature/judiciary; provincial autonomy; communal representation.
- Indian Councils Acts 1861, 1892 – token Indian seats.
- Morley-Minto Reforms 1909 – separate Muslim electorates (seed of communalism).
Bipan Chandra: reforms were “concessions granted strategically to divide and rule, not genuine steps toward self-government.”
Nationalist reply – INC campaigns (Non-Co-operation 1920-22; Civil Disobedience 1930-34) exposed limitations of colonial constitution-making.
2 – DEMAND FOR AN INDIAN-DRAFTED CONSTITUTION
- Nehru Report 1928: dominion status, responsible government; rejected by younger leaders for not demanding full independence.
- INC (1934) formal demand: Constituent Assembly elected by adult suffrage.
- Jawaharlal Nehru, 1938: “The constitution of free India must be framed … by a Constituent Assembly elected on the basis of adult franchise.”
3 – BRITISH PLANS & INDIAN RESPONSES
| Scheme | Main features | Indian verdict |
| Cripps Mission 1942 | post-war dominion; elected Assembly; provinces free to opt out | INC objected to secession clause; Muslim League objected to lack of Pakistan |
| Cabinet Mission 1946 (Pethick-Lawrence, Cripps, Alexander) | weak Union over defense/foreign/communications; provincial groupings free to draft constitutions | both INC & League accepted in principle but clashed on grouping; League finally boycotted Assembly |
- ELECTION & MAKE-UP OF THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
- July 1946 elections by Provincial Legislatures (not universal franchise).
- 389 seats: 292 British-province, 93 princely, 4 Chief Commissioners’.
- Muslim League boycott → opening session (Dec 1946) only 207 members.
Representation debate
Criticism: indirect election, franchise limited to c 28 % (propertied & educated).
Counter-point (Granville Austin; K. Santhanam):
- INC purposely invited non-Congress figures (B. R. Ambedkar, K. M. Munshi, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, communists, socialists, Hindu Mahasabha).
- Communal, regional, princely and occupational diversity made the body a “microcosm of India.”
5 – KEY PERSONS & COMMITTEE SYSTEM (1946-49)
| Leader | Institutional role |
| Dr Rajendra Prasad | Permanent President (11 Dec 1946) |
| Jawaharlal Nehru | Objectives Resolution (13 Dec 1946); Union Powers Committee chair |
| Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel | Fundamental Rights & Minorities Committee; Provincial Constitution Committee |
| Dr B. R. Ambedkar | Chairman, Drafting Committee |
| K. M. Munshi | Steering Committee chair |
| T. T. Krishnamachari | Drafting Committee member; praised Ambedkar’s “commendable” labour |
Principal committees: Drafting; Union Powers; Fundamental Rights & Minorities; Provincial Constitution; Steering; Rules; States; Finance & Staff, etc.
6 – DEBATES & ADOPTION
- Eleven sessions over 2 yrs 11 mo 17 days; nearly 8 mn words recorded.
- Draft Constitution published Feb 1948; clause-by-clause discussion Feb 1948-Oct 1949; third reading Nov 1949.
- Adopted 26 Nov 1949; signed by members; commenced 26 Jan 1950 (“Republic Day”).
Austin: success owed to “consensus and accommodation” – two “wholly Indian” methods.
7 – CHARACTER & LEGACY OF THE CONSTITUTION
- Fundamental Rights; Directive Principles; independent judiciary; parliamentary-cabinet system; federal yet Centre-strong; affirmative action for SC/ST.
- “Unity in diversity” formally recognised (language, culture, religion).
- Ambedkar in final speech: Constitution defines powers of executive, legislature, judiciary; aims to keep India united “despite all her diversity.”
8 – LEGACIES OF THE NATIONAL MOVEMENT (as feeder to the Constitution)
- Nation-building – conscious creation of “India” against British scepticism.
- Democratic habit – mass participation, INC inner-party voting; universal adult suffrage 1950.
- Civil liberties – traditions from Gokhale, Banerjea, Gandhi; Indian Civil Liberties Union 1936 → constitutional rights.
- Modernisation & planning – Karachi Resolution 1931; National Planning Committee 1938; Planning Commission 1950.
- Alternative Gandhian model: decentralised village economy.
- Secularism – religion separate from State; Gandhi’s “Religion vs religions”; Nehru’s scientific temper.
- Independent foreign policy – anti-imperialism, non-alignment (Nehru), solidarity with oppressed nations.
Limits acknowledged
- Social hierarchies (caste, patriarchy) survived; movement could not prevent Partition 1947; loose organisational control allowed divisive currents.
Scholars Index
- V. Alexander | B. R. Ambedkar | Granville Austin | Surendranath Banerjea | Bipan Chandra | Stafford Cripps | Mahatma Gandhi | Gopal Krishna Gokhale | T. T. Krishnamachari | Syama Prasad Mookerjee | K. M. Munshi | Jawaharlal Nehru | Vallabhbhai Patel | Frederick Pethick-Lawrence | Rajendra Prasad | K. Santhanam
Practice Questions (Write before 4 p.m.)
Question 1. Objective Resolution of the Constituent Assembly. [2024/10m]
Question 2. Imprint of the British Constitution on the Indian Constitution. [2023/10 m]
Question 3. The making of the Indian Constitution is described as an attempt towards ‘social revolution’. Comment. [2022/20m]
📌 Model answers drop this evening on the Telegram channel: https://t.me/psirbyamitpratap – keep notifications on.
See you tomorrow on Day 18. Keep practicing!
—Amit Pratap Singh & Team
A quick note on submissions of copies and mentorship
- 2025 Mains writers: Cohort 1 of O-AWFG started on 12 June and ATS on 15 June. The above practice set will serve as your revision tool, just do not miss booking your mentorship sessions for personalised feedback especially for starting tests. Come with your evaluated test copies.
- 2026 Mains writers – keep uploading through your usual dashboard. Act on the feedback and improve consistently.
- Alternate between mini-tests (O-AWFG) and full mocks (ATS) has been designed to tackle speed, content depth, and structured revision—line-by-line evaluation pinpoints your weaknesses and errors. Follow your PSIR O-AWFG & ATS schedule and use the model answers to enrich your content, as rankers recommended based on their own success.
